Booklist

Black History Month 2023

Selected by the Bookshop


October marks Black History Month; in the words of its founder Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, it's ‘an annual celebration of the contributions of Africa, Africans, and people of African descent to world civilisation.’ Take a look at our selected booklist, and join the celebration.

From the publisher:
This seminal collection of Black British poets ignited a movement when it was first published in 1998. It celebrated the rising stars of the time, many of whom have since become established names.Inspired and influenced by roots, reggae and…

From the publisher:
A landmark anthology on British art history, bringing together overlooked and marginalized perspectives from 'the critical decade'What is Black art? This vital anthology gives voice to a generation of artists of African, Asian and Caribbean…

From the publisher:
This is dub poetry: bold and musical, funny and furious.This collection brings together the work of nine inventive and brilliant poets who defined and drove the dub poetry genre. From the Caribbean, Canada and the UK, the poetry in this…

From the publisher:
The UK is grappling with big questions about belonging, equality, and the legacies of Empire and Colonialism. We've been here before. Embracing a broader history that encompasses all British people, The Shoulders We Stand On is fundamental…

From the publisher:
A revelatory historical indictment of the long afterlife of slavery in the Atlantic worldTo fully understand why the shadow of slavery haunts us today, we must confront the flawed way that it ended. We celebrate abolition - in Haiti after…

From the publisher:
A major new history of Britain that will transform our understanding of this country's past'I've waited so long so read a comprehensively researched book about Black history on this island. This is it: a journey of discovery and a truly…

From the publisher:
This important and timely book delves into the life stories of important figures – including Tudor trumpeter John Blanke, storytelling freedom fighter Mary Prince, and Notting Hill Carnival founder Claudia Jones – many of whom…

From the publisher:
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize, Cundill History Prize, Fage and Oliver Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award Winner of the Historical Writers' Association Non-Fiction Crown 2020Winner of the…

From the publisher:
‘The classic book on Black people in Georgian London’ DAVID OLUSOGA‘Deeply researched, lucidly written and utterly fascinating . . . If you ever thought Black British history started with Windrush, read this book’…

From the publisher:
'A remarkable oral history of black postwar British life... Homecoming is an extraordinary and compelling book' Daily TelegraphHomecoming draws on over a hundred first-hand interviews, archival recordings and memoirs by the women and men…

From the publisher:
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018…

From the publisher:
Staying Power is a panoramic history of black Britons. Stretching back to the Roman conquest, encompassing the court of Henry VIII, and following a host of characters from Mary Seacole to the abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, Peter Fryer paints…

From the publisher:
A panoramic narrative that places ancient Africa on the stage of world history.This book brings together archaeological and linguistic evidence to provide a sweeping global history of ancient Africa, tracing how the continent played an…

From the publisher:
Revealing the central yet intentionally obliterated role of Africa in the creation of modernity, Born in Blackness vitally reframes our understanding of world history. Traditional accounts of the making of the modern world…

From the publisher:
'[A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain . . . Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion.' - Kwasi Kwarteng, Sunday TimesIn this vital re-examination of a shared history, historian and…

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