Joshunda Sanders

A painting of Frederick Douglass shows him in a blue blazer with a golden ascot and a white shirt. The book jacket for David Blight’s biography, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom” has Frederick Douglass’ name in white, prophet of freedom written in gold.

Celebrating Frederick Douglass today on his chosen birthday. Douglass Day was celebrated on Feb. 14th in DC schools before Negro History Week was officially established & those commemorations were models for the Black History Months to come. Grateful for the legacy of liberation rooted in love.

A cream colored backdrop defines the cover of this book with black and red writing around a green and black illustration. The title reads: I’ll Make Me a World, The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month by Jarvis R. Givens.

Happy Black History Month, y’all. I have been excited to delve into Jarvis Givens’ centennial examination of BHM, including Negro History Week with a lineage that dates back much further. Our legacy is not only about the violence we have survived; we made beauty, too. The book comes out tomorrow.

Take good care, and thank you for reminding us to do the same. Big hugs, sis. I feel this. I got you if you want other book recommendations 🥰😘

YouTube video by Apple TV Come See Me In The Good Light — Official Trailer | Apple TV

Incredibly beautiful. youtu.be/t0B8sjxR7Mo?...

The Heart of America is Black: A DC Appreciation Post A photo I took before a reading at the Library of Congress. When I moved to DC twelve years ago, it was one of the Blackest cities I’d lived in as an adult. Though I grew up in New York and Philly,…

I loved DC once I understood it better by seeing it up close. & I believe the symbolism of domestic terrorism under the guise of a federal takeover invokes old tropes to undermine Black prosperity and progress. It’s a very old story. joshundasanders.com/2025/08/28/t...

I don’t know about y’all but I’m watching these Katrina anniversary docs like…20 years of this mess. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Places of Black and immigrant flourishing are not inherently criminal, no matter what narrative is spun up to support military occupation of American cities.

Review: Misbehaving at the Crossroads Or, My favorite read of 2025 so far

There is so much beauty here. open.substack.com/pub/blackboo...

On Becoming a Mother, Part I & II Dear baby girl, I wonder how old you will be when you finally read this. I wish I had a letter from my mother when she was carrying me, so I could understand a little better what her world was like…

Sending love to the ones who have lost mothers ahead of this weekend, and love to those of us becoming moms too: joshundasanders.com/2025/05/06/o...

Black female WWII unit, 'Six Triple Eight,' receives congressional medal The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, known as the “Six Triple Eight,” has been presented with the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Six Triple Eight deserves these flowers - I am delighted to see it: apnews.com/article/six-...

Joshunda Sanders on Substack There is something about the poets & poetry that is a buffer against all the noise, that grounds us in remembering that cruelty is not the only possibility for words, that it is below the floor of wha...

substack.com/@blackbooks/...

On Merit and What You Deserve You are worthy.

Diversity, equity & inclusion will always be needed alongside assessments of merit because America is not a meritocracy. Black, Brown, poor, getting by, immigrant, queer, women, disabled: We all deserve to thrive; attacking equity doesn’t change our worthiness. joshunda.medium.com/on-merit-and...

Not sure I can promise I will be here with any regularity but I will pop in from time to time. Writing for work and for my sanity makes it tough to swim in social media waters, but it’s nice to see y’all & I wanted to say what’s good. 😊

In another life, I was a newspaper reporter for a decade between 2000 & 2011 when I was also an early adopter for the social media platforms I’ve since abandoned. I’m a trained librarian, a former marathoner & have worked in Comms all over including the federal gov’t.

My work in the world as I see it is to tell the stories of people, especially Black women, that are erased, & to use everything in me to tell those stories with beauty & as much courage as I can. I love us with my entire being & it is an honor to get to use my gifts this way.

I have not properly said hello to folks since I started this account & it feels like a good place to start 2025. I’m a Bronx native & author most recently of the 2023 novel Women of the Post about the glorious Six Triple Eight. I work in Executive Communications for a leading health philanthropy.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 20

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 19

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 18

My Favorite Black Books in 2024 A slight twist on an end of year list

I made an end of year list on Substack because I love making them: open.substack.com/pub/blackboo...

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 17

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 16

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 15

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 14

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 13

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 12

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 11

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 10

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚
#Books

Book 9

Remembering Black Veterans & What We Owe Them I spent several years writing a book about the valiant 6888th Central Postal Battalion, more widely known as the Six Triple Eight without…

I love that Tyler Perry’s new movie Six Triple Eight illuminates further the story of the battalion I focused on in my novel Women of the Post. No affiliation between me & Tyler, just coincidence, but they deserve all the books & movies & flowers. joshunda.medium.com/remembering-...