The Color Purple, Walker's novel about black women who persevere despite oppression by society and abuse by the men in their lives, established the author as a voice of 1970s black feminist ideals.

Song of Solomon (1977) by Toni Morrison offers a counterpart to "Everyday Use" but with a male point of view. Through a series of encounters with friends and relatives, Macon ("Milkman'') Dead III learns the value of the past and the importance of human connections.

The Women of Brewster Place (1982) by Gloria Naylor tells the story of seven African-American women who live on a dead-end urban street. Though their lives are often painful, they maintain their spiritual strength and use it to strengthen their community.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965, co-written with Alex Haley) was a cornerstone of the Black Power Movement, whose ideals Dee Johnson and Hakim-a-barber espouse. Malcolm X examines his early life as a hustler, defends his controversial social and political ideals, and explains his conversion to the Islamic faith.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston, a writer of the Harlem Renaissance who was rediscovered and popularized by Walker, is the story of one black woman's effort to claim her own sense of independence.