Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Summary: Between the World and Me is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author’s teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States. Coates’s letter to his son seems to be written on the opposite side of the same coin. Rather than urging his son to awaken to his own power, Coates emphasizes over and over the apparent permanence of racial injustice in America, the foolishness of believing that one person can make a change, and the dangers of believing in the American Dream. “Historians conjured the Dream,” Coates writes. “Hollywood fortified the Dream. The Dream was gilded by novels and adventure stories; Dreamers are the ones who continue to believe the lie, at black people’s expense.” In what will almost certainly be the most widely quoted passage, Coates tells his son: “Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body — it is heritage.”
Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn
Summary: Kent Nerburn (The Wisdom of the Native Americans) has been deeply involved in Native American issues and education. In this extraordinary work (which won the 1996 Minnesota Book Award), Nerburn has fashioned a powerful drama around his encounters with Dan, a Lakota elder who unflinchingly speaks the truth about Indian life, past and present. Dan refuses to whitewash the historical clash between whites and his people. Nerburn comes with certain expectations and idealism that is shattered by Dan’s refusal to be written off as just another Native American wise man. The author becomes the brunt of many jokes as he travels down dusty roads, sees reservation life, and is exposed to his own ignorance. This teaching strategy of Dan reminds us of the tricksters in Zen and Sufism who are always trying to take us beyond conventional thinking and dogmatism. Nerburn gets the point and learns some hard truths about himself and his assumptions about Indians.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Summary: Spectacular, even alongside other early novels bathed in the blood of gothic dread—William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” (1930), say, or Flannery O’Connor’s “Wise Blood” or Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” (both published in 1952)—Morrison’s book cut a new path through the American literary landscape by placing young black girls at the center of the story. This novel, written by one of this country’s premier writers, represents the narrative voice of not only an impoverished female, but that of all women who have experienced the hardship of a society centered on patriarchal values. The reader will discover some of the most powerful and beautiful prose in American literature, as well as, disturbing portrayals of sexual abuse along with attitudes about the characters’ perspective of intimacy. There is unavoidable sexual content in this Morrison masterpiece requiring your consideration whether you prefer your child to read this novel.