--- title: Black History Month: 'Essence' Picks 6 Must-Read Books description: Two authors trace their family background, another recalls the importance of Alex Haley and three others probe hot-button issues of the day canonical: https://time.com/4195123/essence-books-black-history-month/ author: Patrik Henry Bass article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-28T17:00:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:32.470Z article:section: History og:title: 6 Must-Read Books for Black History Month og:description: Two authors trace their family background, another recalls the importance of Alex Haley and three others probe hot-button issues of the day og:url: https://time.com/4195123/essence-books-black-history-month/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Must-Read Books for Black History Month twitter:description: Two authors trace their family background, another recalls the importance of Alex Haley and three others probe hot-button issues of the day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # _Essence_ Picks 6 Must-Read Books for Black History Month by [Patrik Henry Bass / Essence](https://time.com/author/patrik-henry-bass/) ## Patrik Henry Bass / Essence Jan 28, 2016 5:00 PM UTC by [Patrik Henry Bass / Essence](https://time.com/author/patrik-henry-bass/) ## Patrik Henry Bass / Essence Jan 28, 2016 5:00 PM UTC ### Rock the Vote  Beacon Press Thank goodness for Mary Frances Berry. At 78, the former chairperson of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights shows no signs of slowing down. In her latest book, [_Five Dollars and a Pork Chop Sandwich: Vote Buying and the Corruption of Democracy_](http://www.amazon.com/Five-Dollars-Pork-Chop-Sandwich/dp/0807076406/?tag=timecom-20), Berry exposes election fraud, from vote buying to absentee ballots in communities that we call home. _This article originally appeared in_ [_Essence_](http://www.essence.com/)_’s February 2016 issue._ ### The Roots of _Roots_  St. Martin's Press It’s hard to believe that no one has done a full biography of the creator of _Roots_, arguably one of the best-selling works by an African-American author. Now, in [_Alex Haley: And the Books That Changed a Nation_](http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Haley-Books-Changed-Nation/dp/1137279605/?tag=timecom-20), historian Robert J. Norrell looks back at his subject’s storied career, first as one of New Journalism’s most interesting writers and then as the powerhouse mind behind two of the most popular books of the past century: _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_ (1965) and, of course, _Roots_ (1976), the mega-selling classic. **_Essence:_** [_The Write or Die Chick: 50 Good Books Every Black Woman Should Read_](http://www.essence.com/2012/11/08/write-or-die-chick-50-good-books-every-black-woman-should-read) ### The Fugitive  W.W. Norton & Co. Eight years ago, I was enraptured by Lawrence Hill’s epic novel _Someone Knows My Name_. It became an ESSENCE Book Club pick, and Aunjanue Ellis propelled _The Book of Negroes_, the television adaptation, into must-see TV. With his latest effort, [_The Illegal_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Illegal-Novel-Lawrence-Hill/dp/039307059X/?tag=timecom-20), Hill eerily captures a tale that could be ripped from the headlines. The engrossing narrative focuses on the journey of Keita Ali, a refugee who leaves fictitious Zantoroland and heads to Freedom State—a powerful nation that has cracked down on displaced persons. Suddenly, Keita is living life as an “illegal.” We feel his pain and walk in his shoes. ### An American Story  Atlantic Monthly Press I still remember reading _The Hornes: An American Family_ by Gail Lumet Buckley. Lena Calhoun, Buckley’s great-grandaunt, was one of the standouts in the Horne’s clan of strivers. Three decades later, Buckley returns with more of her family’s saga: [_The Black Calhouns_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Black-Calhouns-African-American/dp/0802124542/?tag=timecom-20) begins with Moses Calhoun, her great-great-grandfather, who became a successful Atlanta businessman. Buckley looks at the two disparate but equally compelling accounts of family members who remained in the South, and those who traveled to, and made a name for themselves in, Brooklyn, especially Lena Horne, her mother. **_Essence:_** [_Thank #BlkWomenSyllabus for the Ultimate Reading List to Empower Black Women_](http://www.essence.com/2015/08/12/thank-blkwomensyllabus-ultimate-reading-list-empower-black-women) ### Finding Your People  Lightswitch Learning Like Gail Lumet Buckley, Cheryl Wills has long been fascinated by the history of her ancestors. If you’re looking to introduce your children to genealogy (it’s never too early to start), begin with [_The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Emancipation-Grandpa-Sandy-Wills/dp/1617178861/?tag=timecom-20). The award-winning journalist traces her great-great-great-grandfather’s path from nineteenth-century slave plantations in Tennessee to freedom. Wills’s extensive research is sure to impress youngsters and adults. ### Head of State  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Michael Eric Dyson once again proves his intellectual heft, critical thinking depth and finesse with words and messages. [_The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America_](http://www.amazon.com/Five-Dollars-Pork-Chop-Sandwich/dp/0807076406/?tag=timecom-20) won’t be final word on our nation’s first Black president, but this is a must-read for right now. **_Essence:_**[_29 Powerful Black Women Calling the Shots in the Obama Administration_](http://photos.essence.com/galleries/29-powerful-black-women-calling-shots-obama-administration) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4195123/essence-books-black-history-month/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4195123/essence-books-black-history-month/"},"headline":"Essence Picks 6 Must-Read Books for Black History Month","datePublished":"2016-01-28T17:00:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:32.470Z","description":"Two authors trace their family background, another recalls the importance of Alex Haley and three others probe hot-button issues of the day","url":"https://time.com/4195123/essence-books-black-history-month/","keywords":["Books","Barack Obama","Race","Black History Month","reading"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Patrik Henry Bass / Essence"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4195123/essence-books-black-history-month/","name":"Essence Picks 6 Must-Read Books for Black History Month"}}]}] ```