With all that is going on in the world, I hope some of the 30 titles on this list can provide you some respite from all the important work you are doing right now, or some new information to help in that work, in whatever capacity that may be.
Author: Karla Strand
Karla J. Strand is the gender and women’s studies librarian for the University of Wisconsin. She completed her doctorate in information science via University of Pretoria in South Africa with a background in history and library science, and her research centers on the role of libraries and knowledge in empowering women and girls worldwide. Tweet her @karlajstrand.
September 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us
Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically underrepresented groups.
September is normally a big month as it is, and this list proves it. It was a challenge to get it down to 40 titles, but I did it!
Civil Rights Hero JoAnne Bland: “This Time, We’re Going to Go All the Way”
JoAnne Bland, founder of Journeys for the Soul tour company, was 11 years old when she crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965—a day that would come to be known as Bloody Sunday.
“To look at those kids out there trying to do what’s right and saying they’re not gonna take it anymore, brought back the memories of the ‘60s. And when police attacked, it really took me straight back to that bridge, straight back to that bridge. How could this happen? To still be happening 55 years later, how can it? … But [I pray that] those children don’t stop. Don’t stop ‘til they get it right. … I encourage them and I pray every day: Please don’t stop. Change will come if you keep their feet to the fire. Change will come.”
August 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us
As we reach the dog days of summer—a summer of challenge and change—you may be reading more. Some of the 31 books I’ve included may have slipped under your radar. You’re sure to find something of interest, so which will you read?
Zerlina Maxwell on Her New Book, Identity Politics and the 2020 Election
MSNBC contributor Zerlina Maxwell and Ms. writer Karla Strand talk Maxwell’s new book, identity politics and the November elections.
July 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us
Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically underrepresented groups. Now more than ever, we need to read and buy books by women of color, and let’s continue to buy books by Black women writers. This month, all 24 of the books on the list are written by BIWOC writers, so get to it.
Laurie Halse Anderson on Her New Book, Writing Graphic Novels and Wonder Woman
For her most recent book, New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson teamed up with DC Comics and an amazing group of women artists on a graphic novel telling the story of Diana of Themyscira as a teen, before becoming the iconic Wonder Woman.
June 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us
As I write this, much of the country is burning. As a queer white person who works hard to be an anti-racist accomplice, I sometimes find it challenging to know what to do to best support Black people and to collect and educate white people. But one thing I feel strongly about is this column. The whole goal of these lists is to help boost the signal of books by writers from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Ms. Q&A: Madame Gandhi on Creativity and Feminism—During COVID and Beyond
“Unfortunately, we are in a world that takes so much offense to being feminine, that we try not to be. … We are constantly aspiring to masculine standards, instead of being brave enough to see what it is that femininity brings to the table.”
By 2019, Gandhi had released two EPs as Madame Gandhi, opened for Ani Difranco, toured with Thievery Corporation, played Bonnaroo and numerous other festivals, and been named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in music for 2019.
May 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us
Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically underrepresented groups. This month, I’ve included 32 titles on the list. Which ones strike your fancy?