National Reading Circle

Classic Works & Scholarly Literature Highlighting Women of Color

The National Reading Circle engages members of Delta Sigma Theta, friends and families to participate in annual virtual events featuring books selected by the DREF Sister Scholars Advisory Council.

The National Reading Circle was revived in a virtual event to discuss Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson in 2021 and celebrated Women’s History month with a Literary Jam fundraising event highlighting Just As I Am, by Cicely Tyson in March 2022.

In 2023 the book selection was Bertha Maxwell-Roddey: A Modern-Day Race Women and the Power of Black Leadership written by DREF Sister Scholar Dr. Sonya Ramsey. The 2024 book discussion First Ladies written by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray was recorded and available to review now in the News section on this site.
In addition, the National Reading Circle presents a summer reading list. Enjoy the selections for this summer.

2024 DREF SUMMER READING LIST

ART/CULTURE/MUSIC

My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music’s Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice Randall
Praise song for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson
Supreme Sirens: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Music by Marcellas Reynolds
The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories by Desiree S. Evans (Editor), Saraciea J. Fennell (Editor), Tananarive Due (Introduction)

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid
Up Home: One Girls Journey by Ruth Simmons
Until I Am Free – Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America by Keisha Blain

CHILDREN/EDUCATIONAL

Barracoon, Zora Neal Hurston and Ibrahim X. Kendi
Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar: The Musical Story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow. Illus. by the author.
Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement By Sandra Neil Wallace. Illus. by Bryan Collier
Dexter’s Sound Becomes King by Gwynn R.C. Moses, Illustrated by Anastasia Stolypina

CLASSIC BLACK WOMEN’S WRITING

Black Women Writers at Work by Claudia Tate – editor, Allyson Johnson
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

HISTORY

Breaking Barriers: The First Ladies of Education by DeWitt S. Williams
Black Women Taught Us by Jenn Jackson
Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement by Tanisha Ford
Black AF History: The Un-whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot
Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class by Blair L.M. Kelley
The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers

HISTORICAL FICTION

The American Queen by Vanessa Miller
The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate
To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

LITERATURE/NOVELS

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Redwood Court by DéLana R. A. Dameron

MYSTERIES/THRILLERS

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
Glory Be: A Glory Broussard Mystery by Danielle Arceneaux
The Nigerwife by Vanessa Walters

SELF-HELP/INSPIRATION/RELIGIOUS

BE B.I.G: Boundless Empowered Bodacious Intuitive Grandios by Felice Hightower Britt
Power Move: Ignite Your Confidence and Become a Force by Sarah Jakes Roberts
To Speak a Defiant Word: Sermons and Speeches on Justice and Transformation by Pauli Murray by Anthony B. Pinn, et al.
Playing a New Game: A Black Woman’s Guide to Being Well and Thriving in the Workplace by Tammy Lewis Wilborn, PhD
Shine Bright Like A Diamond: A Very Long Love Letter from Mom with Love by Angela Wilson

TEEN/YOUNG ADULT

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
‘Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You’ by A’Ja Wilson

COLLEGE SUCCESS

The College Student’s Guide to Mental Health: Essential Wellness Strategies for Flourishing in College by Mia Nosanow
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About College: A Guide for Minority Students by Dr. Boyce Watkins
Agent YOU: Show Up, Do the Work and Succeed on Your Own Terms by Nicole Lynn
How to Navigate Life: The New Science of Finding Your Way in School, Career and Beyond by Belle Liang, Ph.D. and Timothy Klein, LCSW

Objective

There are three major objectives of The Center’s National Reading Circle:

To educate readers about the important contributions made by African American women
To support the African American women authors who have written classic work and/or scholarly literature
To motivate the readers to engage in activism that will create possibilities and improve lives for women and their families

For more information contact Dr. Antoinette M. Rogers, Director of Programs, at arogers@deltafoundation.net.

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