To put Naylor's work into a social and cultural context, it's helpful to have some background information about North American Black English. This Google.com directory will lead you to lots of different sites dealing with this subject.
Like every great writer, Naylor loves words and pays particular attention to their origins and meanings. How about you? What's your relationship with words? See if you have some fun at this site devoted to word and phrases.
Would you like to brush up your knowledge about American women's contributions to Civil Rights Movement? Read this essay on the subject. What mention is made there of Naylor? Could you use any of this in a research paper?
This page has some information about a video series called In Black and White: Six Profiles of African American Authors. And you guessed it: One of them is Gloria Naylor. Can you tell if your library owns the series from the computer you're using now?