How Can You Be Inclusive and Equitable In Your Writing?

There are many different ways to implement inclusive and equitable writing best practices, but the most critical aspect is simply being aware of the proper terms and language. What used to be politically correct even ten years ago might now be considered offensive. Here are some of the examples of recent changes to terminology describing people groups that you might have heard about.

1. The NFL changed the name of the Washington Redskins to The Washington Commanders after facing intense criticism for using what is considered a slang term for Native Americans as their original name. 
2. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) adopted the name “Inuit” to designate all Inuit within the circumpolar region, thereby rejecting the use of “Eskimo.” This is stated in the ICC charter, signed in 1980. It’s been only over the last few decades, however, that the Inuit name has become well-recognized and used globally.
3. Many professional terms have slowly been adjusted to be more inclusive of gender. Examples include congressman to congressperson, spokesman to spokesperson, policeman to simply police officer. In addition to that, it’s now become grammatically correct to use they and them to refer to a single individual when the gender is not known or defined. 

Staying aware of the latest inclusive and equitable terminology is a crucial part of implementing it in your writing. The best way to stay educated and informed is to read the news on occasion, and read recent books and articles about your writing topic beforehand so that you’re well aware of how to remain respectful and inclusive before putting pen to paper. 

Avoid Generalizations & Stereotypes In Writing

Being inclusive in writing means you’re respecting various types of people and people groups by avoiding stereotypes, blanket statements, and generalizations. If you’re contemplating using a common generalization or stereotypical phrase in your writing, be sure to look up the history of that phrase to ensure it’s not offensive. Below are some examples of poor and potentially offensive ways to write about others.

1. Using stereotypical body descriptions of a certain people group, insinuating that they all look the same.
2. Using a blanket statement about a certain group of people about how they live, their ideologies, personalities, or belief systems.
3. Giving a fictional character a stereotypical trait that might be considered offensive.

As a writer, I’m sure you’re hoping to get as many people excited about and reading your writing as possible. To achieve a large readership, it’s important not to ostracize readers either accidentally or on purpose. As a writer, remember that you have the responsibility of educating your readers, and you have the power to perpetuate toxicity or respectful language. Which would you prefer to do?

The Difference Between Inclusive and Equitable In Writing

Being inclusive and being equitable in your writing are two different things. Using equitable language in your writing means that you’re remaining very cognizant of common stereotypes, biases, and offensive language surrounding a group of people, and you’re working hard to avoid them. It means you’re writing with an equitable lens that sees all people as equal, and you’re choosing to write fairly and kindly of all. Being inclusive in your writing means that you’re aware that not all people have an equal voice in the world, so you’re making it your mission to include voices and characters from all walks of life. 

It’s unfortunate that many marginalized people groups have limited literature available that features them. How many fictional lead characters in a wheelchair can you name, for example? Be considerate of your readership and the world around you, and simply become part of the solution in regards to inclusion and equality. 

1. Inclusive Writing: This is writing that includes voices from all walks of life as much as possible. It respectfully keeps in mind that there are some marginalized people groups who deeply need to have representation.
2. Equitable Writing: This is writing that is staying true to political correctness. This writer is educated on various people groups before writing, and works hard to avoid offensive terms, generalizations, and stereotypes.

Staying True To A Voice Unlike Yours

As a nonfiction writer, you may find yourself in a position where you are telling the story of someone who is the complete opposite of you. Perhaps they are of a different ethnicity, nationality, or walk of life, for example. In this situation, it’s crucial to avoid inserting your own biases and feelings into your piece. Let your subject or interviewee carry the article or story, and feel free to respectfully ask them questions if you’re uncertain about something. Another option is to allow your subject or interviewee to read your piece before publishing it to ensure you have done your job in being equitable.

