3 'humanizing' books by Black authors that explore identity and belonging
Mirian Njoh is a fashionista, an influencer and a contributor on The Next Chapter. We asked her to recommend three memoirs by other people who have also lived captivating lives.
She joined host Antonio Michael Downing in the Toronto studio to talk about three books by Black voices telling their own stories.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama, the first African American to serve as first lady of the United States of America, chronicles her life in this memoir. Obama grew up on the south side of Chicago, led a successful law career and had two daughters before her husband Barack Obama became President. Obama is celebrated for her advocacy work on behalf of girls and woman globally and, in her role as first lady, worked to raise awareness on healthy lifestyles for families.
Njoh said she liked the fact that the memoir showed Michelle Obama in her vulnerable moments.
"She was disciplined, but she was also very human. One of the questions that she always asks herself as a child and even throughout the book is, 'Am I good enough?' And that's something really humanizing that helps to bring her back to Earth because she is this larger-than-life figure."
She was disciplined, but she was also very human. One of the questions that she always asks herself as a child and even throughout the book is, "Am I good enough?- Mirian Njoh
Michelle Obama is an American lawyer, author and former First Lady of the United Sates of America.
Monster by Sanyika Shakur
Sanyaki Shakur was born Kody Scott in 1963 in South Central Los Angeles. His memoir Monster recalls how joining the Crips in the sixth grade lead him to a life of crime, violence and incarceration. Initially nicknamed Monster, he changed his life while in prison eventually becoming a Black Nationalist and taking on the name Sanyika Shakur.
For Njoh this book gave her insight into the environment, influences and experiences that can lead a young man into the gang lifestyle.
"A lot of the reason why this lifestyle is so alluring is because it offers something that's deeply missing in the people who are participating in it, which involves like a lack of self-worth, a lack of self-importance, a powerlessness that the environment that they're growing up creates within them."
A lot of the reason why this lifestyle is so alluring is because it offers something that's deeply missing in the people who are participating in it.- Mirian Njoh
She also appreciated that the book talks about his efforts to alter the course of his life.
"As he gets older he encounters a few men that start to create a positive influence for him. He discovers Islam through a teacher that's in one of the jails there and then he starts to get his GED and the teacher who's helping him get his GED become two really positive, affirming male figures and I think that they're definitely instrumental in a lot of his awakening."
Sanyaki Shakur was an American author and former gang member. Shakur died of a stroke in 2021.
Shame On Me by Tessa McWatt
Tessa McWatt was born in Guyana and came to Canada when she was three years old. She grew up in Toronto and spent years living in Montreal, Paris, Ottawa and London. Her heritage is Scottish, English, French, Portuguese, Indian, Amerindian, African and Chinese.
Shame on Me is a memoir about identity, race and belonging by someone who spent a lot of time trying to find an answer to the question, "Who are you?" and who has endured decades of racism and bigotry while trying to figure where she belongs.
Njoh said she liked the way this book deconstructs the idea of race and identity.
"This book is an anatomy of race, but I would say she looks at it through her personal experiences as a multiracial Canadian because there's just so many layers even to that. It exposes the absurdity of the idea of race because it's just a choice we're making to put someone in a category. It doesn't actually speak to anything.
It exposes the absurdity of the idea of race because it's just a choice we're making to put someone in a category. It doesn't actually speak to anything.- Mirian Njoh
"She deconstructs expectations and I love the vulnerability of this type of deep and intimate storytelling, especially from people who are still alive to give us that story."
McWatt is the author of several works of fiction. Her novels include Dragons Cry, Vital Signs and Higher Ed. She is also the co-editor of the anthology Luminous Ink: Writers on Writing in Canada. Shame on Me is her first work of nonfiction.
This segment has been edited for length and clarity. It was produced by Jacqueline Kirk. For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians, check out CBC's Being Black in Canada. You can read more stories here.
