February is Black History Month, a time for all Americans to remember the struggles, accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans. How about celebrating with a good book? Here’s a sampling of intriguing recent titles:
The Word, edited by Marita Golden: Golden conducts fascinating Q&As with 13 contemporary black writers about the “transformative power” of reading and writing.
Colin Powell: A Political Biography by Christopher D. O’Sullivan: His loyalty to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush proved costly for the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state, the author suggests.
Where the Dark & Light Folks Meet by Randall Sandke: The author challenges the belief that the roots of jazz were planted in racial segregation and cultural insulation.
The Black History of the White House by Clarence Lusane: In eloquent language, Lusane shows how the African-American experience helped shape a series of presidential administrations and governmental policies.
Black Faces of War: A Legacy of Honor From the American Revolution to Today by Robert V. Morris: Profiles of African-American war heroes and other military figures.
When We Were Colored: A Mother’s Story by Eva Rutland: Rutland, 94, wrote 20 romance novels during her career. “Colored,” first published in 1964, is a memoir described as “the story of a black mother reared in the segregated South who comes west after World War II to raise her children in Sacramento during the turbulent civil rights era.”
Getting to Happy by Terry McMillan: The characters who engaged readers in “Waiting to Exhale” — Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, Robin — are back. They’re older, yes, but are they wiser?
Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden: Easter Bartlett flees the racist South in search of love, acceptance and a new life in the Harlem Renaissance. It proves to be a long journey, though she does meet poet Langston Hughes and pianist Fats Waller.
Same Song, Same Cry by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza: The authors are playwrights and sisters who weave a 200-year epic of seven generations of “the Mayfield family’s women.”
The Olympian by Craig T. Williams: Presenting the life of John Baxter Taylor Jr., the first African-American to win a gold medal in the Olympics (1908 in London).
