This Black History Month Don’t Just Be About It….Read About It!

Black History Month is officially in full swing! The Planned Parenthood Generation couldn’t be more excited to share in the celebration to honor the rich history and contributions that Black people have made in America and abroad.

Planned Parenthood Generation Action believes in developing young leaders across movements, identities, and issues in order to harness our collective power to impact change in our communities. This includes learning to become better allies and centering the countless Black women who have led the fight for reproductive freedom and women’s rights.  

Becoming active allies and co-conspirators for racial justice takes more than good intentions— we must work to educate and hold our ourselves accountable if we truly want to achieve justice and dismantle systems of oppression in our lives and work as activists. That is why we are celebrating Black History Month by sharing some of our favorite readings by Black authors who challenge our thinking through their artful words and deep knowledge of the intersections of race, gender, and class.

This Black History Month, we urge you to explore a few readings that can help shape and impact our collective work towards achieving reproductive freedom for all people:

• Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts

• Salt by Nayyirah Waheed

• Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis

• Home by Toni Morrison

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• Zami, A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde

• Let Them Live: Josephine Baker, Maya Angelou, and Rihanna As Erotic And Holistic by Sesali Bowen

• Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice

• Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color by Kimberle Crenshaw

• Reproductive Justice Knows ‘The New Jane Crow’ Ain’t So ‘New’ by Jazmine Walker

• What is Reproductive Justice?: How Women of Color Activists Are Redefining the Pro-Choice Paradigm by Kimala Price

• Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America by Melissa Harris-Perry

• All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

• African-American Women and Abortion: 1800-1970 by Loretta J. Ross

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

• The Color of Choice: White Supremacy and Reproductive by Loretta J. Ross

In the comments below, let us know which books, articles, or movies are making you a strong advocate for reproductive health, rights and justice.

Amber J. Phillips is the Youth Organizing Specialist at Planned Parenthood Generation Action. Through her work as an organizer and digital strategist, Amber aims to center the needs and leadership of people color, women, young people, and low-income communities.

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Tags: Black History Month