A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, Percival Everett tells the story from the perspective of Huck’s friend, the escaped slave Jim. The novel follows Jim as he runs away after discovering he is going to be sold to a man in New Orleans, which would separate him from his wife and daughter. On the other hand, Huck fakes his death to escape his father. From there, a dangerous and electrifying journey in a raft down the Mississippi River toward the potentially unreliable free states. Everett injects the story with humor and storytelling, illuminating Jim’s intelligence and compassion. The novel, a New York Times bestseller, National Book Award winner and 2024 Barnes and Noble Book of the Year recipient, redefines a classic story and will be produced into a feature film by Steven Spielberg. 

The first book in the Seeds of America trilogy, “Chains” follows the story of Isabel and her younger sister Ruth, who are enslaved household servants living in New York City after being sold. Taking place during the beginning stages of the American Revolutionary War, readers follow Isabel’s journey to freedom for her and her sister, with the former serving as a spy for the Patriots. Being literate, Isabel is also at an advantage. Along the way, she meets Curzon, a fellow slave, but also a Patriot who convinces Isabel to become part of the cause. Throughout the book, Isabel faces the challenges and hardships of being a young African American Woman caught between the British and the American Patriots. She is verbally and physically abused, imprisoned, and even escapes a fire, fighting to reunite with her sister after she is moved further south. Released in 2008, “Chains” is followed by “Forge” in 2010 and “Ashes” in 2016.

In the small town of Salt Point, New York, two Black sisters Ezra and Cinthy Kindred question the world around them when entering adolescence. The year is 1957, and the country around them is filled with calls for freedom, justice and equality for Black Americans. The sisters live in a predominantly white area, and their neighbors start to view the Kindreds and the only other Black family in town, the Junkett’s, as a threat to their way of life. “Promise” celebrates a story of familial resistance, committing acts of heroism while on a path to survival. Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ storytelling is descriptive and magical. The Kirkus Reviews and Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year will not only break your heart but will slowly put it back together through themes of love, courage and hope.

Told through the eyes of six-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, “To Kill a Mockingbird” follows the lives of Scout, her family and the other townspeople of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Scout and her brother “Jem” live an idyllic life with their widowed, lawyer father, Atticus and their black cook, Calpurnia. The town is set in an uproar one day, when Mayella Ewell, a white woman, accuses a black man by the name of Tom Robinson of raping her. Atticus is appointed to defend Robinson, which stirs trouble for the whole family. The trial proceeds as planned and though Atticus presents credible evidence that Robinson is innocent, the all-white jury convicts him regardless. The story does not end there, the Finch children are attacked by Mayella’s father, who was humiliated during the trial by Atticus. Luckily, their mysterious next-door neighbor, Arthur “Boo” Radley saves both of them. Based loosely upon Lee’s own observations of life in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama when she was 10, the book–released in 1960–was eventually adapted into a film starring Gregory Peck, which earned three Academy Awards in 1963. Exploring racial injustice and exposing prejudice, the book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and has become a classic among modern American literature.

Based on the extraordinary tale of an American freedom rider, Harriet tells the story of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and her travels on the Underground Railroad. The film follows Tubman, played by Cynthia Erivo, through her journey not only to escaping slavery but finding allies like William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Marie Buchanon (Janelle Monae), capturing the journey of her time as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, risking her life while guiding hundreds to safety. The film swept its nominations for the Women’s Film Critics Circle, with many more wins and over 20 nominations across film festivals and other awards, including a Grammy nomination and two Oscar nominations.

Starring Storm Reid as Meg Murray, Oprah Winfrey as Mrs. Which, Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit, Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Who and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dr. Kate Murray, “A Wrinkle in Time” features an ensemble cast, under the guidance of award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Released in 2018, “A Wrinkle in Time” follows the journey as Meg, her brother Charles Wallace and school friend Calvin journey across different planets within the universe to find her father. Exploring themes like overcoming self-doubt, love in family and friendship and embracing imperfections, Reid and the rest of the cast deliver an exciting and empathetic performance, featuring original songs like “Warrior” by Chloe x Halle.

Inspired by an incredible true story, “Fruitvale Station” follows the story of Oscar Grant III (played by Micheal B Jordan), a 22-year-old living in the Bay Area, depicting the last 24 hours of his life, up until he was shot and killed by a police officer at a train station. The film not only shows the events leading up to the fateful shooting but also captures personal relationships and hardships that displays Grant as a human being with mistakes who has a reason to turn his life around. Not only does the film highlight relationships, but injustices faced by Black communities, including racial profiling and institutional racism. The film won multiple awards worldwide from critics for the performance of Jordan and the directorial debut of Ryan Coolger. Fruitvale Station is a moving drama that will shed tears in the wake of the tragic story of a man, a father and a son whose life was cut too short.

Set in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, “The Help” is a period drama film based upon the 2009 book by Kathryn Stockett of the same name. The film follows the lives of Southern society girl Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan and maids Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson as the three women work to write a book together about life working for the prominent white families of Jackson during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. As Phelan, Clark and Jackson work together to finish the book, they inspire the other maids around town to share their own stories, even during times of prejudice, segregation and violence. Despite all the hardships the three women suffer, like broken relationships for Phelan, losing a son for Clark and domestic violence for Jackson, all overcome the hardships within their own homes and from others, moving forward with telling the truth.