I read books last year and I tried to be as diverse as possible in what I read. Many of these books were not released in some were but just reflect what I did read in the past year. So far, I have read three books this year and hope to read by the end of the year. The artist for this photograph is Susan Giles. This has been classified as an autobiographical nonfiction memoir but it is so much more than this. It is endlessly philosophical about depression and suicide and an examination of life fully lived as well.
Still, she has given us a gift of insight not just into herself but into the nature of humanity and that cannot be taken for granted. In the few months that have followed, I have thought back on this book and what a strong presence it made on my psyche. So many tackle issues of racism within American as well as in Africa you have to remember, what is mass marketed overseas to Africans are shows like COPS that reinforce racism against African Americans.
There seems to be so many strong Nigerian authors emerging at the moment and Adichie is the best of the best. Though some might not consider this text to be a full nonfiction work, I still consider it the most important one I read. Adichie explores in such insightful ways how sexism hurts not only women but men also in our current world.
Ta-Nehisi Coates has so much to offer American in terms of understanding racism in all facets and the insights of someone who is an extremely intelligent man trying to raise a family in America. Nicole C. Mason does one thing better, though, which is to say she offers more solutions.
As an African American woman, she has had to deal with her own challenges in terms of extreme poverty and racism and has overcome this to become a professor at Georgetown University and Executive Director of the Center for Research and Policy in the Public Interest at the New York Women's Foundation. Her insights into our current institutionalized racism and classism are something everyone should be educated on.
