I wish I had read this book in high school, but as it stands, it was not a part of my required reading and I didn’t know enough about Black literature at that time to even think about picking it up on my own.

What a beautiful story and exploration of Black sisterhood, loyalty, love, resilience, and overall complexity that embodies the southern Black family. While reading, I enjoyed being able to visualize the characters from Spielberg’s adaptation, which helped the book come alive for me. Whoopi will always be Celie, Oprah will always be Sofia, and Donald Glover will always be Mr.

But what the Spielberg movie does not do is explore the nuances of sexuality, hypermasculinity, religion, and the seemingly complicated relationship between the African American and native African.

Even though my exposure to this classic Black literature came late, this is an example of how timeless this story (and all our stories) remain for current and future generations.