Get ready to fall into this amazing collection of books by Black authors coming out this September. Cedric the Entertainer slips into a new role, that of crime fiction novelist, with his latest book Flipping Boxcars, while Omar Epps completes his Afrofuturist fantasy duology with Nubia: The Reckoning.
If you're looking for a deeper exploration of race and its impact on society, dive into Up Home, a memoir; or non-fiction journals Before Gentrification: The Creation of DC's Racial Wealth Gap and PUNISHED FOR DREAMING: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal. This September also offers the first children's book from acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and a stunning picture book of basketball fashion through the decades.
Expand your literary horizon by reading these great books by Black authors this September.
Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion
Mitchell S. Jackson (Artisan, September 5, 2023)
This gorgeous coffee book by the "Esquire" columnist brings together fashion and the NBA, offering a comprehensive history of the intersection of basketball and style dating back to the Civil Rights era as worn by some of its most legendary players.
Price: $40
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Up Home: One Girl's Journey
Ruth J. Simmons (Random House, September 5, 2023)
Ruth J. Simmons, the child of sharecroppers, grew up to become the president of Brown University, the first Black president of an Ivy League institution. Here she shares her incredible life story and the Black family, friends and educators who nurtured her to her ultimate success.
Price: $25
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The Art of Desire
Stacey Abrams as Selena Montgomery (Berkley Press, September 5, 2023)
The political activist and thriller romance novelist has ressurected one of her sultry hits from the 1990s. Follow as writer Alex Winter balances her attraction to a former military spy and explosive new love adventure in this much-anticipated reprint.
Price: $28
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Mama's Sleeping Scarf
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Nwa Grace-James (Knopf, September 5, 2023)
In this debut children's book from best-selling author of "We Should All Be Feminists" and "Americanah," it's a heartfelt story about a little girl, a beloved's mother's scarf and a host of adventures shared with it and her whole family.
Price: $19
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Before Gentrification: The Creation of DC's Racial Wealth Gap
Tanya Maria Golash-Boza, (University of California Press, September 5, 2023)
The author revisits a century of century of redlining, disinvestment and the War on Drugs that wreaked devastation on Black people and paved the way for gentrification in Washington, D.C., at the expense of its community of color.
Price: $28
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Flipping Boxcars
Cedric "the Entertainer" Kyles (Amistad, September 12, 2023)
One the original Kings of Comedy turns gangster with his debut novel. Centering around Babe, a man who risks all he has on a plan involving a nefarious alcohol shipment and boxcars, the book is in homage to Cedric's grandfather, and all those who were trying to get by during the Depression and World War II.
Price: $30
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PUNISHED FOR DREAMING: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal
Bettina L. Love (St. Martin's Press, September 12, 2023)
The Columbia professor reveals how suppsed "school reform" policies established in the Regan era has negatively impacted children and students of color. Sharing her own story and those of her peers, "PUNISHED FOR DREAMING" also makes the case for reparations.
Price: $26
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Slavery and the African American Story: Race to the Truth
Patricia Williams Dockery (Crown Books for Young Readers, September 12, 2023)
Patricia Williams Dockery retraces African American history like it's never been done before. Revisiting its first 300 years, she redefines and outlines how African American were essential in the creation of a nation and how our fight for freedom landed the moment we arrived in 1619.
Price: $9
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American Identity in Crisis: Notes from an Accidental Activist
Kat Calvin (Amistad, September 19, 2023)
Founder and executive director of Spread The Vote + Project ID Kat Calvin shares her personal journey of becoming an activist who fights for job, housing and voiting equity, and shares how we can solve a problem that impacts millions of American adults.
The World Wasn't Ready for You: Stories
Justin C. Key (Harper, September 19, 2023)
In his debut outing, author Justin C. Key blends together science fiction, horror and fantasy to examine issues of race, class and prejudice for an electrifying collection of stories that would make Octavia E. Butler smile.
Price: $28
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Nubia, The Reckoning
Omar Epps and Clarence A. Haynes (Delacorte Press, September 26, 2023)
It's the second and final installment of Omar Epps' Afrofuturist fantasy duology. The story chronicles three teenage children of refugees from a fallen African utopia, who now find themselves navigating newfound powers in a climate-ravaged New York City.
Price: $19
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