Folk are continuously saying Black people don’t read, but countless Black authors, Black bookstore owners, and Black people in general, beg to differ.
Here’s what NAACP Award-winning author of over 50 books, ReShonda Tate had to say/preach on the subject:
Seriously, I don’t buy into that narrative. The latest data says that only 25% of Black adults say they did not read a book in the last year. That means 75% did read. And when you add in reading articles, e-books, social media threads, and community reading programs, the idea that we don’t read is demonstrably false. They feed us that negativity that Blacks don’t read, and we regurgitate it like gospel. Yet, when you walk into any book festival, scroll through BookTok, or visit a Black-owned bookstore, you’ll see the truth: Black people read. We’ve always read. We just don’t always read what they publish or promote. We read what speaks to us… our stories, our struggles, our brilliance, our joy. From street lit to Toni Morrison, from Bible study to book clubs, we read it all. We need to stop buying into the disparaging outlook on Black life. Would we like people in general to read more? Of course. But our lack of reading is on par with other groups, so don’t believe the hype.
That said, the Defender took it a step further to dispel the myth and to provide the wide swath of Black readers with some recommendations on potential next reads from their fellow readers. Check out the video below to see and hear what some of Houston’s Black readers had to say about books they’re reading currently, have read in the past, and/or books that left indelible impressions upon them.
