Anything that is so empowering that it inspires black women to be the best they can be in any and every avenue of life is something we should wholeheartedly embrace and promote within our community. It can be a good TV show with a relatable awkward storyline; an album that speaks to your soul on the deepest level; or a book that’s so reaffirming that you can’t manage to peel yourself from the pages.
Today, we’re talking about the books we need to love and love to need. For black women, by black women—here are 3 must-read books empowering and challenging every black woman to be their best.
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
When you hear about food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care, I can almost guarantee that feminism is not the first thing you think of. And yet, all of the aforementioned issues should be inextricably connected to feminism because they are things that disproportionately impact women—black women, doubly.
In Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall takes a deep dive into the weak spots of modern feminism, and how the basic survival of women is often overlooked.
Quote: “Sometimes being a good ally is about opening the door for someone instead of insisting that your voice is the only one that matters.”
The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom: Build Wealth, Retire Early, and Live the Life of Your Dreams by Paris Woods
Wouldn’t life be so much easier if you could get a firm grasp on your finances? I mean, the kind of grasp where you actually build healthy financial habits that help you avoid common financial pitfalls and build real generational wealth? If so, Paris Woods promises to empower you to “build wealth, retire early, and live the life of your dreams” with The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom.
Written by a woman with many years of education experience under her belt, this book uses real life stories and practical, actionable advice to help you mold the right mindset about money. A mindset so different from the one you have now, it just might change your life.
Quote: “It’s about waking up each day and asking yourself what you want to do instead of what you have to.”
Self-Care for Black Women: 150 Ways to Radically Accept & Prioritize Your Mind, Body, & Soul by Oludara Adeeyo
Prioritizing mental and emotional health is a difficult task for black women when we are expected to be everything to everybody in multiple areas of life, all while losing who we’d like to be for ourselves. Microaggression this and traumatic event that, there are genuinely times when we fail to care for ourselves in key ways. Author Oludara Adeeyo wants this behavior to come to a screeching halt, and gives us all of the tools to do so.
Self-Care for Black Women: 150 Ways to Radically Accept & Prioritize Your Mind, Body, & Soul is a workbook with 150 exercises, prompts, and ideas to help you build better self-care habits and create a genuine safe space in your life—obstacles and hesitation be damned.
Quote: “My motto is put yourself first. But I say, your wellness is your greatest resistance in society. It’s the greatest thing you can do to push back against grind culture, capitalism culture.”
