African American female authors have made invaluable contributions to literature, offering diverse perspectives and challenging societal norms. Their work often explores themes of race, gender, identity, and social justice, providing readers with profound insights into the Black experience. Despite facing historical challenges such as discrimination and limited access to publishing, these authors have persevered, creating a rich and diverse body of work that continues to inspire and influence readers today.
The civil rights and black power movements created unprecedented interest in the thought, behavior, and achievements of black people.
In response to this interest, the Schomburg Center, in collaboration with Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Oxford University Press, published the thirty-volume Schomburg Library of Nineteenth Century Black Women Writers in 1988.
I’m incredibly thankful to live in a time when Black artists continue to carve out their voices in the field, making waves through self-publishing and traditional methods.
Black women, especially, have been a crucial part of my upbringing and solidifying my own sense of self and of the stories I want to tell.
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
From crime to horror to historical tales, these women have established a new scope, a different way of thinking, and also mentored many upstarts, be it through their prose or through their work within the industry.
Besides, reading one perspective becomes boring over time.
We should all strive to expand our literary horizons, so we can learn from different perspectives, and inevitably transform into better individuals.
Here are some influential African American female authors, who are currently changing the publishing industry for the better.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I Book Review & Discussing Identity
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I cannot say enough wonderful things about this Nigerian-born author.
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
She is by far one of my favorite writers, whose specialty happens to be feminist prose.
However, her words transcend beyond that.
I first discovered Adichie through her powerful 2014 TED talk "We should all be feminists," which she also named her book of essays after.
It was just as poignant then as it is now.
However, as much as I love Adichie's book of essays, my favorite novel by her would have to be Americanah (2013).
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
It's actually one of my favorite novels overall.
The story follows teenagers Ifemelu and Obinze, who fall in love under a military dictatorship in Nigeria.
They are separated when Ifemelu leaves to study abroad in America post 9/11, only to be reunited with Obinze thirteen years later in Nigeria.
It is a beautifully woven love story, grappling with identity and expectations of being Black within America.
I honestly can spend all day "fangirling" over Adichie, whom I often fantasize is my best friend.
However, reading her work would probably be a more proactive, less creepy option for you.
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Bell Hooks
If you're not already familiar with Gloria Jean Watkins, better known as Bell Hooks, it's about time you educate yourself.
Professor, feminist, and social activist, Watkins does it all.
Watkins often explored the various identities of Black women, with a slant towards feminist ideals.
Throughout the mid-1970s, Watkins taught English and ethnic studies at the University of Southern California, African and Afro-American studies at Yale University during the '80s, and women's studies at Oberlin College during the 1990s and early 2000s.
She also taught English at the City College of New York throughout the early 2000s.
If you're feeling like an underachiever right about now, you're not alone.
Her most iconic pieces of literature are Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism (1981), Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984), Killing Rage: Ending Racism (1995), and All About Love (1999).
Roxane Gay
For every feminist who thinks she's "doing it wrong," I present you with Roxane Gay.
The professor, editor, and social commentator rose to fame with her New York Times best-selling collection of essays Bad Feminist, which highlights the stereotypes and realities of being a modern feminist.
Gay acknowledges that just because a woman loves pink, wears lipstick and reads Vogue, and has personality traits that don't associate with 'mainstream feminism,' doesn't make her any less of a feminist.
I absolutely love Gay's work, not only because it's extremely relatable, but because it outlines the challenges women face to be perfect, within a movement that is meant to empower women - not critique them.
Her work often intersects identity and culture, with a sprinkle of unapologetic humor.
Other works by Gay include Ayiti, An Untamed State, Difficult Women, andthe New York Times bestselling novel Hunger.
Mikki Kendall
There's a quote I was reading the other day that really resonated with me.
The quote was by an anonymous writer, but goes something like this, "If your feminism isn't intersectional, then it isn't truly feminism."
At its core, that is what author, activist, and cultural critic, Miiki Kendall's bestselling novel, Hood Feminism: Notes From The Women That A Movement Forgot is about.
When I first picked up Kendall's novel, I was at a crossroads within my feminism.
I knew there was more to the movement than what was being distributed within the media.
I had always referred to myself as a feminist, but there was still a lot about the movement I didn't understand.
I realized I couldn't be the universal role model for feminism, simply because my experiences didn't mirror ALL women.
However, I was desperate to educate myself, which was where Kendall's book came into play.
"When the people who are supposed to be your allies on one axis are your oppressors on another, Kendall fiercely writes, while pondering the question of whether all women genuinely have a common set of interests.
Too often, mainstream feminism focuses on one demographic and leaves out the countless stories of the many women from different cultures and races.
Kendall weaves together essays surrounding racism, ableism, and transmisogyny, arguing that these too, are all feminist issues.
She touches on food insecurity, the living wage and access to education, and how we all must acknowledge these facts in order to truly stand in solidarity.
Kendall is definitely one of my favorite new authors, with Hood Feminism being one of my favorite reads of 2020.
Britt Bennett
Where do I even begin?
Britt Bennett's 2016 debut novel, The Motherswas one of my favorite reads that year.
After reading the hauntingly lyrical novel, which surrounds the consequences of young love within a Black community in Southern California, I cried for about an hour.
