On June 19 we celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the US. This day serves as a powerful reminder to honor the history and celebrate the accomplishments of Black Americans, while also acknowledging the ongoing fight for justice and equity. The books written by Black authors listed below share profound insights into spirituality, family, society, personal growth, and love. Not only do they honor the spirit of Juneteenth but they also celebrate Black joy and the Black experience, in all its diversity and intersections.
Unleash your ingenuity for systems that offer plenty good room—not for just a few but for all. Plenty Good Room helps us understand Black Christian socialism, a stream of the Black radical tradition, from the perspective of a Brooklyn pastor and political scientist's civic awakening. As the former director of the Drum Major Institute, founded by America's most famous democratic socialist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Andrew Wilkes mounts a challenge to the endless greed, inequality, and profiteering of racial capitalism.
Shelia Burlock, Sylvia Burlock, Melissa Burlock
Learn how to love and care for your natural hair spiritually and practically. Uplifting and authentic, My Divine Natural Hair helps Black women embrace the God-created beauty of natural hair through inspirational readings and salon chair guidance on how to heal, consistently care for, and grow their coils.
If you want to understand the Black experience in the US, you have to understand hip-hop. In Psalms of My People, artist, scholar, and activist lenny duncan treats the work of hip-hop artists from the last several decades—from N.W.A, Tupac, and Biggie to Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, and Kendrick Lamar—like sacred scripture. Their songs and lyrics are given full exegetical treatment—a critical and contextual interpretation of text—and are beautifully illustrated, with a blend of ancient and modern art styles illuminating every page.
I Love My People is a poetic tribute to African American history-makers and culture-shakers, complete with nostalgic photography and vibrant, playful illustration. In the vein of Gill Scott-Heron's poetry of the 1970s, author Kim Singleton invites us into call-and-response and brings a refreshing cadence to the page that captures every decade of Black joy in all its resilient, diverse, and excellent splendor. Singleton shines a light on virtually every facet of Black community life, and unapologetically declares her people good—from the street corner to the White House and everything in between. By the end, you'll be chanting Singleton's anthem, too: "I LOVE MY PEOPLE!"
The Enneagram for Black Liberation
For too long, conversations about the Enneagram and its personality types have been centered on and by whiteness. In The Enneagram for Black Liberation, certified Enneagram teacher and trained psychotherapist Chichi Agorom reclaims the Enneagram as a powerful tool for Black women to rediscover our wholeness and worth that existed long before systems of supremacy told us we weren't enough. Centering freedom, ease, and rest for Black women, Agorom invites each of us to claim the Enneagram as our tool for resilience-building in the continued fight for liberation.
A grandmother's theology carries wisdom strong enough for future generations. In the pages of In My Grandmother's House, now in paperback, public theologian Yolanda Pierce builds an everyday womanist theology rooted in liberating scriptures, stories from the Black church, and truths from Black women's lives. The Divine has been showing up at the kitchen tables of Black women for a long time. It's time to get to know that God.
Explore how your self-image and daily habits shape your relationships with others in The Love Habit (LOVE: Learn, Optimize, Validate, Experience). Bestselling author and relationship expert Rainie Howard says you have the power to break free of unhealthy cycles and to blossom into the best version of yourself. The Love Habit shows you how.
Keith Strickland with Lucas L. Johnson II
You can become the change agent youth need to succeed. Authored by activists and educators Keith Strickland and Lucas L. Johnson, Youth Change Agent is your comprehensive guide to the best practices for your work to prevent young people from going down the wrong path.
Philanthropy is not just for the wealthy. Anyone, through simple everyday actions, can make a positive difference in the world. In The Art of Good Deeds, leaders in the world of philanthropy share personal stories and real-life experiences of the impact of good deeds--not large donations to charity or grand gestures, but simple and practical acts of kindness.
The women have something to say. In this powerful and needed collection, editor Angela P. Dodson brings together the voices of more than thirty-five accomplished women writers on the topic of violence and injustice against Black men. Each lends her voice to shine a new light on the injustices and dangers Black men face daily, and how women feel about the vulnerability of our sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles, friends, and other males we care about as they navigate a world that often stereotypes and targets them.
Falsely convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, Lacino Hamilton sent thousands of letters during his incarceration. The letters he wrote, advocating for his innocence—literally writing for his life—made him a leading voice on issues of abolition, imprisonment, and justice. Now collected into In Spite of the Consequences, these letters offer an incisive critique of our criminal justice system. With his voice, we sense something unexpected and profound: hope for a reimagining of our systems—a humanity-affirming model of justice.
To view all of our books and resources, visit broadleafbooks.com.
Searching for Juneteenth resources for kids? Click here to explore books from our sister imprint, Beaming Books.
