{"id":7761,"date":"2021-11-10T14:46:55","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T14:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/?p=7761"},"modified":"2025-02-06T11:29:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T16:29:09","slug":"black-led-book-clubs-for-lovers-of-literature-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/black-led-book-clubs-for-lovers-of-literature-everywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Black-Led Book Clubs For Lovers Of Literature Everywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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GETTY IMAGES\/AMBER HAWKINS<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something incredibly comforting about sharing and discussing books with like-minded readers. Growing up, I didn\u2019t have access to book clubs that were led by people who looked like me, and I seldom found book lovers in general during my teenage years. My typical experience was reading in my room, comfortable and content, but eager to discuss a phenomenal book I\u2019d just devoured with someone, <\/strong>anyone<\/em><\/strong>. Today, book clubs are thriving with the help of online communities, and people of color have formed their own clubs in order to create necessary representation in a space where it was lacking. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following list features seven flourishing book clubs that were formed by Black men and women. Books chosen are typically fiction and non-fiction by authors of color that deserve their accolades.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Noname Book Club<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"Noname
Image via nonamebooks.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Created by artist and rapper Noname, <\/strong>Noname Book Club<\/strong><\/a> is a community that meets both in person and online. Dedicated to uplifting POC voices, the club features two books per month written by authors of color. November\u2019s books are Black Slaves, Indian Masters<\/em> by Barbara Krauthamer and As Long As Grass Grows <\/em>by Dina Gilio-Whitaker. The club also sends their monthly book picks to incarcerated comrades through their Prison Program. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Literaryswag Book Club<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Image via literaryswagbookclub.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Founded by Yahdon Israel in 2015, the Literaryswag Book Club<\/a> is a Brooklyn-based book club as well as a book subscription service that meets on the last Wednesday of every month. \u201cWhereas most book clubs are started among friends and people usually considered to be \u201clike-minded,\u201d Yahdon wanted to create a community where people with various experiences, ideas, and cultural backgrounds, could talk to and come to understand one another through a mutual love of books and a respect for the people who read them,\u201d reads the club\u2019s description. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active primarily on Instagram with nearly 6,000 followers, their recent reads include Audre Lorde\u2019s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name<\/em>, Braiding Sweetgrass<\/em> by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies<\/em> by Deesha Philyaw. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Black Men Book Club<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Image via @blackmensbookclub on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, a book club created with Black men in mind! Founded in Detroit, Michigan by Jordan Coin Johnson, the club\u2019s description and mission statement reads: \u201cBlack Men Book Club supplies the black community with content that inspires, educates, and uplifts you. In this age of abundant possibilities, knowledge is the difference between success and perpetual adversity. We aim to build a supportive community that empowers everyone to break the mold. By providing informational content in various mediums, we motivate members to master crucial life, personal, and professional skills. Giving you the power to turn fear into courage, dreams into reality, and poverty into generational wealth. We believe that your potential is boundless. You just need to know how to unleash it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The club is currently expanding by creating an app that aims to be the largest Black audiobook club. Head on over to their website<\/a> to learn more about how you can join their waitlist. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Well-Read Black Girl<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Glory Edim\u2019s community and book club Well-Read Black Girl<\/a> (WRBC) is committed to introducing a wide range of diverse writers to future generations. This includes contemporary authors who are non-binary, queer, trans, and disabled. Their mission is to \u201caddress inequalities and improve communities through reading and reflecting on the works of Black women.\u201d Past reads include Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick <\/em>by Zora Neale Hurston, The Vanishing Half <\/em>by Brit Bennett, and You Should See Me In A Crown<\/em> by Leah Johnson.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Black Girls Read<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Image via @blackgirlsreadchi on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Black Girls Read<\/a>, a Chicago-based book club created by Cynthia Okechukwu, features books written by Black women throughout the African diaspora. The club meets both in-person and virtually once a month. Their current read is Citizen<\/em> by Claudia Rankine. In the past, they\u2019ve read and discussed Children of Blood and Bone<\/em> by Tomi Adeyemi, The Kindest Lie<\/em> by Nancy Johnson, and Kindred<\/em> by Octavia Butler.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Smart Brown Girl<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Image via @smartbrowngirls on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Content creator Joulezy created Smart Brown Girl<\/a>, an online community which focuses on \u201cthe Black girls in forgotten spaces.\u201d The reading experience is highly interactive, as each selected book is accompanied by a detailed syllabus that includes stimulating questions for group discussion. Their current read for November is Seven Days in June <\/em>by Tia Williams. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Mocha Girls Read<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"Mocha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mocha Girls Read<\/a> was created with the goal of meeting more like-minded Black women. The founder, Alysia, described how the idea for the book club was born. \u201cAfter looking all over the internet for a book club, I found two and joined them both.  They were really great and I have made a few new friends from them,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I noticed one thing about both of them\u2026I was the only black, woman of color, African-American, mocha girl in the clubs.  I thought about this for a while and finally said to myself, \u201cSelf, there has got to be some sistas in LA who like to read.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located in 14 series across the United States, the club doesn\u2019t limit itself to choosing books based on gender, race, or genre, or release dates. Through Instagram, they post prompts and questions to encourage discussion about the books. Their current read is You<\/em> by Caroline Kepnes. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lastly, if you\u2019ve ever desired to form your own book club, the Bookclubz app allows you to create and\/or join a plethora of distinguished clubs that meet via Zoom or in person. What are some of your favorite book clubs? Let us know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s something incredibly comforting about sharing and discussing books with like-minded readers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[1246,48,32,31,234,51],"class_list":["post-7761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-books","tag-black-book-club","tag-book-club","tag-books","tag-featured","tag-jaro-books","tag-trending"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}