Melissa Harris Perry at Glamour, gathered extraordinary women of color working in many different fields and asked them about the books that helped them fall in love with reading… Support our news coverage by subscribing to our Kindle Nation Daily Digest. Joining is free right now!

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston

I loved that Hurston used Southern U.S. patois to tell the story. It was the first time I read everyday people’s language in an acclaimed text. Not since Ms. Lou of Jamaica had I read dialect in text. But the best part of the book was the evolution of Janie. She was a beautiful mixture of confidence and insecurity—like so many of us. —Janice Johnson Dias, Ph.D., Marley’s mom, associate professor of sociology at John Jay College, and author of the forthcoming Parent Like It Matters: How to Raise Joyful Changemaking Girls

* * *

“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf” by Ntozake Shange

For Colored Girls…, especially the poem “toussaint,” was transformational for me. So many books I read in school were assignments, and I read them to fulfill a lesson for school. For Colored Girls wasn’t about school—it was for my soul. —Tamron Hall, Emmy Award–winning journalist and host of The Tamron Hall Show

* * *

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

The moment I began reading, I knew Maya Angelou had written this book for girls like me. This book let me know that it was okay to be a little brown girl with a big Arabic name in a place called Lynchburg, Virginia, with the audacity to imagine possibilities unbound by identity. I’ve been singing ever since. —Khalilah Brown-Dean, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University and author of Identity Politics in the United States

* * *

“Double Trouble, #1 Sweet Valley High” by Francine Pascal

It might seem odd for me to choose a book about blond twins, but the Sweet Valley High books revealed many of the complicated confusing aspects of being a young girl. Pascal’s characters have a resilience and strength that my sisters and I devoured. We’d sit for hours discussing the shenanigans of Elizabeth and Jessica. This was what it meant to truly love reading, and it laid the foundation for my work as an academic. —Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University and the cohost of FAQ podcast

* * *

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume

I was born late in the year and skipped kindergarten, which made me nearly two years younger than my classmates. It was fine academically, but physically I was insecure as everyone else developed. I wore pads every day for years in anticipation! I thought I would never mature. Margaret’s vulnerability helped me make meaning of my own experiences. When I later read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, I connected vulnerability to race and gender. I’ve spent the rest of my life reading to dismantle racial and gender hierarchies. —Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund

* * *

Read full list on Glamour.com