Being Equitable and Inclusive With Fictional Characters

If you’re a fiction writer and some of your characters are of a different ethnicity, nationality, etc., be sure to educate yourself about those groups of people before writing about them. If your main character has a disability, for example, and you don’t, it’s recommended that you work closely with a consultant who does have a disability. This person can help you formulate an accurate, equitable story that is true to the experience of those with disabilities. 

There is nothing wrong with including fictional characters from various walks of life, in fact, this is often appreciated and encouraged. However, you should understand that you don’t know exactly what it’s like to be a person that you’re not. As writers, we are researchers. Grow comfortable and familiar with the research process before and during writing, and don’t be afraid to reach out to someone for an interview or feedback. Most people are honored and excited to provide their insights, especially when it’s for an article or book. 

Summing It All Up

As a writer, it’s your mission to perpetuate kindness, inclusion, and equality among all people. Think about the ways you can be inclusive of all kinds of people groups, and remember to write about others with an equitable lens that avoids stereotypes, offensive terms, and generalizations. If you’re ever uncertain about whether you need to improve a piece of writing, don’t hesitate to reach out to someone for an interview or feedback. As always, happy writing!

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1. Mother Country by Jacinda Townsend

Publisher: Graywolf Press

A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author.

Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her own. With the help of her boyfriend and a bribed official, Shannon makes the fateful decision to adopt and raise the girl in Louisville, Kentucky. But the girl already has a mother: Souria, an undocumented Mauritanian woman who was trafficked as a teen, and who managed to escape to Morocco to build another life.

In rendering Souria’s separation from her family across vast stretches of desert and Shannon’s alienation from her mother under the same roof, Jacinda Townsend brilliantly stages cycles of intergenerational trauma and healing. Linked by the girl who has been a daughter to them both, these unforgettable protagonists move toward their inevitable reckoning. Mother Country is a bone-deep and unsparing portrayal of the ethical and emotional claims we make upon one another in the name of survival, in the name of love.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

2. Black Girl Unlimited, The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard  by Echo Brown (YA)

Imprint Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor. Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

3. The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, the Obelisk Gate, the Stone Sky By N. K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit

The Broken Earth takes place in the Stillness — a world in which society is structured around surviving nuclear winters. The Orogenes, who wield the power of the earth, are the reason for life’s survival; yet, they are shunned and exploited by society. At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this “intricate and extraordinary” Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution (The New York Times).

This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.

This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

4. Gone Like Yesterday by Janelle M. Williams

Publisher: Tiny Reparations Books

A lyrical debut novel that asks what we owe to our families, what we owe to our ancestors, and what we owe to ourselves. Janelle M. Williams’s Gone Like Yesterday employs magical realism to explore the majestic and haunting experience of being a Black woman in today’s America.

Gone Like Yesterday follows two Black women–Zahra, a listless college prep coach, and Sammie, a teenage girl and budding activist soon off to college–who are drawn to each other through the songs of gypsy moths. Gypsy moths have been singing the songs of Zahra’s ancestors to her for years, so when Zahra realizes that Sammie might be a moth person too, their paths become intertwined.

Then, the unthinkable happens: Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

5. The House Of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber

Publisher: Graywolf Press

The House of Rust is an enchanting novel about a Hadhrami girl in Mombasa. When her fisherman father goes missing, Aisha takes to the sea on a magical boat made of a skeleton to rescue him. She is guided by a talking scholar’s cat (and soon crows, goats, and other animals all have their say, too). On this journey Aisha meets three terrifying sea monsters. After she survives a final confrontation with Baba wa Papa, the father of all sharks, she rescues her own father, and hopes that life will return to normal. But at home, things only grow stranger.

