Black Reads: Black August Edition
At the beginning of the month I asked in the chat how y'all planned to celebrate Black August, this newsletter is all the ways we did just that.
The past two Sundays this month, I’ve spent with fellow Black women in community studying and discussing Black August, hosted by Nubia Lateefa. Going into the month, I did not know the importance of August to the Black community, and if you are like me, that’s not something you want to admit. I’m so grateful for Nubia hosting a safe space with resources available for us to study and learn more, not just alone, but in community.
Naturally, the Blackstack Salon this Sunday will be hosted with the inspiration gained from being in Nubia’s study space. I never want to assume that we know the full details of our history as much as we fight for it not to be erased. With that said, take this newsletter as a resource to educate yourself so we can grow together.
There are so many amazing posts shared this week that I don’t need to go into an overview of Black August, but I will take the time to encourage us all to commit to something from Black August to carry with us into the rest of the year, especially us in America.
Nubia agreed for me to share some resources provided for us to study, and while I would love to do that, I think you should connect with Nubia Lateefa personally. My good sis has a brand, The People’s Porch, and is full of knowledge and resources. It would do us all a disservice for me to gatekeep Nubia, but I will share the handbook for you to be prepared for next year. I’d love for us to participate as a community, a writing workshop at a prison, letters to inmates, let’s come up with ideas in the comments.
Saki Savavi this might be my favorite piece about Black August for many reasons, but just read this one. “Honoring revolutionary ancestors during Leo season creates opportunities for spiritual connection while providing models for heart-centered leadership contemporary movements require. Examples like Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and Assata Shakur offer templates for transforming personal healing into collective liberation while maintaining spiritual groundedness amid political chaos.”
Najah Amatullah shared in the chat thread at the beginning of the month her plans of how she wanted to honor Black August, check out her series, which is a great resource to prepare for Black August next year.
Ijeoma Oluo gives a great overview summary of Black August in this podcast episode. I highly recommend you review this one to get an overview of the concept.
The Free Black Women's Library has been active all month for Black August, but this Baddie Challenge is too good for us to only use for August. With things in America getting more unpredictable, it would be wise for us to put our self-care at the top of our priority list as we close out the year.
I’m adding, Ariana not Grande, to the Black Reads list because this piece is how you do recommendations. I love the way Ariana gives us a summary of each recommendation in detail, so you have an idea of what you are getting into before you blindly start that next copy.
All of my studying this month was on Assata Shakur, since I’d been called to learn more about her after purchasing her autobiography at a visit to the Black Panther Museum. I resonate so deeply with her story as someone who, too, was raised to view whiteness as successful, as her early years were focused on climbing the ladder to fulfill the American Dream. Then, with the right amount of curiosity mixed with critical thinking skills and the right environment, a revolutionary activist is born.
misogynoir2mishpat gives us a detailed summary of Assata Shakur’s life leading to her famous escape from prison to live a free life in Cuba. In my opinion, Assata showed us that freedom was ours to take, not to wait for.
Let’s call this one a bonus; it’s not about Black August, but being in the study group with Nubia inspired me to write more with purpose, and these words began to spill on the page.
Thank you for writing about Black August. I am not ashamed to say I, too, just learned of its importance. Black Joy-Reckon News gave a beautiful tribute and community happenings in its newsletter earlier this month. As a young adult, I wrote letters to my friend who was in prison, and later to a family member. When I taught survey literature in the classroom, Etheridge Knight's poem "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane" was on the syllabus. I will not even mention how many times Dick Gregory was in my community. I was too young to listen, too naive to care. Again, thank you for sharing, thank you for not gatekeeping, and thank you for preparing us for 2026 Black August.
Thank you so much for including me, your post made my day! And thank you for rounding all these posts out I'd missed a few and look forward to reading them as we close out Black August. I absolutely relate to feelijg changed by Asdata's story, her autobiography is so honest and revolutionary