African-American + Black Herbal Resources

The following - mostly book-based - resource list is focused on United States based African-American and Black herbal practices and healing arts with a plant-based emphasis. This list is not meant to be exhaustive collection or encompassing the entirety of Black and African-American healing practices in the United States but a starting point for herbal practices.

The desire to create this list was born of a few reasons: I wanted to be able to provide more than just the handful of resources I knew to my Black and African-American students; I think culturally-specific resource lists are important, especially for those of us who have had the passage of ancestral wisdom through the generations interrupted; and to celebrate the vastness and ingenuity of Black and African-American herbal arts (which, in my experience, has been glaringly lacking in many herbal spaces - even BIPOC-centered ones - until very recently). In curating this list, my goal has been to seek out resources written by and for African-American and Black folks and the majority of this list reflects just that with a few exceptions.

Also, if you live in the United States and practice herbalism, you have likely benefited from African-American and Black herbal practices - so join me in supporting folks of African heritage trying to reclaim their own practices and have the space to heal together and innovate new ones through schools and projects like The People’s Medicine Project: Reclamation, Harriet’s Apothecary or whatever local programs that exist around you. You can also support the ways Black and African-American folks, especially girls and women, get healing support through programs like The Loveland Foundation.

While we are living in increasingly searchable times where there are a growing number of resources to be found with a few clicks, I still felt that it would be useful to gather together a list of resources. First, sponsored links and advertising can make it difficult to find resources beyond the repeatedly recommended ones and second, and this is part of the work of resource-sharing that I feel called to. While others might find it difficult to find the time or just frustrating having to sort through all the noise on the internet, I hope that this list makes finding resources on African-American and Black herbalism that much easier. I’ll update it as I continue to find resources and will be sure to let folks know through my newsletter.

The list is split into three categories - one focusing on modern practice, the other historical practices of the African-American and Black community in the USA, and then a third section of resources that were beyond the scope of this list, but still felt relevant to share. I just want to emphasize that there is no hard line between modern and historical practice - it’s a distinction I went back and forth on if I wanted to include, but it felt like it helped to organize the resources. So while I’ve kept the two categories it is not to say that there is modern practice over here and historical practice over there but that we are continuously informed by the roots of our ancestral practices as well as the ways we’ve carried traditions forward.

Finally, when I have not read the book myself, I have quoted publisher provided descriptions of the book or written my own summary from what information I could find. I hope that one or two of the following resources below kindle inspiration for you and help us all to continue to do the work of uplifting Black and African-American voices in the US and beyond.

And, finally, the images shown are from Black and African-American quilting traditions. Quilting, like many crafts done predominantly by womxn, has been long-overlooked as an incredible art form and within Black and African-American communities in the United States, quilting is often tied not only to identity and family stories but to the movement for freedom and social justice (here’s a short documentary to help you get started in learning more).

Modern Practice

Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing by Michele Elizabeth Lee | This book is an absolute treasure full of first hand interviews and an incredible collection of remedies. If you were only able to purchase one book from this list and wanted a mix of practical remedies as well as informative storytelling, this is the book I would recommend. “Working the Roots: Over 400 Years Of Traditional African American Healing is the result of first-hand interviews, conversations, and apprenticeships conducted and experienced by author Michele E. Lee over several years of living and studying in the rural South and in the West Coast regions of the United States.” Listen to an interview with Lee on The Herbal Highway.

The Plants of Black Freedom with Leah Penniman | A webinar recorded in 2019 with the incredible Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm explores the vast legacy of African peoples and herbal medicine. 

Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals by Luisah Teish | This book shaped me. When I first began reading up on Paganism and buying books of my own (after having borrowed all I could from my one Pagan friend) I purchased what I could afford from the used book section of my local metaphysical shop. When a used copy of Jambalaya showed up, complete with notes written by the previous owner, I was thrilled. What I love most about Teish’s book is all the personal stories interwoven with magickal instruction.