Khadija Abdalla Bajaber’s debut is a magical realist coming-of-age tale told through the lens of the Swahili and diasporic Hadhrami culture in Mombasa, Kenya. Richly descriptive and written with an imaginative hand and sharp eye for unusual detail, The House of Rust is a memorable novel by a thrilling new voice.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

6. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Publisher: Amistad Press

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is startling and original fiction that raises provocative questions of power and freedom, love and dependence. An enchanting and unforgettable novel based on little-known fact, Wench combines the narrative allure of Cane River by Lalita Tademy and the moral complexities of Edward P. Jones’s The Known World as it tells the story of four black enslaved women in the years preceding the Civil War. A stunning debut novel, Wench marks author Perkins-Valdez–previously a finalist for the 2009 Robert Olen Butler Short Fiction Prize–as a writer destined for greatness.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

7. Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Publisher: Amistad Press

The Civil War has ended, and Madge, Sadie, and Hemp have each come to Chicago in search of a new life.

Born with magical hands, Madge has the power to discern others’ suffering, but she cannot heal her own damaged heart. To mend herself and help those in need, she must return to Tennessee to face the women healers who rejected her as a child.

Sadie can commune with the dead, but until she makes peace with her father, she, too, cannot fully engage her gift.

Searching for his missing family, Hemp arrives in this northern city that shimmers with possibility. But redemption cannot be possible until he is reunited with those taken from him.

In the bitter aftermath of a terrible, bloody war, as a divided nation tries to come together once again, Madge, Sadie, and Hemp will be caught up in a desperate, unexpected battle for survival in a community desperate to lay the pain of the past to rest.

Beautiful in its historical atmosphere and emotional depth, Balm is a stirring novel of love, loss, hope, and reconciliation set during one of the most critical periods in American history.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

8. Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Publisher: Berkley Books

Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she hopes to help women shape their destinies, to make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her along a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, Civil is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children–just eleven and thirteen years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica, and their family into her heart. Until one day she arrives at their door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace, and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten.

Because history repeats what we don’t remember.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

9. The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Publisher: Picador USA

A biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty’s The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality–the black Chinese restaurant.

Born in the agrarian ghetto of Dickens–on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles–the narrator of The Sellout resigns himself to the fate of lower-middle-class Californians: I’d die in the same bedroom I’d grown up in, looking up at the cracks in the stucco ceiling that’ve been there since ’68 quake. Raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, he spent his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. He is led to believe that his father’s pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family’s financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, he realizes there never was a memoir. All that’s left is the bill for a drive-thru funeral.

Fuelled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been removed from the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town’s most famous resident–the last surviving Little Rascal, Hominy Jenkins–he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

10. Beloved by Toni Morrison

Publisher: Knopf

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

11. What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris

Publisher: Tiny Reparations Books

In the vein of Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, a coming-of-age novel told by almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB), as she and her sister try to make sense of their new life with their estranged grandfather in the wake of their father’s death and their mother’s disappearance

An ode to Black girlhood and adolescence as seen through KB’s eyes, What the Fireflies Knew follows KB after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit. Soon thereafter, KB and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing, Michigan. Over the course of a single sweltering summer, KB attempts to navigate a world that has turned upside down.

Her father has been labeled a fiend. Her mother’s smile no longer reaches her eyes. Her sister, once her best friend, now feels like a stranger. Her grandfather is grumpy and silent. The white kids who live across the street are friendly, but only sometimes. And they’re all keeping secrets. As KB vacillates between resentment, abandonment, and loneliness, she is forced to carve out a different identity for herself and find her own voice.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

12. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Publisher: Amistad Press

Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person –no mean feat for a black woman in the ’30s. Janie’s quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

13.  The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Publisher: Atria Books

Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she’s thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust.

Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.

It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there’s a lot more at stake than just her career. Having joined Wagner Books to honor the legacy of Burning Heart, a novel written and edited by two Black women, she had thought that this animosity was a relic of the past. Is Nella ready to take on the fight of a new generation?

