Reading Black Lives in Mississippi

Our nation is in turmoil. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by policemen in Minneapolis. His name was added to the seemingly unending list of Black people killed by those in power, and America responded by taking to the streets in protest. If you, too, are appalled by the continued violence against our friends and neighbors, you might be asking yourself what you can do locally to contribute. You can support protesters; Jackson specifically has a protest scheduled tomorrow, but they've been held across the state. You can donate to groups like Black Lives Matter, MS and Mississippi Bail Fund Collective. And you can read.

As a library worker and book lover, I've been reading about the #OwnVoices movement for several years. #OwnVoices books are diverse books written by those who are members of that same diverse group. If you would like to learn more about the experience of Black people in Mississippi, consider reading any or all of the selection of Mississippi #OwnVoices books below. Most are by Black Mississippi authors, but a few are by Black authors who set their books in Mississippi. (For our collection, we identify Mississippi authors as those who are either born here in the state or have lived here for at least a period of four years. I've kept the same parameters here.) These books address racism, poverty, lynching, murder, and the oppression of Black people in Mississippi. Read them, think about them, and discuss them with your friends and family.

Picture Books

• Granddaddy's Gift
  Margaree King Mitchell (Holly Springs)
  Larry Johnson, illustrations
• Uncle Jed's Barbershop
  Margaree King Mitchell (Holly Springs)
  James E. Ransome, illustrations
• Big Jabe
  Jerdine Nolen (Crystal Springs)
  Kadir Nelson, illustrations
• Freedom Bird
  Jerdine Nolen (Crystal Springs)
  James E. Ransome, illustrations 
• Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
  Carole Boston Weatherford
  Ekua Holmes, illustrations

Middle Grade

• Leaving Lymon
  Lesa Cline-Ransome
• Midnight without a Moon
  Linda Williams Jackson (Rosedale)
• A Sky Full of Stars
  Linda Williams Jackson (Rosedale)
• Calico Girl
  Jerdine Nolen (Crystal Springs)
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
  Mildred D. Taylor (Jackson)
• Let the Circle Be Unbroken
  Mildred D. Taylor (Jackson)

Young Adult

• The Hate U Give
  Angie Thomas (Jackson)
• On the Come Up
  Angie Thomas (Jackson)

Adult Fiction

• Long Division
  Kiese Laymon (Jackson)
• Jubilee
  Margaret Walker (Jackson)
• Sing, Unburied Sing
  Jesmyn Ward (DeLisle) 
• Salvage the Bones
  Jesmyn Ward (DeLisle)
• Native Son
  Richard Wright (Roxie)

Comic Books

• Bayou, volume 1
  Jeremy Love
• Bayou, volume 2
  Jeremy Love

Poetry

• Voodoo Love Magic
  Angela Jackson (Greenville)
• Belly Song and Other Poems
  Etheridge Knight (Corinth)
  
• Poems from Prison
  Etheridge Knight (Corinth)
• A Black Woman Speaks
  Beah E. Richardson (Vicksburg) 
• Domestic Work
  Natasha D. Trethewey (Gulfport)
• Native Guard
  Natasha D. Trethewey (Gulfport)
• For My People
  Margaret Walker (Jackson)

Biography/Memoir

• Barefootin': Life Lessons from the Road to Freedom
  Unita Zelma Blackwell (Lula)
  
• Ever is a Long Time: A Journey into Mississippi's Dark Past, a Memoir
  W. Ralph Eubanks (Mount Olive)
• For Us, the Living
  Myrlie B. Evers (Vicksburg)
  William Peters
  Willie Morris, introduction 
• Heavy: An American Memoir
  Kiese Laymon (Jackson)
• Reminiscences of an Active Life: The Autobiography of John Roy Lynch
  John Roy Lynch (Natchez)
  John Hope Franklin, editor
• Coming of Age in Mississippi
  Anne Moody (Centreville)
  
• Mississippi's Exiled Daughter: How My Civil Rights Baptism under Fire Shaped My Life
  Brenda Travis (McComb)
  John Obee
  Robert Parris Moses, foreword
  J. Randall O'Brien, afterword
  
• Men We Reap
  Jesmyn Ward (DeLisle)
• Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells
  Ida B. Wells (Holly Springs)
  Alfreda M. Duster, editor
• Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth
  Richard Wright (Roxie)

Nonfiction

• The Song and the Silence: A Story about Family, Race, and What Was Revealed in a Small Town in the Mississippi Delta While Searching for Booker Wright
  Yvette Johnson
• How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America
  Kiese Laymon (Jackson)
• A Mission from God: A Memoir and Challenge for America
  James Meredith (Kosciusko)
  William Doyle
• Inmate 46857
  Eddie Charles Spencer (Hollandale)
• Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America
  Mamie Till-Mobley (Webb)
  Christopher Benson
  
• The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race
  Jesmyn Ward, editor (DeLisle)
• We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement
  Akinyele Omowale Umoja
• On Lynchings
  Ida B. Wells (Holly Springs)

We hope you can learn something new or shift your perspective by reading these books. If you know of a Black Mississippi author who should be on this list, please let us know in the comments. If you  want to explore beyond Mississippi books, consider the books and resources on these lists:

• Reading List for Children
• An Essential Reading Guide for Fighting Racism
• 30 Books to Help You Talk to Your Kids About Racism
• Books for Littles
• Social Justice: Fifteen Titles to Address Inequity, Equality, and Organizing for Young Readers
• YA Anti-Racism and Social Justice Resources
• Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources
• 158 Resources to Understand Racism in America
• Op-Ed: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge
• Systemic Racism Explained
• #KidLit4BlackLives

 Thank you as always for reading. Stay safe out there.