Nathan Baez
Between the World and Me - Ta Nehisi Coates
“After reading Between the world and me I felt this sudden urge to apply to an HBCU. Howard specifically. I love how ta Nehisi explores Blackness and what it means to grow up in the U.S as a visibly Black man. Written as a letter to his son, I immediately connected with the message as if an elder was speaking to me directly.” - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for The Atlantic. His book Between the World and Me won the National Book Award in 2015. Coates is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.
They Came Before Columbus - Ivan Van Sertima
“I came across this book while watching an old lecture about African history on youtube. In the video, the teacher started talking about how ancient Africans would travel and map the globe and referenced this book. I immediately felt drawn to learn more about the black experience in ancient America so I hit the library and checked it out. I took my time reading this one and learned so much about what this landmass looked like before european colonization and how advanced ancient Black culture was.” - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ivan Van Sertima’s pioneering work in linguistics and anthropology has appeared in numerous scholarly journals. Professor Van Sertima teaches Afro-American studies at Rutgers University.
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
“Siddhartha is an amazing tale on enlightenment. This book was given to me during a period in my life when I was traveling across the country and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. After this read, I felt recharged spiritually and ready for more adventure.” - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Herman Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, painter and novelist. In 1946 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is most noted for Steppenwolf, Siddhartha and The Glass Bead Game. Siddhartha was written in 1922 and showed his love of the Indian culture and Buddhist philosophy. Siddhartha returned to popularity in the 1960's due in part to the counterculture mood in the hippie movement and the novel's themes of a quest for enlightenment.
My Mother was a Freedom fighter - Aja Monet
“This book of poetry is so powerful and inspiring especially as a poet myself. Every piece in this book is well crafted a riddled with beautiful wordplay and stories that make the hair on my arms stand up. “ - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aja Monet is a Caribbean-American poet, performer, and educator from Brooklyn. She has been awarded the Andrea Klein Willison Prize for Poetry and the Nuyorican Poet's Café Grand Slam title, as well as the New York City YWCA's "One to Watch Award." She is the author of The Black Unicorn Sings and the co-editor, with Saul Williams, of Chorus: A Literary Mixtape. She lives in Little Haiti, Miami, where she is a co-founder of Smoke Signals Studio and dedicates her time merging arts and culture in community organizing with the Dream Defenders and the Community Justice Project.
Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler
“Parable of the Sower is my bible. I’ve read this book a couple of times and every time I learn something new about myself. My good friend Iva recommended it to me and ever since then, Octavia Butler has become my favorite author. This sci-fi novel takes place outside of Los Angeles during the 2020s in a fallen America. The main character is an empath, who while being the daughter of a preacher, creates her own religious ideology that is meant to take humans beyond the stars. “ - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OCTAVIA E. BUTLER was a renowned African-American writer who received a MacArthur "Genius" Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. She was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Talents, which won the Nebula for Best Novel. Acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future, sales of her books have increased enormously since her death as the issues she addressed in her Afrofuturistic, feminist novels and short fiction have only become more relevant. She passed away on February 24, 2006.
Portrait of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
“This novel was given to me by my high school literature teacher a few years after I graduated. I would visit her classroom from time to time and write with her students. One day I asked her for a new book to read as she placed this amazing piece of literature in my hands. What I love most about this book is the dialogue between the characters. Beautifully written and thought-provoking, this book is definitely a must-read. “ - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16-Oct-1854 to 30-Nov-1900) was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and the Portrait of Dorian Gray.
Wild Seed - Octavia Butler
“This book blew my mind. Another amazing tale by the late great Octavia Butler. It’s about two immortal Africans who have superpowers and breed humans for slavery. This really a MUST READ!” - Nathan Baez
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OCTAVIA E. BUTLER was a renowned African-American writer who received a MacArthur "Genius" Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. She was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Talents, which won the Nebula for Best Novel. Acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future, sales of her books have increased enormously since her death as the issues she addressed in her Afrofuturistic, feminist novels and short fiction have only become more relevant. She passed away on February 24, 2006.
Live From Death Row - Mumia
“This book is a memoir by Mumia Adu Jamal who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering a police officer. I was first given this book by a state trooper who would come into El Taller back when I was working as a waiter. We would talk about music and politics and what we were reading at the time and he gave me this book. Mumia writes as he is on death row waiting for his date of execution.” - Nathan Baez
DESCRIPTION
After twenty years on death row, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been released from his death sentence . . .but not the conviction. This once prominent radio reporter was convicted for the murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1982, after a trial many have criticized as profoundly biased. Live from Death Row is a collection of his prison writings--and impassioned yet unflinching account of the brutalities and humiliations of prison life, and a scathing indictment of racism and political bias in the American judicial system.