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

14.  The Maintenance Man by Michael Baisden

Publisher: Touchstone

Malcolm Tremell lives the life that most men can only fantasize about: exotic cars, designer clothes, and a steady stream of sexually available women. For the past twelve years, for a very generous fee, Malcolm has willingly played the role of temporary companion and lover. But the endless nights of meaningless sex and secret rendezvous with married women have begun to weigh on his conscience. Malcolm is suffering from job burnout. He soon discovers, however, that a life-style change won’t come so easily, not with the allure of so many beautiful women and thousands of tax-free dollars.

15.  The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

Publisher: Dial Books

The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it’s 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love–even where they’re not supposed to.

There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married . . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love–unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business–and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.

Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, The Davenports is the tale of four determined and passionate young Black women discovering the courage to steer their own path in life–and love.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

16.  The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (YA)

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

17.  The Marvellers Series by Dhonielle Clayton; illustrated by Khadijah Khatib (YA)

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts, like brewing Indian spice elixirs and bartering with pesky Irish pixies.

Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn’t easy—some Marvellers mistrust her magic, which they deem “bad and unnatural.” But eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, a boy with a fondness for magical creatures.

When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror’s aid, tensions grow in the Marvellian world and Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family’s name and track down her mentor before it’s too late.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

18.  Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, et al. (YA)

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark.

A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks…

A first meeting.

Long-time friends.

Bitter exes.

And maybe the beginning of something new.

When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

19.  Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Publisher: Ember

What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In Everything, Everything, Maddy is a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly is the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black–black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

20.  The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

Publisher: Ember

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store–for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

21.  Too Much Of A Good Thing by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Publisher: William Morrow & Company

In the sequel to the enormously successful Casting the First Stone, Kimberla Lawson Roby brings back a character readers love to hate.

Curtis Black might be a man of the cloth, but with his irresistible looks, seductive charm, and charismatic personality, he’s particularly beloved by his female parishioners–and almost every other woman he’s ever met.

The trouble is, Curtis is married. At first he tries to resist temptation, but not for long. His insatiable appetite for women quickly gets the best of him. Eventually, the women in Curtis’s life find that with a little careful planning–sneaky and otherwise–they can help Curtis reap the punishment that he so richly deserves.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

22.  Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch’s father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn’t show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn’t much to save. Lately, Esch can’t keep down what food she gets; she’s fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull’s new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child’s play and short on parenting.

As the twelve days that make up the novel’s framework yield to their dramatic conclusion, this unforgettable family–motherless children sacrificing for one another as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce–pulls itself up to face another day. A big-hearted novel about familial love and community against all odds, and a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty, Salvage the Bones is muscled with poetry, revelatory, and real.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

23.  The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Publisher: Anchor Books

Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream–he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.

When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition–the Olympics of classical music–the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he’s lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself–and the world–that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

24.  The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Publisher: Penguin Books

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience. The Color Purple broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, narrating the lives of women through their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, Alice Walker’s epic carries readers on a spirit-affirming journey towards redemption and love.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

25.  Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others’ emotions.

Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

26.  Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

Publisher: Vintage

Baldwin’s classic novel opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin tells the story of the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Originally published in 1953, Baldwin said of his first novel, “Mountain is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else.”

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

27.  The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Publisher: One World

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her–but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.

This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and children–the violent and capricious separation of families–and the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of today’s most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

28.  The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Set within a contemporary black community in Southern California, Brit Bennett’s mesmerizing first novel is an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition. It begins with a secret.

All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we’d taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season.

It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother’s recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor’s son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it’s not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance–and the subsequent cover-up–will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. Soon, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently? The possibilities of the road not taken are a relentless haunt.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

29.  The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Publisher: Riverhead Books

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. 

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

30.  Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

Publisher: Graydon House

Here are three things you should know about my husband:

1. He was the great love of my life despite his penchant for going incommunicado.
2. He was, as far as I and everyone else could tell, perfectly happy. Which is significant because…
3. On New Year’s Eve, he died.

And here is one thing you should know about me:

1. I found him.

Bonus fact: No. I am not okay.

