Leah Johnson’s debut novel, You Should See Me In A Crown, was the first YA book selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. It was a TIME Magazine 100 best YA Books of All Time and in 2022, it was considered obscene by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. I’ve read Leah’s book. I can’t remember if… Read More 10 Feb: Black and Banned

Tanita S. Davis is the award-winning author of six novels for middle grade and young adult readers, including Serena Says, Peas and Carrots, and Happy Families, She is best known for her NAACP Image Award-nominated and Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel Mare’s War, about two teens going on a road trip with their WWII veteran… Read More 9 Feb: Black and Banned

Challenge it if you must, but The Hate You Give has become a modern classic. It updates the narrative of Black girls; embeds hip hop language into YA literature, contextualizes a moment in US history, and has remained on reading lists, course syllabi from the time it was published seven years ago this month. Her… Read More 8 Feb: Black and Banned

Dr. Tony Medina is Professor of Creative Writing at Howard University. He earned his B.A. in English from Baruch College, City University of New York and his M.A. and Ph. D. in African American and American Literature as well as Creative Writing from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Dr. Medina has taught English… Read More 7 Feb: Black and Banned