‘Black lives matter’ in literature: struggle and story

‘So when I think of autumn, I think of somebody with hands who does not want me to die.’ – Toni Morrison

By Illona Meyer

BLACK LIVES MATTER – A clarion call heard throughout the United States and the world. The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, following the circulation of footage and details surrounding the racially-motivated murders of a number of other black people in the weeks prior, has highlighted, again, the threat to black lives, livelihood, and well-being that continues to exist worldwide.

The images, videos and stories that emerged—harrowing, brutal but necessary—brought to the forefront a struggle that black people have been waging for centuries; a struggle for dignity and life. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrators took to the streets across the US and the world, protesting a pandemic of racism that is every bit as real as the Coronavirus. The message from protesters and black people the world over is clear: stop killing us, stop persecuting us, stop discriminating against us, stop suppressing our voices.

Aside from highlighting the urgent need to address police brutality and other forms of racially-targeted violence, the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has seen calls to support black creators and raise the voices of black people—through patronage of their poetry, prose, art, music: their stories. The telling, appreciation and wider dissemination of black stories is incredibly important. Because, after all, the goal of this necessary movement is for black lives, not only black deaths,to matter.

‘We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.’ – Toni Morrison

Literature is a powerful medium of activism and story-telling. Through poetry and prose, black experiences, realities, anxieties, suffering, hopes, and triumphs may be expressed. Black people—in Africa and the diaspora—make up a significant portion of the world population, and it is high time the literary canon reflect this. Certainly, there are the ‘greats’, works of literature so profound that they broke through the inherently racist system to become classics, but the volume of black literature published is still lacking; representation is sparse and, at times, tokenistic.

However, this is not an unchallengeable imbalance. In the capitalist machinery of literature publication, a triumph for one can be a triumph for all; the ascension of another work by a black author to the top of the best sellers lists may encourage greater investment in up-and-coming black authors. So, then, it is up to us, as readers, to devour literature by black authors and ask for more—not only because these authors are black but because they are brilliant.

Here, we briefly touch on some essential and lesser-known literature; novels and poetry that should be read and re-read by any and every citizen of the world.

When Toni Morrison passed away last year, the world mourned. Honest, artful, incomparable—her entire body of work, including her lectures, demands to be studied and felt. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970), is a powerful portrayal of systematic and internalized racism and black girlhood.

Another must-read (and re-read) masterpiece is Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958), simultaneously describable as ‘richly African’ (a term which one must apply very carefully, lest one resort to essentialism) and, yet, presenting a human condition that could be understood by all people, anywhere in the world.

An award-winning modern classic that should be on every reader’s bookshelf is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s powerful, tender story of race and identity, Americanah (2013).

A personal favorite is Vangile Gantsho’s Red Cotton (2018), an exploration of what it means to be black, queer, and woman.

Someone to watch is talented young South African poet, Musa Masombuka. The 22-year-old writer recently published a poetry collection entitled Elegies & Eulogies, on which he worked with South African Poet Laureate Dr Mongane Wally Serote and for which he is currently raising funds to cover printing costs.

Finally, further literature we recommend:

Maya Angelou – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

Tochi Onyebuchi – Riot Baby (2020)

Danai Mupotsa ­– feeling and ugly (2018)

Gcina Mhlophe – Poems

Mongane Wally Serote – Poems

Jesmyn Ward – Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017)

Kiley Reid – Such a Fun Age (2019)

Tayari Jones – Silver Sparrow (2017)

Busisiwe Mahlangu – Surviving Loss (2018)

Colson Whitehead – The Nickel Boys (2019)

Which books or poems by black authors do you love?

Africa Global News Publication