Someday, Maybe is a stunning, witty debut novel about a young woman’s emotional journey through unimaginable loss, pulled along by her tight-knit Nigerian family, a posse of friends, and the love and laughter she shared with her husband.

You can purchase this title or learn more here.

The post 30 Fiction Books By Black Authors appeared first on Writer's Hive Media.

Example Of A Poorly Constructed Thesis Statement:

Vincent Van Gogh was known to be one of the greatest expressionist artists of his era due to his bold, expressive, abstract, and still-life art; he created a path for future artists and laid the foundation for modern art.

The above is an example of a poor thesis statement. Not only is it poorly constructed grammatically by using passive voice and a piece of somewhat disjointed final information about the foundation of modern art, but it also does not convey why the writer believes that Vincent Van Gogh is the greatest artist of his era. The words used in the thesis statement are vague, and it’s unclear how Van Gogh impacted the art world because of that vagueness.

Example Of A Concise and Specific Thesis Statement:

Vincent Van Gogh’s innovative use of color, texture, and lines in his artwork had a lasting impact on the European Expressionism movement of the late 19th century, and continues to shape the way artists approach their work even today. Many of the artists within  European Expressionism and Fauvism movements sought to learn and implement Van Gogh’s unique methods, which continue to impact modern art.

The above is a much better version of a thesis statement that could be used in an essay or paper because it is concise and specific. We learn precisely what aspects of Van Gogh’s style impacted artists and which specific art movements were influenced (Expressionism and Fauvism movements). Additionally, we know a bit about what kind of impact artists experienced in the last sentence. A thesis statement like this provides excellent information that informs the reader of what they can expect to learn throughout the rest of the paper. 

What Is The Purpose Of A Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement is a necessary and integral part of any college essay. It serves as the foundation for an essay, providing readers with a clear idea as to what the main argument or point of your paper is, and sets the tone for what will be discussed in the body. A thesis statement should be specific, focused, and direct; it should capture the essence of what you are trying to convey. Additionally, it should provide enough information for readers to understand why this particular topic is important and how it relates to other aspects of life or knowledge. When writing a thesis statement for a college essay, keep these points in mind and make sure that your thesis statement is clear and powerful.

The Rules Of A Good Thesis Statement

Less is more when it comes to writing a great thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be around one or two lines that clearly and concisely summarizes what your essay is about. Not only should your thesis describe or summarize the overall topic of your essay, but it should also serve to entice your readers to keep reading!

When writing a thesis statement for an essay, it is important to keep several key rules in mind. 

1. First, the thesis statement should be clear and concise; it should capture the essence of what you are trying to convey without being overly long or complicated. Too many words in your thesis can weaken your statement and confuse your reader. Your thesis statement should be one of the strongest lines in your paper. 
2. Secondly, the thesis statement should be specific and focused on only one main idea, as this will help to guide your writing. 
3. Finally, it should provide enough information for readers to understand why the topic is important and how it relates to other aspects of life or knowledge. Writing a thesis statement that follows these guidelines can help ensure success when submitting your essay.

The 3 Types Of Thesis Statements

There are three types of thesis statements; analytical, expository, and argumentative. Understanding the differences between these three types of thesis statements will help you determine which one is appropriate to use for your paper. Let’s explore each type of thesis in detail below:

The Analytical Thesis Statement

An analytical thesis statement provides a detailed and critical examination of a particular subject matter. It is usually written to analyze a specific topic, problem, or idea and present an argument based on the analysis. The main objective of an analytical thesis statement is to break down a complex subject into its component parts and evaluate each part individually. The thesis statement should provide a clear, concise, and well-supported argument that is backed up by evidence, examples, and logical reasoning. This type of thesis statement is often used in academic writing, particularly in essays and research papers, and is considered a crucial element in shaping the overall structure and direction of the written work.

