Author: Lucy Chapman

If there’s one book that everyone should read, it’s Ann Petry’s The Street. Set in 1940s Harlem, it was the first novel written by a black woman to sell more than a million copies, but the message is one many of us can relate to even today. Petry’s gritty portrayal of Lutie Johnson’s life perfectly lays out the farce of the American dream and the systemic disadvantages that Black women in particular face. Trying to raise her son alone and make a good career for herself, Lutie battles to be taken seriously and is faced with opposition at every turn.…