The year 2020 marks a new decade and an opportunity to reset and renew our commitment to scholarship on Atlantic slavery and the Atlantic African diaspora.

This reading “challenge” or adventure is simply a loosely organized reason to revisit older texts, reread favorites, and explore new genres.

There is no prize (unless you count bragging rights), but if you decide to read and want to be in community, use the hashtags #ADPhD #ADPhDReads and/or #slaveryarchive on social media. Share what you’re picking up and post your thoughts. Let’s discuss.

#ADPhD Reading Challenge #ADPhDReads

Note: “Slavery” here refers to the system of racial bondage that began circa 1440 and was abolished circa 1888. Not modern day sex trafficking.

1. A book about slavery and capitalism that cites Eric Williams
2. A legal history of slavery
3. A book about African diasporic systems of belief (ex. Robert Farris Thompson)
4. A book by a slavery scholar of African or African descent
5. A book about slavery and memory
6. A book about African diaspora art
7. A book on African and Native/Indigenous slavery
8. A book by a woman of color slavery scholar
9. A book about slavery and gender in the African diaspora
10. A book about sexuality and slavery in the African diaspora
11. A book published by an indie press about slavery
12. A novel about slavery
13. A book published by a trade (not indie) press about slavery
14. A book about slavery on the African continent
15. A book by an independent scholar of color about slavery/African diaspora
16. A book by a non-Western scholar about slavery/African diaspora
17. A book about Indian Ocean slaving/slavery
18. A book about black resistance, organizing and/or political movements (ex. maroonage, abolition)
19. A book about two African diaspora communities separated today by a “border” (ex. Lorgia Garcia-Peña’s Borders of Dominicanidad or Lorelle Semley‘s To Be Free and French)
20. A book of poetry about slavery
21. A book about slavery in the Caribbean
22. A book about slavery in Latin America
23. A book about Native/Indigenous communities and slavery
24. A slave narrative/testimony

Addendum: There are several 2020 reading challenges circulating. Before posting this, the one I saw was the Free Black Women’s Library reading challenge. Support her as well!