African American Folk Healing by Stephanie Y. Mitchem | An academic book but one that is sensitive and holistic, focusing on the first-person narratives of Black Americans from the time of slavery in the United States and onwards.

Rootwork: Using the Magic of Black America for Love, Money, and Success by Tayannah Lee McQuillar | I haven't read this specific work by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, but the work of hers I have read (see below) is impressive and inspiring. “In this groundbreaking book that places Rootwork in its rightful spot among other magickal traditions, Tayannah Lee McQuillar offers a fun and practical guide to improving your life with the help of African American folk magick.”

Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies by Faith Mitchell | Exploring the herbal healing traditions of the Gullah people whose isolation in the South Carolina Sea Islands meant that they were able to preserve traditions longer than other African people forcibly brought to North America.

Sticks, Stones, Roots, and Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo, and Conjuring with Herbs by Stephanie Rose Bird | Full of story and humor, Bird’s book is an accessible and practical guide to incorporating Hoodoo practices into your life. 

The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism: Transform, Heal, & Remember with the Power of Plants and Ancestral Medicine by Karen M. Rose | I have been waiting for this book for years and it is so beautiful! Rose’s book is a beautiful balance of guidance and letting the reader be guided by plants and accompanying spirits. She draws connections between Black and Indigenous spiritual systems alongside western astrological ones which means that we get to learn about Yemaya and the digestive system as well as the Moon’s influence. Oh and the art! The art! Friends, this is such a lovely book and I hope you’ll find a way to spend time learning Rose’s wisdom.

African American Herbalism: A Practical Guide to Healing Plants and Folk Traditions by Lucretia VanDyke | An important addition to the growing library of resources on African American herbal traditions. What I appreciate most about VanDyke’s work is her storytelling (which feels reminiscent of Luisah Teish which makes sense as Teish is one of her mentors) and her emphasis on making sure the stories of African American herbalists get remembered and told. Filled with recipes and insights into herbal healing and more within an African American context both traditional and modern, this is a friendly resource to work with.

A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for the Body and Spirit by Stephanie Rose Bird | “Stephanie Rose Bird explores the practical uses, spiritual traditions, and historical aspects of trees in the heritage of African Americans and offers ways to rediscover and implement natural practices in twenty-first-century daily life.

Good Juju: Mojos, Rites, and Practices for the Magical Soul by Najah Lightfoot | “Designed to help you navigate whatever ups and downs life throws your way, Good Juju is your perfect choice for learning to embrace nature, the old ways, and the magick all around you.”

Handbook of African Medicinal Plants by Maurice M. Iwu | While beyond the American scope of this list, after reading Kendra Payne’s description of why she loves this book, it felt like an important addition to this list.

Historical Practice

Ebers Papyrus | One of the oldest medical texts to come out of Egypt, the Ebers Papyrus has influenced both medicinal and magickal western herbalism. 

African American Slave Medicine: Herbal and Non Herbal Treatments by Herbert C. Covey | “African-American Slave Medicine offers a critical examination of how African-American slaves medical needs were addressed during the years before and surrounding the Civil War. Drawing upon ex-slave interviews conducted during the 1930s and 1940s by the Works Project Administration (WPA), Dr. Herbert C. Covey inventories many of the herbal, plant, and non-plant remedies used by African-American folk practitioners during slavery. He demonstrates how active the slaves were in their own medical care and the important role faith played in the healing process.”

Working Cures: Healing, Health, and Power on Southern Slave Plantations by Sharla M. Fett | “Exploring the charged topic of black health under slavery, Sharla Fett reveals how herbalism, conjuring, midwifery, and other African American healing practices became arts of resistance in the antebellum South.”

In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World by Judith A. Carney and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff | “Judith A. Carney and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff draw on archaeological records, oral histories, and the accounts of slave ship captains to show how slaves' food plots―“botanical gardens of the dispossessed”―became the incubators of African survival in the Americas and Africanized the foodways of plantation societies.”

