Race and Gender

One of Ms. Magazine's Most Anticipated Books of 2023. Continuing the trajectory of the Combahee River Collective, this collection brings together scholars, activists, and writers to examine how carceral liberalism masquerades as freedom while perpetuating oppression, critiquing the confluence of neoliberalism, incarceration, and patriarchy.

A powerful work by NYU professor, data scientist, and one of the few Black women AI researchers, Meredith Broussard. Reveals how tech neutrality is a myth and algorithms need accountability. From facial recognition only trained on lighter skin tones, to mortgage algorithms encouraging discriminatory lending, to dangerous feedback loops in medical diagnostic algorithms. Solution isn't making omnipresent tech more inclusive, but rooting out algorithms that target demographics as 'other.'

Through the personal experiences of historian Felicia Kornbluh's mother and neighbor, this book reveals the untold story of two grassroots movements in New York that transformed American reproductive rights politics—the fight to decriminalize abortion and the struggle against sterilization abuse.

Reveals the forgotten history of enslaved women, reconstructing their pivotal role and indomitable spirit in the struggle against slavery in the Caribbean region.

A powerful critique of mainstream feminism's failure to address the basic needs of marginalized women, advocating for housing, food, education, and other survival issues to be at the core of feminist agenda.

Connecting liberation movements across different eras and regions, from abolitionism to Palestine, demonstrating the importance of intersectional analysis in contemporary social movements.

A modern feminist classic that deeply explores the phenomenon of 'mansplaining' and its impact on women. Solnit's sharp writing reveals gender power relations in everyday life, providing important perspectives for understanding contemporary women's circumstances.

A transgender rights activist's autobiographical work that explores the multiple meanings of feminine identity through personal growth experiences, challenging mainstream society's rigid perceptions of authenticity and femininity.

A hybrid of prose and poetry, Claudia Rankine's memoir-like art book provides uncompromising insights into the living conditions of 21st-century Black Americans—particularly Black women. From microaggressions to intentional acts of bias, Rankine creates a taxonomy of daily offenses against Black Americans, challenging all of us to consider our own complicity.

An important collection of speeches and essays by veteran political activist Angela Y. Davis, focusing on transformations in conversations about sexism, racism, and economic equality in the late 20th century. From stories of female circumcision in Egypt to examinations of rap lyrics, to the personal politics of race, Davis's sharp and accomplished essays establish her place among the important contemporary feminist voices.

A classic collection by the master of science fiction feminist literature Butler, featuring the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning titular novella that explores gender roles, power relationships, and identity through interspecies dynamics.

A foundational work of intersectional feminist theory. Through fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde explores the intersectional oppression of race, gender, class, and sexuality, creating a revolutionary theoretical framework for understanding multiple identities.

A collection of essays, speeches, and reviews spanning 20 years by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, focusing on the intersection of personal and political, from civil rights movement to anti-nuclear sentiment, from literary criticism to personal reflections of Black women, mothers, and feminists. Called 'womanist prose' by the author, it provides profound perspectives for understanding late 20th-century feminism.

A groundbreaking collection of writings by radical women of color that brought together diverse racial voices, critiqued the limitations of white feminism, and advanced intersectional feminist development.

Analyzes the history of the American women's movement from a historical materialist perspective, revealing the interconnections of racial, class, and gender oppression.

When discussing feminist poetry, it's impossible not to mention Adrienne Rich, one of the most widely read poets of the 20th century and a renowned intersectional feminist activist. Our recommended best introductory poetry collection: 'Diving into the Wreck,' a particularly lyrical and emotionally charged collection of poems—including 'Rape,' a narrative poem often considered one of Rich's most important works.

Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography is a milestone work that changed the literary landscape—it not only pioneered how literature discusses issues of racism, sexism, and identity, but more importantly, it redefined our understanding of the autobiographical genre itself. In this work, Angelou explores her experiences growing up in Arkansas until becoming a mother at 16. Though sometimes heavy reading (Angelou's brief narrative of childhood sexual assault runs throughout the book), 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' introduced new ways of writing women's lives to the literary world.

Nearly 200 years after Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was published, it has quite rightly earned the status of a classic feminist novel. If Jane Eyre is a classic, then Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea—the 1966 novel that gives life to the abandoned woman in Brontë's story—is a masterpiece. By re-examining the character of Bertha Rochester and imagining her life before the events of the original novel, Rhys gives agency and dignity to literature's archetypal 'madwoman in the attic'.

Though Zora Neale Hurston's most famous novel is now considered a cornerstone work of the Harlem Renaissance, Their Eyes Were Watching God received a lukewarm reception when first published in 1937, not being rediscovered until the 1970s. The story follows a Black woman named Janie Crawford's coming-of-age in Florida, from her 'voiceless' teenage years to a more self-possessed adulthood.