Six Superb Short Stories to Help Celebrate Black History Month

To help celebrate Black History Month, here are some short stories for you to enjoy. I’ve read them over the past year and felt it was the right time to share them with you. Each story is accompanied by a brief précis to help you decide which ones to explore. While we can’t reproduce the full texts here for copyright reasons, you’ll find a link to each story below.

If you have your own recommendations, please add a comment below.

And the Earth Drank Deep by Ntsika Kota

In Ntsika Kota’s “and the earth drank deep”, a young hunter’s first kill unsettles him, revealing the weight of tradition and mortality. Later, when he lies about his role in a jackal attack, the elders uncover the truth, exposing themes of courage, deception, and the burden of expectation.

Mabweadziva by- Ethel Maqeda

Two sisters sit outside an abandoned bakery, haunted by memories of Zimbabwe’s violent past and their own entangled histories. Through fractured storytelling, silences, and bitterness, the narrator recalls war, loss, and family rifts. The story explores memory, trauma, and the struggle to find meaning in sacrifice and survival.

Granddaughter of the Octopus by Remy Ngamije

A granddaughter narrates the uncompromising life of her matriarch grandmother, who owns land, raises children from numerous fathers, and upholds fierce autonomy. Despite pressure from family, men, and corporations, the grandmother resists selling her land. Themes of inheritance, strength, sexuality, and defiance emerge in raw, poetic prose.

Winner of the 2021 Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize for Africa.

The Strange Story of the World by Chigozie Obioma

After his bank is shut, Papa’s life spirals into poverty. He tries business ventures, rituals and desperate schemes to restore status. A goat, a song, poverty’s humiliation – all combine to expose his fracture under pressure. His son Saka witnesses a father consumed by longing and despair.

John Redding Goes to Sea by Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston’s “John Redding Goes to Sea” follows a young Florida man whose restless spirit yearns for adventure beyond his rural home. Torn between his dreams of the ocean and the expectations of family and community, John embodies the tension between duty, tradition, and the pull of personal destiny.

How Much is that Doggie in the Window by Gloria Mwanga Odary

On a scorching November day, the narrator recalls Mama throwing a cooking stick at their maid Kagonya. The household dynamics shift: Kagonya’s integration becomes brittle, and whispers of a new home, family tensions, and lost innocence hang heavily in the humid air.