Mojo Workin': The Old African American Hoodoo System by Katrina Hazzard-Donald | A in-depth exploration of the history and traditions of the African American system of Hoodoo. While not an instruction manual or materia medica, there is plenty of practice to glean from the pages of this epic work.

Bodies of Knowledge: The Influence of Slaves on the Antebellum Medical Community by Sarah Mitchell | A thesis exploring how "the importance of cultural transfer to America from places other than Europe has been overlooked in the history of medicine. The medical influence of slaves took the form of botanical remedies, many of them with an African origin, and were disseminated through the treatments of slave healers."

The Roots of Healing: Archaeological and Historical Investigations of African-American Herbal Medicine by Erin Brooke Hamby | A PhD dissertation exploring historical use of herbs in the African-American community and includes a table of herbs and their uses that can be used as a foundation to build a African-American centered materia medica.

Jane Minor | African-American healer and emancipator of slaves, I wish I could give you a ton of resources about her, but I'm still searching. But be sure to check out the above link and follow the resources that are listed.

Adjacent Practices

Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman | All of Leah’s work is inspired and revolutionary. “Farming While Black is the first comprehensive “how to” guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture.”

Rural African American Woman, Gardening, Progressive Reform, and the Foundation of an African American Environmental Perspective by Dianne D. Glave | A really fascinating and much needed exploration of rural African American women, the gardens they grew and grow, and why these stories and wisdoms matter.

The Seeds of Survival by Michael Tortorello | A short NY Times article featuring images from Freedom Gardens explores the intersections of food and freedom.

Black People With Plants | A beautiful site dedicated to exploring and sharing ”historical facts about Black people in agriculture + gardening, highlight personal plant connections, and represent Black communities + their plants.”

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Dr. Joy DeGruy | "P.T.S.S describes the multi-generational trauma experienced by African Americans that leads to undiagnosed and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder in enslaved Africans and their descendants."

Sanctuary: A Meditation on Home, Homelessness, and Belonging by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel | This is a special book that feels increasingly relevant and it was one I read slowly and tenderly. I highly recommend it. "Drawing from her life as a Zen Buddhist priest whose ancestors labored as slaves in Louisiana, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel explores the tension between oppression—based on race, religion, ability, class, orientation, gender, and other “ghosts of slavery”—and finding home within our own hearts." They have also written The Way of Tenderness which I have not read yet but explores “Buddhist philosophies of emptiness and appearance to bear on race, sexuality, and gender, using wisdom forged through personal experience and practice to rethink problems of identity and privilege.” Some of you who’ve been casting cards for a few decades now may already be familiar with her work through the Black Angel Cards.

The Sibyls Oraculum: Oracle of the Black Doves of Africa by Tayannah Lee McQuillar | While this deck is officially beyond the scope of this list, it is too good not to mention and I’m often surprised by how rarely I see this deck talked about. It’s beautiful, well-researched, and super inspiring. As someone who is part of a oracular spiritual tradition myself, I have loved learning more about the Libyan Sibyls and the way that they shaped oracular tradition in North Africa and throughout the Mediterranean. 

The Hoodoo Tarot by Tayannah Lee McQuillar | At the time of publishing this list, The Hoodoo Tarot has just been released so I haven’t been able to see it in person yet. But it looks fantastic and everything else that McQuillar has published has been great. I have no doubt that this deck is wonderful, too. It is geared towards rootworkers, which is why I included it on our list of healing resources.

The Okra Project | YES! "The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them."   

We Are Each Other's Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy by Natalie Baszile | An absolutely beautiful book full of stories and photos that inspire and uplift the story of African American people and the lands they live with.

The Liberate App | A collection of meditations and talked created by and for the Black community.

The Safe Place App | A mental health app geared towards the Black community, filled with numerous self-care and educational resources.

The Loveland Project | An ongoing project to help Black girls and women get access to quality, culturally-informed therapy. You can access services as a Black girl or woman and non-Black folk are encouraged to donate.