The news cycle is increasingly intense, and most of us can barely keep up these days. A huge part of what is dominating our news content, from television screens to phones, is politics. One day we’re learning about significant negative health care changes for Americans (especially seniors and those on a fixed income) and the next we find out appalling changes to how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Junteenth holidays will be observed (or not) at national parks in 2026. Things move fast and furious with little room to take a breather to soak in one thing before being forced to move onto the next.
Bruh. We. Are. Tired.
Thankfully, there are seven smart, connected and passionate Black women who published books this year that can help shed light on all this craziness while keeping us informed about what is going on in and out of The White House, our complex and calculated education system, important ways the Civil Rights Movement is still relevant today and much more.
Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, a cozy blanket and keep an open mind to create change through knowledge via a powerful book.
Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines (Legacy Lit)
By: Karine Jean-Pierre
Born on the island of Martinque to Haitian parents, author Jean-Pierre was the first Black and openly queer person to serve as White House Press Secretary. She was also a special advisor to former President Joe Biden. In this timely analysis, the historymaker challenges readers to think beyond “Democratic” or “Republican” and to boldly vote according to their values.
A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power (Macmillan)
By: Abby Phillip
In her literary debut, CNN powerhouse Phillip delivers an in-depth look at the ways the venerable reverend has impacted politics in America and beyond. Using moving words and captivating archival imagery, Phillip carefully examines how Jackson’s important influence extends far beyond the 1980s presidential campaigns to which he is too often confined.
Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism (Penguin Random House)
By: Eve L. Ewing
In this New York Times bestseller, Ewing exhibits how the United States school system, or rather the extreme inequities in it, played (and continue to play) an instrumental role in creating and upholding racial hierarchies, preparing our children to expect unequal treatment throughout their lives.
Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights (W.W. Norton)
By: Keisha N. Blain
Acclaimed historian Blain uses vivid storytelling to illustrate how, throughout history, Black women have made the fight for human rights their own. Whether citing household names like Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker and Lena Horne, or those who are still less known, including Pearl Sherrod, Aretha McKinley and Marguerite Cartwright, Blain unpacks human rights activism in America with Black women at the forefront, while balancing the intersections of racism, sexism and classism, at the center.
Disrupting Political Science: Black Women Reimagining the Discipline (SUNY Press)
Edited By: Angela Katrina Lewis-Maddox
Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lewis-Maddox brings us the voices of 19 Black women in the field of political science, a field that never intended to view them as subjects worthy of study and certainly not as educators on the collegiate level. Looking at these women in their vulnerable stories of trauma and triumph, sheds a necessary light on the state of the discipline—and how it needs to change.
Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins (NYU Press)
By: Mary Francis Phillips
We typically hear about the history of the Black Panther Party (good, bad or indifferent) through a male lens and rarely, if ever, learn about the women who helped define the revolutionary movement. In this groundbreaking biography, Phillips, a scholar, activist and professor, immerses readers in the life and legacy of Ericka Huggins, a revered Black Panther Party member, as well as a mother, widow, educator, poet and former political prisoner who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Party.
The Battle for the Black Mind (Legacy Lit)
By: Karida L. Brown, Ph.D.
Want to learn how education has always played a role in shaping the moral conscience of America? Then this one is for you. Brown, an NAACP Image Award-winning author and Emory University professor, conducted more than a decade of archival research, personal reflection, and sociological insight. The result is a book that traces a century of segregated schooling, examining how early efforts to control Black minds through education systems laid the foundation for many systemic inequities we still struggle with today.