The Archive

Unfiltered stories of Black resistance, erased heroes, and hidden truths. We connect the past to today’s fights so the next generation never has to ask “why didn’t they teach us this?”

Banned Book Series

The books that get challenged often tell the most important stories.

This series breaks down banned and challenged works focused on African American history and the diaspora, examining why they are considered threatening and what they reveal about control over knowledge and narrative.

Black Reconstruction in America by W.E.B Du Bois

This Book Rewrites Reconstruction. Most People Never Learned It This Way.

Discover how W.E.B. Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction in America reframes one of the most misunderstood periods in U.S. history. Explore the real forces behind Reconstruction’s collapse, the central role of Black Americans, and why these patterns still matter today. Get your copy from our bookstore and join the conversation on social media.

smartbrowngirlllc

4 days ago2 min read

A clean flat-lay image of All Boys Aren't Blue on a neutral background.

Banned Book Series: All Boys Aren’t Blue

George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, published in 2020, is a memoir-manifesto about growing up Black and queer in America.

smartbrowngirlllc

Jan 12 min read

A stack of books with How to be an Antiracist on top, stamped with censored, title still visible.

Banned Book Series: How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist, published by Ibram X. Kendi in 2019, has become one of the most frequently challenged books in American schools and libraries. The reason is often dressed up as concern for age appropriateness or political neutrality. The reality is simpler.

smartbrowngirlllc

Dec 22, 20252 min read

A broken pocket watch lying in soil, its chain fading into the outline of shackles.

Banned Book Series: Kindred

Kindred remains one of the most frequently challenged works by Octavia Butler. Official reasons cite violence, sexual assault, and harsh depictions of slavery. The deeper fear runs far deeper. Butler refused to let the past stay distant. She forced readers to see how history shapes identity and power in the present.

smartbrowngirlllc

Dec 2, 20252 min read

The Archive

Banned Book Series

This Book Rewrites Reconstruction. Most People Never Learned It This Way.

Banned Book Series: All Boys Aren’t Blue

Banned Book Series: How to Be an Antiracist

Banned Book Series: Kindred

SMART BROWN GIRL