What do certain kinds of trees mean to the Black community? Montgomery is a plant botanist with a wealth of information to present, whether it’s about the enslaved man who first domesticated the pecan tree or about the associations of the poplar tree with acts of racial violence. This mixture of memoir, historical analysis, and popular science looks at how Black culture and history in the United States are intertwined with the stories of trees and all that trees gave them and witnessed.

Roberts is the author of the brilliant Killing the Black Body. She turns her attention now to her own father’s research, which was never published but was a deep dive into studying interracial marriage—an object of study that became personal when he, a white anthropologist, married a Black Jamaican woman who joined him in his work. Roberts not only digs into the research itself and its findings, but also talks about her own childhood, her parents, and the unexpected truths she stumbled on in picking through her parents’ work.

We’ve all seen the TikToks about what it’s like to be labeled “gifted & talented” when young, but what about carrying those same expectations as a Black prodigy whose very potential is in stark contrast with society’s expectations for Blackness? Bennet, Distinguished Chair of Humanities at MIT, shares his own experience of being othered as an “exception,” investigating how we see genius, how disability in his family played into his own journey, and how gifted Black people have surmounted the odds across time.

In what is without a doubt one of the most anticipated books of the year, the author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to be an Antiracist expounds on the great replacement theory—the idea that people of color are invading to “replace” white populations—and how it has been leveraged to help put authoritarian leaders and conservative strongmen in power. He breaks down not only how pervasive it’s been throughout our history and our present, but how we can attempt to stop it from taking over our consciousness.

No, “respair” is not a typo. It’s a rare word recorded only once, in the 1500s, that means the hope that follows a period of despair. That’s what multi–National Book Award–winning author Jesmyn Ward evokes in this collection of essays and articles that are about everything from her approaches to fiction and to life, to the writers who have guided her in her journey, to raising a Black son in the modern day, and losing her partner to Covid-19. This collection by one of our most talented authors is a must-read in 2026.

Is this one nonfiction? Is it fiction? Um…yes! Rankine is known for bending genre to her will: her poetry collection Citizen: An American Lyric used photographs, analysis, and quotations to meditate on race, stress, and prejudice. Now, in Triage, Rankine presents a sort of memoir, as two characters, the narrator and theorist, bounce off each other and try to find their place both in their relationship (described as sisters) and in the world. The book promises to be a trip, a text accompanied by full-color illustrations, a book about violence past and present, and what it means to forge a kinship.

Zambian author and Harvard professor Serpell gives her own voice to this examination of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s work and legacy, from her most famous novels to her lesser-known works of criticism, poetry, and more. Get a rigorous introduction to Morrison’s work, or dig deeper, using this book to help guide you through her work. Serpell wants to bust past the narrow view of Morrison as our greatest Black writer and go deeper, plumbing the depths for clues. How do we read Morrison? Serpell works to answer that question in this book that will serve lovers of Morrison for years to come.

Laverne Cox busted through countless barriers to become the first openly trans person nominated for an acting Emmy Award for her work on Orange Is the New Black. Now, she’s sharing the ins and outs of that journey, from her difficult childhood and mental illness to becoming a Hollywood star in her 40s, and everything in between. This is a hotly anticipated reflection on the life of a groundbreaking actress who has cleared the way for so many non-gender-conforming performers, giving her the opportunity to be candid and vulnerable with her many fans.

The scholar known best for her frameworks that changed the face of American thought—intersectionality and critical race theory—turns her attention to her own story. From her upbringing in Canton, Ohio, to her revelations and hard work that led to the birth of critical ideas and concepts that would shape our current moment, Crenshaw breaks down her life framed by turning point moments in race and gender across the United States, from Anita Hill’s testimony to the Black Lives Matter movement.