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5 Black Feminist Thinkers For Your Reading List

Posted: 1-24-25 | The Affirmative Couch

A Black student in a light green hoodie, demim capris, and eyeglasses sitting on floor and reading book in library representing the study of 5 Black Feminist thinkers who can inspire and enrich your bookshelf and your practice.

Feminism is a dynamic and expansive movement that goes far beyond the experiences of cis white women. It reaches into the complex and intersecting realities of those most socially and politically marginalized. Black feminist thinkers have long been at the forefront of this work, challenging limited notions of inclusivity and advocating for a decolonized, intersectional understanding of feminism. Their contributions not only shape social movements but also deeply inform affirmative psychotherapy. 

For this blog, we took on the challenging task of choosing just five Black feminist thinkers to spotlight. Because narrowing the list was no easy feat, we have also included an ‘additional reading’ section with ten additional books by Black Feminist Thinkers to highlight even more voices. The great work of these people will inspire and enrich your bookshelf and your practice. Read on to add these diverse and important perspectives to your understanding of feminism.

Jenn M. Jackson

Jenn M. Jackson, PhD, is an award-winning political science professor at Syracuse University, a columnist for Yes! Magazine, and a former Teen Vogue contributor. Their research focuses on Black Politics, racial trauma, gender and sexuality, political behavior, and social movements.

Jackson is the author of Black Women Taught Us, a book highlighting Black women’s activism and philosophical contributions from Harriet Jacobs to the Combahee River Collective. They also co-host That Black Couple, a podcast on race, gender, queerness, and parenting.

Purchase their book: Black Women Taught Us

Andrea Jenkins 

Andrea Jenkins is a leader, artist, speaker, and historian. In 2017, she became the first Black transgender woman elected to public office in the U.S., securing a Minneapolis City Council seat with 73% of the vote. She became the first transgender official to lead a city council in 2022.

Jenkins is a celebrated poet and author, with works including The T is Not Silent and contributions to notable anthologies. As the Oral Historian for the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota, she documents transgender experiences. Jenkins holds advanced degrees in community development and creative writing.

Purchase her book: The T Is Not Silent: New and Selected Poems

Patrician Hill Collins

Patricia Hill Collins is a renowned American scholar specializing in race, class, and gender. She is a Distinguished University Professor of Sociology Emerita at the University of Maryland, and a former head of African American Studies at the University of Cincinnati.

Collins has authored influential works on race, gender, and social issues, including Fighting Words (1998) and Black Sexual Politics (2004). Her groundbreaking book, Black Feminist Thought, published in 1990, won the Jessie Bernard Award and the C. Wright Mills Award. A revolutionary academic and social theorist, she became the first African American woman president of the American Sociological Association in 2008.

 

Purchase her book: Black Feminist Thought 

EbonyJanice

EbonyJanice is a womanist scholar, author, and activist dedicated to the liberation and empowerment of Black women and femmes. She holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science and an M.A. in Social Change with a focus on Spiritual Leadership, Womanist Theology, and Racial Justice.

As founder of Black Girl Mixtape and Dream Yourself Free, EbonyJanice creates spaces for Black women’s healing, intellectual authority, and personal growth. Her work explores Hip Hop as a tool for liberation, Black spirituality, and justice. EbonyJanice is a speaker, lecturer, and advocate for decolonizing authority and centering Black womanhood.


Purchase her book: All the Black Girls Are Activists

 

Charlene A. Carruthers

Charlene A. Carruthers is a Black Queer activist, writer, filmmaker, and community organizer. She is one of America’s most influential activists having worked with high-profile activist organizations such as Color of Change and Women’s Media Center. She is a founding member and former national director of Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), a member-led organization for Black liberation.

A PhD candidate in Black Studies at Northwestern University, Carruthers explores Black freedom-making, decolonial revolution, and feminist abolitionist geographies. Her short film The Funnel won the Queer Black Voices Award at aGLIFF. A 2020 Marguerite Casey Presidential Freedom Scholar, she continues to amplify Black liberation through activism and storytelling.

Purchase her book: Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements 

 

Additional Important Reads

  1. Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Angela Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie
  2. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman
  3. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
  4. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
  5. Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston
  6. The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza
  7. Carefree Black Girls by Zeba Blay
  8. Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance by Moya Bailey
  9. The Sisters Are Alright by Tamara Winfrey Harris
  10. This Bridge Called My Back edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa 

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The text "How Critical Race Theory Informs Affirmative Clinical Practice: presented by Claudia Owens Shield, PhD, 2 CE course is printed under a piece of illustrated art shared by the presenter. This image is intended to depict an old-school Black Christian revolutionary critically examining Christianity, as one of the social structures that is central to racism, cis- and hetero-normativity. The cross draped in the ally flag was inspired by my work specifically with Christian clients who, through our work together, were able to re-imagine God as an ally, which was important to them, as they felt that their faith had been stolen from them.. The broken glass and relatively smaller portion of the stained glass that depicts the trans flag represent the even greater marginalization and hate crimes, which are highest among trans communities. The red black and green earring and afro represent the internalization of revolutionary thought.

 

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