Vanessa Miller Recommends Sadeqa Johnson, ReShonda Tate, Vanessa Riley and More
Through historical fiction, many BIOPOC authors help to reclaim the voices of our past and ensure that these sheroes are finally recognized and celebrated. These works collectively illuminate the many dimensions of equality: cultural, economic, artistic, personal, and legal. They also inspired my own novel, The Ladies Hall, which draws from the lives of trailblazers like Mary Church Terrell and Anna Julia Cooper. Like the women in these books, they pursued education and justice in spaces that resisted them. Their stories remind us that equality is never freely given; it is fought for every day. These narratives ensure that their legacies and the path they forged, continue to guide and inspire future generations. Just as my historical fiction focuses on strong Black women in pivotal moments of history, I also love reading books about women that history tried to erase. Here are some amazing books written by BIOPOC authors about lesser-known women who fought against inequality and systems built to silence them.
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Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
In Keeper of Lost Children, Sadeqa Johnson explores the often-unseen burdens carried by Black women as they navigate family, loss, and resilience in the face of societal inequities. The novel shows women hold families and communities together even when they themselves are overlooked. The story is based on Mabel Grammer, an African American journalist and army wife who adopted 12 children herself and navigated complex red tape to save hundreds more.
