How can we preserve books by authors of color for future readers? | Basic Black | GBH News

Books by authors of color are disappearing from the shelves of libraries and stores. This is a cumulative effect from campaigns banning books with controversial subjects, the shuttering of independent bookshops facing hardship, and readers' increasing preference for convenient digital formats.

African American writers tell stories that both celebrate and honor the Black experience, from those that were enslaved to narratives about beauty, identity and respect. Yet this past year has seen a rise in the removal of books about race and gender. Without books by Black and brown authors and women writers of color being accessible, the next generation of readers are unable to reflect and learn about what African Americans endured and accomplished.

This week on Basic Black, host Callie Crossley will be joined by Renée Landers, professor at Suffolk University Law School to discuss the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft on Roe v. Wade; Carmen Fields, writer, journalist, and TV host; Marita Golden, author, literary consultant, writing coach, and co-founder of The Hurston/Wright Foundation; Kimberly McLarin, author, professor and interim Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies at Emerson College; Caroline Kautsire, author and professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College.

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To view some of our previous episodes of Basic Black, please visit our website: https://www.wgbh.org/basic-black

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