Biographies at TSPL on Black Lives and Experiences by Sharren Reil

February is Black History month in Canada, so I searched our biography section to see what I could find.  As I have mentioned before, I am reading more nonfiction now than ever before but the biography section is really not my “go to” area.  I am trying to change that because just looking for books for this blog made me realize there are at least fifteen biographies I HAVE to read!

The following books are a few of the selections we hold that speak to black experiences.  I hope all of us use this month to reflect on the causes, and the shattered lives, that are a direct result of our institutionalized racism and how we can make sure these obsolete ideas do not slip in to our thinking, and our actions.

Whoopi Goldberg gives her take on life's annoyances. (BIO GOL)

From the South Side of Chicago to the Whitehouse, this documents the journey this remarkable woman is on. (BIO OBA)

This very well written autobiography captures a world which most of us are shamefully ignorant. (BIO ANG)

This is the story an elderly woman who was a survivor of the Chotilda, the last slaver know to have made the transatlantic journey into slavery. (BIO HUR)

An amazing autobiography by Nelson Mendela. (BIO MAN)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a disturbing true story of cancer cells stolen from a dying woman.  The cell line is still used extensively in research, and many people got rich from her cell line, but her family not only did not know, but never received more than a pittance. (BIO LAC)

This biography of one of the greatest singers who ever lived is wonderful. (BIO RED)

This is a powerful story of one child’s escape from the nightmare of murder and death into the nightmare of the American immigration system. (BIO M)

A inspiring story of courage and triumph. (BIO BUL)

A child’s true account of being forced to be a soldier while still so young.  An uncomfortable, but important book to read. (BIO BEA)

This book is about slaves who risked everything for freedom on the Underground Railway. (BIO REY)

Austin Clark is a distinguished and celebrated novelist and short-story writer who shares his experiences growing up in Barbados and then moving to Toronto to attend university in 1955.  Clark went on to become a pioneering instructor of Afro-American Literature at Yale University and inspired a new generation of writers. (BIO CLA)

This is the amazing biography of a woman who lived through the traumatic events that shaped modern Ethiopian history. (BIO EDE)

This is a book that shows the griefs and violence of colonialism and how the tendrils of this policy reach into all facets of being. (BIO DOW)

Frady draws on his twenty-five years of award-winning commentary on American race relations to give this great portrait of this inspiring leader. (BIO KIN)

Many people my age know of Rubin Carter from the Bob Dylan song called Hurricane.  Wrongfully convicted, Rubin Carter writes with passion about his experiences and ultimate freedom. (BIO CAR)