At NewsOne, we believe that the child who reads is the child who leads. In keeping with that idea, we decided this summer to take a look at the state of reading for Black youth.
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Research has found that the proportion of young people who are daily readers drops has dropped dramatically in recent years. According to some studies, since 1984, the percentage of 13-year-olds who are weekly readers dropped from 70% to 53%. Even worse, the percentage of 17-year-olds who are weekly readers fell from 64% to a startling 40%. And the percentage of 17-year-olds who never or hardly read tripled during the same period, from 9% to 27%. It’s jarring news.
We tapped our brother and sister sites: Hello Beautiful and The Urban Daily to get the staff’s summer reading recommendations. Here are a few titles they said had an impact on them and that every black youth should read.
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
1. “Assata: An Autobiography” by Assata Shakur
“Assata: An Autobiography” by Assata Shakur
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
2. “Moonwalk” by Michael Jackson
“Moonwalk” by Michael Jackson
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
3. “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison
“Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
4. “Visions for Black Men” by Na’im Akbar
“Visions for Black Men” by Na’im Akbar
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
5. “The Coldest Winter Ever” by Sister Souljah
“The Coldest Winter Ever” by Sister Souljah
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
6. “Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama
“Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
7. “Sag Harbor” by Colson Whitehead
“Sag Harbor” by Colson Whitehead
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
8. “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers
“Monster” by Walter Dean Myers
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
9. “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
10. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
11. “When Chickenheads Come Home To Roost” by Joan Morgan
“When Chickenheads Come Home To Roost” by Joan Morgan
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
12. “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” as told to Alex Haley
“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” as told to Alex Haley
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
13. “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison
“Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
14. “Interiors: A Black Woman’s Healing…in Progress” by Iyanla Vanzant
“Interiors: A Black Woman’s Healing…in Progress” by Iyanla Vanzant
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
15. “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
16. “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
17. “Blues People” by Amiri Baraka
“Blues People” by Amiri Baraka
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
18. “Our Kind of People” by Lawrence Otis Graham
“Our Kind of People” by Lawrence Otis Graham
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
19. “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino
“Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
20. “What is the What” by Dave Eggers
“What is the What” by Dave Eggers
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
21. “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center” by bell hooks
“Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center” by bell hooks
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
22. “Soledad Brother” by George Jackson
“Soledad Brother” by George Jackson
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
23. “Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America” by Nathan McCall
“Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America” by Nathan McCall
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
24. “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
25. “Good To Great” by Jim Collins
“Good To Great” by Jim Collins
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
26. “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin
“Purple Cow” by Seth Godin
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
27. “Down These Mean Streets” by Piri Thomas
“Down These Mean Streets” by Piri Thomas
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
28. “Flyy Girl” by Omar Tyree
“Flyy Girl” by Omar Tyree
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
29. “Summer Of My German Soldier” by Bette Greene
“Summer Of My German Soldier” by Bette Greene
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
30. “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry
“A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
31. “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn
“A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
32. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
33. “Miles: The Autobiography” by Miles Davis
“Miles: The Autobiography” by Miles Davis
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
34. “Invisible Life” by E. Lynn Harris
“Invisible Life” by E. Lynn Harris
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
35. “Kaffir Boy” by Mark Mathabane
“Kaffir Boy” by Mark Mathabane
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
36. “Kindred” by Octavia Butler
“Kindred” by Octavia Butler
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
37. “Letter to My Daughter” by Maya Angelou
“Letter to My Daughter” by Maya Angelou
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
38. “Manchild in the Promised Land” by Claude Brown
“Manchild in the Promised Land” by Claude Brown
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
39. “Mis-Education of the Negro” by Carter G. Woodsen
“Mis-Education of the Negro” by Carter G. Woodsen
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
40. “If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin
“If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
41. “Nile Valley Contributions To Civilization” by Tony Browder
“Nile Valley Contributions To Civilization” by Tony Browder
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
42. “I Am Not Sidney Poitier” by Percival Everett
“I Am Not Sidney Poitier” by Percival Everett
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
43. “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell
“Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
44. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
45. “Roots” by Alex Haley
“Roots” by Alex Haley
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
46. “Sula” by Toni Morrison
“Sula” by Toni Morrison
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
47. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
48. “Who Am I Without Him?” by Sharon Flake
“Who Am I Without Him?” by Sharon Flake
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
49. “Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup
“Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
50. “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine” by Bebe Moore Campbell
“Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine” by Bebe Moore Campbell
50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read was originally published on ionenewsone.staging.go.ione.nyc
