Growth is a Journey
Here are some resources that made an impression on us as we continue our journeys to learn about the Black experience. We hope they provide inspiration and insight.
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Recommendation by Gwyn Cready
In a series of engaging essays, Gay lays out what it’s like to live as a Black Haitian American bisexual feminist woman in a world that tries to render her invisible. Gay takes the cross-section of cultural antagonism in which she finds herself and relays to us clear-eyed honesty and more than a little humor.
‘Bad Feminist’ Roxane Gay to Lecture at Trinity University
Order “Bad Feminist” from The Tiny Bookstore
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
Recommendation by Norm Goldberg
This absorbing memoir places you in the life of a Black family in New Orleans from the height of Jim Crow to the cataclysm of Katrina and beyond. Every brother, aunt and cousin in her family is sharply drawn and compelling enough to sustain their own book. At the center of the story stands Broom’s mother Ivory Mae and her yellow shotgun house, a vivid stage set for each chapter of the family’s challenging but deeply affirming life.
Sarah Broom on Creative Courage and What It Took to Write Her Stunning Memoir, ‘The Yellow House’
Order “The Yellow House” from The Tiny Bookstore
Carmi’s Restaurant, Pittsburgh, carmirestaurant.com
Recommendation by Gwyn Cready
If you haven’t had the shrimp and grits—or any of the other house specialties at Carmi’s—you are missing out on a truly exceptional experience. This Black-owned business, located in Pittsburgh’s Southside, specializes in soul food, and speak to your soul, it does. The catfish—grilled, fried, or blackened—is hot and flavorful. The mac and cheese is a sharp, creamy mouthful of happiness. And the fried chicken is a delight. If you haven’t already tried Carmi’s, go. You won’t be sorry.