First, please know that there are way more than five books with the power to absolutely change your life. I dare say, there are thousands. That said, I’m sharing with you right now five books I see as life- and game-changers.
But you better believe, there will be many future editions of this article so we can share more books that can impact lives. And if you have any suggestions, please share those titles and authors with me via aswad@defendernetwork.com.
Until then, enjoy this inaugural list:
The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey , complied by Amy Jacques Garvey and edited by Tony Martin
Full transparency: I wrote my honor’s thesis while at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and Marcus Garvey and Reverend Albert B. Cleage Jr., two of the most influential yet under-appreciated (and lesser-known) heroes of the Pan-African world. So, I’m sho-nuff a Garvey fan.
My introduction to this particular book came from one of my ministerial mentors who spoke so glowingly about “Philosophy and Opinions” that I had to read it because I believed there was no way any one book could be so impactful, insightful and inspiriting. I was wrong. This book was and is all that, and more.
During the 1920s Garvey built the largest Pan-African organization and movement the world has ever seen before or since, with millions of members on darn near every continent. His newspaper, “The Negro World,” and this book were said to be the fuel that ignited the African freedom movement of the 1960-80s that saw African nations rising up and kicking out the colonizers. The founders of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense pointed to Garvey as their inspiration…and to Malcolm X, whose parents were Garveyites—members of Garvey’s UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association).
I could go on and on about Garvey, but I’ll stop here and leave you with a challenge to do your own research on a brother whose entire movement which spanned the globe and inspired some of Blackwolrd’s most powerful and respected activists and game-changers has been reduced to comical misinformation. If there has ever been a whitewashing of history, it’s with the Garvey story. Check out “Philosophy and Opinions” to get Garvey’s plans and programs straight from the brother himself.
America’s Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics by Joel Edward Goza
So much of what we know and believe about politics, religion and all connected ideologies regarding America have roots, and foundations that would absolutely blow your mind and offer you the clarity to see the reasons behind so much of the madness of years past and the madness of our current historical moment. A local education legend who I consider a hero for our people one day, seemingly out of the blue, contacted me and said, “Aswad, you need to check out this book. Man, I’m telling you.” She said way more than that. But this sister has a long and storied history of transforming schools and transforming lives and being a person of such groundedness and integrity that she didn’t have to do much convincing for me to pick up Goza’s book. And I’m so glad I did.
And a quick aside: I like physical books way more than audio or e-books. I just like the feel and smell of a book in my hand. But I also like the fact that I can underline and highlight powerful passages, and write notes in the margins. I’m not sure if there is a page of “America’s Unholy Ghosts” that doesn’t have my scribbling all over it. There’s that much information, moving information, in this text that’s written for regular folk, and not college professors.
Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman by Malidoma Patrice Somé
Malidoma Somé’s life reads like a movie. It’s that crazy, dramatic, suspenseful, incredible and inspiring. This book is for those who truly believe in the power of the Spirit, the importance of the ancestors, the critical nature of connecting with our history and culture and realizing that peoples from different parts of the world each have something to both teach to and learn from others. To describe this book any further would do a disservice to both its story and the experience you can and will have when reading it for yourself.
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
Even with a cover picture of some European dude posing as the Black Messiah, this book is worth your time. Aslan, the author, grew up in a Muslim household, but one that was Muslim in name only. Somewhere between his pre-teen and teenage years, he converted to Christianity and did so with a ferocious and all-consuming zeal. So much so that he wanted to learn absolutely everything about the faith that had come to consume his life. And learn, he did… that the Jesus of faith is way different than the Jesus of history. Zealot brings to life the times and culture that shaped Jesus and those before and with him; an experience that can either fortify the Christian believer or have them putting this book down in discomfort. But please know, if you’re the kind of Christian who believes Jesus would not be cool with injustice; if you’re the kind of believer (of whatever faith system you hold dear) that recognizes how huge a part culture plays in shaping our theological outlook; if you’re the kind of believer or “non-believer” who just appreciates history, regardless of how it conflicts with or confirms your faith, this book is absolutely for you.
Futureland by Walter Mosley
Mosley is my favorite fiction author. His Easy Rawlins series is the best fiction series in the history of fiction series. Those books (Devil in a Blue Dress, A Red Death, White Butterfly, Black Betty, etc.) are a master class in telling an ongoing tale of completing and unforgettable characters while taking the reader on a ride through an under-appreciated segment of Black history (the Great Migration’s Texas/Louisiana-to-the-West Coast segment) and providing scathing social commentary (without being preachy) to boot. That said, the most life-changing Mosley book, from my vantage point, is Futureland. I think I’m pretty good at summarizing a book for potential readers, but I’ll let this summary I found online fly: “Projecting a near-future United States in which justice is blind in at least one eye and the ranks of the disenchanted have swollen to dangerous levels, Mosely offers nine interconnected stories whose characters appear and reappear in each others’ lives. For all its denizens, from technocrats to terrorists, celebs to crooks, Futureland is an all-American nightmare just waiting to happen.” Futureland not only can be life-changing but it absolutely needs to be. Why? Because so many of the insane things written in that book (published in 2001) have already come to pass. And if we want to avoid some of the other prophetic predictions materializing (And trust me, we want to avoid them!), then there are some changes in our individual and societal lives that need to happen. If not… yikes.
