On the Shelf: Celeste M. Bryant

A personal Black History moment from our Executive Producer, Celeste M. Bryant.

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Reading is a revolutionary act.

My grandfather, Roosevelt Hall, Sr., was an avid reader and created a culture of in his household. From religious texts to literary criticisms to art of the Diaspora, you could find a book about any subject anywhere in the house. And it didn’t matter if he purchased it at a chain store, pulled it from the bottom of a garage sale bin or received it as a thoughtful gift, in every book he would always write the date as well as the place and/or person who gave it to him on the title page. Every book that finds its way into my home gets the same handwritten stamp. Funny how certain acts become habits that turn into traditions.

When I use my mind’s eye to conjure up the essence of my Gramps, he’s sitting on the edge of his bed with no less than three books fully open and a legal pad nearby so he can jot down a gem (or critique) in the prose, the footnotes or the appendix that would pique his curiosity that eventually led him back to the stacks. Always seek knowledge like buried treasure.

Some of my favorite conversations (read: debates) with him were around books I had read, should read or shouldn’t waste my time reading. For me there wasn’t anything that Gramps didn’t know or have an expert opinion about. He was my Aristotle. He was my Einstein. He was my Emerson. At times he expressed concern about how “our generation” took reading for granted and didn’t engage in the act as often as we should. No one can take away your salvation.

During those exchanges he would remind me how it was a punishable act for my ancestors to be able to see symbols; comprehend those symbols into words; and those words into a complete thought that could shape your own ideals about the world you live in. I don’t know how many times I heard him make his case, but at some point it stuck:

Reading is a revolutionary act.

So to honor Gramps during the anniversary month that recognizes and celebrates how Black people have shaped American history and culture, I present a list of books that not only have a place in my collection, but also on the shelves of my colleagues and Praytell offices alike.

Whether it’s following the journey of a young bride during the Great Migration with Isabel Wilkerson, analyzing social justice themes in the works of Hank Willis Thomas or co-signing Hanif Abdurraqib’s love letter to the greatest hip-hop group of all time (don’t @ me), each writer offers a different perspective of the Black experience.

My hope is that whoever is reading this will pick up one (or all) of these books and read them on the edge of their bed with a notebook nearby.

• go ahead in the rain: notes to a tribe called quest, hanif abdurraqib
• the water dancer, ta-nehisi coates
• thick, dr. tressie mcmillian cotttom
• all about love, bell hooks
• the new black vanguard, antwaun sargent
• all things being equal, hank willis thomas
• the warmth of other suns, isabel wilkerson

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