The Expository Thesis Statement

An expository thesis statement provides an explanation or clarification of a specific topic, problem, or idea. The main goal of an expository thesis statement is to educate the reader about a particular subject by presenting information in a clear, concise, and organized manner. This type of thesis statement is often used in informative or expository writing and is typically found in academic essays, research papers, and other forms of written work. For example, an expository thesis statement could be, “The purpose of this paper is to explain the process of photosynthesis and its significance in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem.” This type of thesis statement is used when the writer wants to inform or educate the reader about a particular subject or topic, rather than present an argument or persuade the reader to take a specific stance.

The Argumentative Thesis Statement

An argumentative thesis statement is a type of thesis statement that presents a debatable argument or claim about a specific topic, problem, or idea. The main goal of an argumentative thesis statement is to persuade the reader to accept the writer’s point of view by presenting a well-supported and compelling argument. This type of thesis statement is often used in persuasive writing and is typically found in academic essays, research papers, and other forms of written work. For example, an argumentative thesis statement could be, “School uniforms should be mandatory in all public schools because they promote a sense of unity and discipline among students.” This type of thesis statement is used when the writer wants to present a controversial issue and argue in favor of a particular stance or position. In an argumentative essay, the writer must use evidence, examples, and logical reasoning to support their argument and refute counterarguments.

How Do You Know Which Type Of Thesis Statement To Use?

When writing a thesis statement for your college essay, it is important to consider the type of thesis that best suits your purpose. If you are trying to make an argument or prove a point, then an argumentative thesis statement would be most effective. On the other hand, if you are analyzing a subject or providing information about it, then an analytical thesis statement would be more appropriate. Finally, if you need to explain why something is important and offer some background information on the topic, then an expository thesis statement is what you should use. Once you have determined which type of thesis statement works best for your essay, you can craft one that will engage readers and help guide your writing process. 

Just remember the following quick definitions of each thesis statement type to help you remember:

• Analytical Thesis Statement: You’re analyzing an issue and making a conclusion.
• Expository Thesis Statement: You’re explaining a topic and providing an overview.
• Argumentative Thesis Statement: You’re making a claim and posing an argument.

Writing a thesis statement for your college essay can be a daunting task, but by understanding the different types of thesis statements and following the tips above, you can craft one that will effectively engage readers and set the tone for what is to come. A strong thesis statement should be specific, focused, and direct; it should capture the essence of what you are trying to convey without being overly long or complicated. When writing your thesis statement, make sure to consider which thesis type will work best for your purpose and ensure that it provides enough information for readers to understand why this particular topic is important and how it relates to other aspects of life or knowledge. Good luck on your next essay!

Common FAQs About Thesis Statements:

How long should my thesis statement be?

The length of a thesis statement depends on the type of written work and the specific requirements of the assignment. However, as a general rule, a thesis statement should be concise and to the point. Try to keep your thesis statement around 1 to 2 sentences.

What if I can’t write a good thesis statement?

It’s a good idea to finalize your thesis statement and intro paragraph after you have finished writing your paper. You can start with a basic rough thesis statement, but focus mainly on getting the paper written. Once you can see the entire paper as a whole, you’ll most certainly be able to craft a solid thesis statement.

Which type of thesis statement should I use?

Just remember the following quick definitions of each thesis statement type to help you remember:

• Analytical Thesis Statement: You’re analyzing an issue and making a conclusion.
• Expository Thesis Statement: You’re explaining a topic and providing an overview.
• Argumentative Thesis Statement: You’re making a claim and posing an argument.

Where should I place my thesis statement?

Typically, a thesis statement appears at the end of the introduction in an essay or research paper. It is usually the last sentence of the introduction and acts as a roadmap for the rest of the essay, guiding the reader and establishing the main argument or purpose of the paper.

The placement of the thesis statement at the end of the introduction is intentional because it allows the reader to have a clear understanding of the direction and focus of the paper before reading the rest of the essay. This not only helps to engage the reader but also sets the stage for the body of the essay and the evidence and arguments that will be used to support the thesis.

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