I have always considered reading a tool for learning, empathising, and connecting. Moreover, reading is a powerful skill to possess, and one that we should all utilise where possible to better ourselves, those around us, and the world as a whole. As February is Black History Month in North America, I want to take this time to explain why you should read books expressing the experiences of those within the African diaspora.

But Anna, what is the ‘African diaspora’? The term ‘African diaspora’ refers to the communities descended from the peoples of Africa since the 15th century who migrated out of the African continent, including those who were forcibly removed from their countries. This community spans continents, from the Americas and the Caribbean to the British Isles and Europe. As you can imagine, the experiences of the community are broad, from their heritage and places of origin to the generations of trauma and separation from their homeland. There are millions of experiences within this group, this widely spread and diverse group, and we are so fortunate to have the chance to access and understand these experiences in their written forms in the literature that has been produced over the last five centuries.

So, as you can see, there are a lot of voices and stories to be heard, to absorb and ruminate on, to empathise and connect with, and to take with us as we learn more, bettering ourselves and our understanding of the world around us. No one experience will be the same, nor will they be any less important than each other, providing us a plethora of novels to embrace and commit to memory. This group is so culturally diverse, not just in the sense of where each person came from, but how their identity has been shaped. There are so many factors involved in creating each and every voice, and for that reason, I know there will be many who can understand and see similarities among themselves.

And yes, even the readers with no cultural ties to the African continent can learn from these texts.

Sharing and giving space to the experiences of many will help shape us into more understanding, open-minded, aware, and accepting human beings. The experiences of others are just as important as the experiences of our people, and I know I am going to be spending 2026 expanding my understanding of other cultures and histories. Reading books from the African diaspora shouldn’t be a performative action, and I know there are more than enough books to provide options that everyone will love. Don’t just keep the reading to February, please. Pick up a book in August, gift one for the holidays, and bring another up in conversation with a fellow reader in May. We should always be talking about these books because we should always be talking about diversity within books. The more we read, the sooner we will realise that we share so much more than we realise.