Audre Lorde, a prominent Black lesbian feminist poet, had some powerful things to say; here are some of her best quotes.

Black books are being banned left and right. While this isn’t new, the attacks have increased in ferocity as the Trump administration wages war on Black stories, history, and leadership. One of the best ways to fight back against those who try to erase the gains we’ve won is to commemorate, learn about, and amplify Black culture. This Black History Month, we have compiled a list of books by Black authors on a range of topics and within various genres.

Enjoy the words from the famous, influential writer.

Celebrate the day with these seven books that shed new light on the history of civil rights and make for a compelling reason to stay at home, read, think, learn, and remember.

Let us help you choose your next book! Welcome to Sweet Reads, a curation of titles hand-selected by our Sweet July community.

It was Angela Davis who reminded us that “when Black women win victories, it’s a boost for virtually every segment of society.” It says a lot thatDr. Davis had the foresight to build a politic that benefits everyone while centering the most marginalized. In my opinion, it is her Southern roots that have prepared her to so easily diagnose the problems with American society while visioning something better.

To be loving is to be open to grief, to be touched by sorrow, even sorrow that is unending.” Writer, scholar, and trailblazing feminist bell hooks wrote these words in her 2002 book,All About Love.

Rachel Ricketts is a racial justice educator unlike any other you’ve ever learned from. Her ‘Spiritual Activism’ series intentionally centers racial justice from a holistic view of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health. Encouraging her participants—and now you, thanks to her new book, DO BETTER —to fight white supremacy in our day-to-day actions as well as in our communities, Ricketts’ offers calls to action that are both tangible and significant. That she has transformed those workshops into a book is truly a gift.

“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” —Toni Cade Bambara

Artists, specifically the creatives who bring movies and documentaries to our screens, are weavers of narrative and truth.

So you want to be an ally but don’t know where to start? First of all, thank you and welcome. This is an ever growing community of people who refuse to accept Black death and institutionalized racism as the norm.

So you posted a black square? Now commit to educating yourself.

Because allyship can't be proven with a few social media posts.

It’s hard coming to terms with the fact that those who mold and shape us won’t be with us forever. The world is mourning the loss of Toni Morrison, but none so much as the black women who were buoyed by her words and coaxed into self-assurance, radical love, and a monumental duty to give black women of the future more: more options, more community, more freedom.