Photographer Velvet d’Amour Makeup Janet Doman Model Leah Vernon

February is Black History Month: this tradition began in the United States with the intent of honoring the achievements of African American and recognizing their central role in the US history, too often overlooked in public and private education as well as the mainstream media.

While Black History Month is originally an American tradition, which has extended to Canada, the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland (although in some of these country it is celebrated in October), its resonance extends beyond any border and stimulates a worldwide conversation on race, racism, and the inheritance of colonialism. Black History Month is a chance to reflect upon past injustice and critically analyze how power and oppression operate in our society. It is also a time to uplift and celebrate Black excellence across all disciplines, and to spread knowledge and support Black artists, authors, businesses, and so on. So pick up a book and start learning: here is a list of five books by Black authors that you should be reading this month (and the rest of the year too)!

Black Skin White Masks by Frantz Fanon

Martinican born writer and philosopher Frantz Fanon is one of the major contributors to the discourse around race that took place in the Antilles and whose concepts remain influential in race theory as we know it today.

In this book, Fanon conducts a psychological analysis of the oppression of Black people and its effects. He argues that “The black man possesses two dimensions: one with his fellow Blacks, the other with the Whites. A black man behaves differently with a white man than he does with another black man”.
One of the aspects on which Fanon focuses most of the attention is language. Given his origins, he talks about how the Black individual becomes “whiter” through the assimilation of French language and position himself in relation to it, which causes them to become more and more distant from Creole language.

Fanon strives to “liberate the black man from the arsenal of complexes that germinated in a colonial situation”. His book can be complicated at times, however it is a milestone of Black thought and literature which should be read by anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the longstanding effects of colonialism on Black’s psyche and society at large.

Fearing the Black Body Sabrina String

In Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, Dr. Strings retraces the origins of fatphobia in the racial theories and pseudoscience that were widespread during the Enlightenment period, according to which fatness was associated with savagery and inferiority.

This book revolutionizes the belief that fatphobia stemmed in more recent times with the medical attention given to fat bodies. String’s demonstrates how today’s crusade against “obesity” and other mechanisms of pathologizing fat bodies are a reflection of a centuries-long racist attitude which is not concerned with health at all, but rather operates to keep in place the systems of oppression that are at the foundation of our society.

Create Dangerously by Edwidge Danticat

Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist At Work is a powerful reflection on art and exile. Haitian-American writer Edwige Danticat tells stories of immigration and the meaning of creativity for the displaced individual coming from a country suffering from poverty and violence.

Danticat believes that it is the immigrant artist’s duty to bear witness, but she also “sometimes wonder if in the intimate, both solitary and solidary, union between writers and readers a border can really exist”. With this book she attempts to come to term with her identity and position as immigrant artist, and to offer her experience to her readers.

I shimmer sometimes too by Porsha Olayiwola

Porsha Olayiwola is a writer, performer, educator and curator who uses afro-futurism and surrealism to examine historical and current issues in the Black, woman, and queer diasporas.

The power of the live performance of slam poetry can be felt throughout the pages of i shimmer sometimes too, in which Olayiwola talks slavery and loss, Black womanhood and God, queer love and memory. Her poems are both a chronicle of the painful pages of Black history in America, and a testimony of the author’s life experiences recounted with an extraordinary vividness and energy.

The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-Bart

This novel was written in French by Simone Schwarz-Bart in 1972 and translated to English much more recently, in 2013. The Bridge of Beyond is the story of Télumée, the first women of her family to be freed from slavery in 1848.

A masterpiece of Guadeloupean literature, the book explores the difficulty of being a Black poor exploited woman who reclaims herself, her identity, and the strength of her womanhood in the face of life adversities. It is a tale of Antilles, tradition, nature, and ancient wisdom passed down through generations of women in the family.

Cinq livres à lire pour célébrer le Mois de l’histoire des Noirs

par Giorgia Cristiani traduire par Teddy Ogborn

Photographe Velvet d’Amour Maquillage Janet Doman Mannequin Leah Vernon

Le février, c’est le Mois de l’histoire des Noirs : cette tradition a été conçue aux États-Unis avec l’intention d’honorer les prouesses des Africains-Américains et de reconnaître leur rôle central dans l’histoire américaine, un rôle trop souvent négligé dans l’éducation publique et privée, ainsi que les médias grand public.

