Black History Month: Reading as Resistance, Knowledge as Power

Black History Month is upon us—and given the times we live in, many of us could use a thoughtful tune-up on injustice, racism, and resilience.

One of the most powerful tools we have to better understand these realities is education. A basic education is often defined as the ability to read, write, and apply simple math, but its impact runs far deeper. Knowledge builds confidence, self-worth, and the ability to question the world around us.

Historically, education has also been a battleground. In parts of the United States, enslavers made deliberate efforts to deny Black Americans the ability to read and write, fully aware that literacy could empower, liberate, and disrupt systems of control. Black history, therefore, is inseparable from the story of determination—of African Americans pushing against enormous odds to learn, survive, and move forward with dignity and purpose.

One deeply moving exploration of this struggle can be found in The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy. Written as a memoir, the book recounts Conroy’s experience teaching young Gullah children in a two-room schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island in 1969. He describes encountering students who could not recite the alphabet, spell their own names, or even identify the country they lived in. These were not failures of the children, but reflections of a system that had long neglected—and marginalized—Black education.

In The Water Is Wide, The Water Is Wide, Conroy is also candid about his own upbringing. Raised in the South, he had absorbed many of the slurs and assumptions tied to beliefs of Black inequality. But as a young man shaped by the turbulence of the 1960s, he began to recognize the deep injustice embedded in those beliefs. His awakening mirrors a larger reckoning of the era, making the book as much about unlearning as it is about teaching.

Conroy’s lyrical storytelling brings readers face-to-face with the realities of Black education in the 1960s and 1970s, weaving together history, personal growth, and social critique. Through his eyes, we gain a clearer understanding of how oppression functioned—and how resilience endured—within Black communities.

This Black History Month, we invite you to explore books that challenge, educate, and inspire. Whether you’re revisiting history or encountering it for the first time, these stories matter. They remind us that reading itself has long been an act of resistance—and that understanding the past is essential to shaping a more just future.

Browse our curated Black History Month selections and discover books that deepen awareness, spark conversation, and honor the enduring power of education.