Pendant que le Mois de l’histoire des Noirs est à l’origine une tradition américaine, qui a aussi répandu au Canada, le Royaume-Uni, la France, les Pays Bas et l’Irlande (bien que dans quelques pays c’est célébré en octobre), sa résonance étend au-delà de n’importe quelle frontière et stimule une conversation globale sur la race, le racisme, et l’héritage de la colonialisme. Le Mois de l’histoire des Noirs est une occasion pour réfléchir sur les injustices du passé et pour analyser d’un œil critique comment la pouvoir et l’oppression opèrent dans notre société actuelle. C’est aussi un temps pour élever et célébrer l’excellence Noire à travers toutes disciplines, et pour partager la connaissance et soutenir les artistes Noires, les auteurs Noires, les affaires Noirs, et cetera. Donc, ramasse un livre et commence à apprendre : voilà une liste de cinq livres par des auteurs Noirs que vous devez lire ce mois (et le reste de l’année, aussi) !

Black Skin White Masks by Frantz Fanon

Martinican born writer and philosopher Frantz Fanon is one of the major contributors to the discourse around race that took place in the Antilles and whose concepts remain influential in race theory as we know it today.

In this book, Fanon conducts a psychological analysis of the oppression of Black people and its effects. He argues that “The black man possesses two dimensions: one with his fellow Blacks, the other with the Whites. A black man behaves differently with a white man than he does with another black man”.
One of the aspects on which Fanon focuses most of the attention is language. Given his origins, he talks about how the Black individual becomes “whiter” through the assimilation of French language and position himself in relation to it, which causes them to become more and more distant from Creole language.

Fanon strives to “liberate the black man from the arsenal of complexes that germinated in a colonial situation”. His book can be complicated at times, however it is a milestone of Black thought and literature which should be read by anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the longstanding effects of colonialism on Black’s psyche and society at large.

Fearing the Black Body Sabrina String

In Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, Dr. Strings retraces the origins of fatphobia in the racial theories and pseudoscience that were widespread during the Enlightenment period, according to which fatness was associated with savagery and inferiority.

This book revolutionizes the belief that fatphobia stemmed in more recent times with the medical attention given to fat bodies. String’s demonstrates how today’s crusade against “obesity” and other mechanisms of pathologizing fat bodies are a reflection of a centuries-long racist attitude which is not concerned with health at all, but rather operates to keep in place the systems of oppression that are at the foundation of our society.

Create Dangerously by Edwidge Danticat

Créer Dangereusement: l’artiste immigrant à l’œuvre c’est une réflexion puissante sur l’art et l’exile. Edwidge Danticat, écrivaine haïtienne-américaine, raconte des histoires de de l’immigration et la signification de la créativité pour un individu déplacé d’un pays qui souffre de la pauvreté et de la violence.

Danticat croit que c’est la devoir de l’artiste immigrante à témoigner, mais elle se demande aussi « si dans l’union intime, à la fois solitaire et solidaire, entre les écrivains et les lecteurs une frontière peut exister. » Avec ce livre, elle essaie de réconcilier son identité et sa position comme artiste immigrante, et pour offrir ses vécues au lecteur.

I shimmer sometimes too par Porsha Olayiwola

Porsha Olayiwola est une écrivaine, poète du slam, enseignant, et curatrice qui utilise l’afro-futurisme et la surréalisme pour examiner les enjeux historiques et contemporains chez les diasporas Noir, femme, et LGBT.

La pouvoir des performances de la poésie slam est senti dans les pages de i shimmer sometimes too, dans lequel Olayiwola parle de l’esclavage et la perte, de la féminité Noire et de Dieu, de l’amour queer et de la mémoire. Sa poésie est une chronique des pages douloureuse de l’histoire Noire aux États-Unis, et une témoigne des vécues de l’autrice, racontée avec de la truculence et une énergie extraordinaire.

Pluie et vent sur Télumée Miracle par Simone Schwarz-Bart

Ce roman a été écrit en français par Simone Schwarz-Bart en 1972 (et traduit en anglais plus récemment, en 2013). Pluie et vent sur Télumée Miracle raconte l’histoire de Télumée, la première femme de la famille de Schwarz-Bart d’être libérée de l’ésclavage en 1848.

Une chef-d’œuvre de la littérature guadeloupéenne, ce livre examine la difficulté d’être une femme Noire, exploitée, et pauvre qui reprendre son identité, soi-même, et la force de sa féminité face aux adversités. C’est une conte des Antilles, la tradition, la nature, et de la sagesse ancienne acquise au fil des générations des femmes dans la famille.

Traduit par/ Translated by Ty Edward Ogborn

ty.edward.ogborn@gmail.com