So, in light of what's happening right now, I've got some book recommendations for you to help you (and me) understand the history of racism and what it's like to live as a person of color. Some on the lists are books I've read and can recommend, others are books that have been recommended to me. There is not starting point - you just need to start!
NONFICTION:
Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi CoatesWe Were 8 Years In Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
How To Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
And while I'm at it, let's add some shows to watch and some podcasts to listen to:
13th (Netflix)
Dear White People (Netflix)
If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu) - I would also recommend the book on which it is based
Selma (the list I looked at says this is available to rent by I found it on tv the other night)
Do The Right Thing (available to rent)
BlacKkKlansman (HBO Max)
Get Out (available to rent on Amazon Prime)
Fruitvale Station (available to rent on Amazon and iTunes)
Loving (HMO Max)
Blindspotting (HBO, HBO Max)
Malcolm X (Netflix)
Floodlines
1619
Intersectionality Matters!
Throughline
Codeswitch
Come Through with Rebecca Carroll
Lynching In America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror
Justice In America
I know, I know - it's heavy reading, watching, and listening. No one expects you to do it all in one day. But today is as good as any to start doing the work. I don't know about you, but my Christian, moral upbringing keeps reminding me that it's the right thing to do. I'm not sure why I never saw that before.
Yes, we can't do it all in one day but we need to keep reading, educating ourselves and our circle of friends and family. Great list. I ran across Dr. Eddie Moore Jr.'s website yesterday. It contains a 21-day challenge on engaging with racial equity. The resources our fantastic. https://www.eddiemoorejr.com/21daychallenge
ReplyDeleteI finished listening to 1619 the other day. That last story about the family that lost their generational farm was gut-wrenching. Thanks again for sharing these. There are plenty I need to keep reading and add to my list.
I find that I get so angry that I want to take a break. Then I feel guilty because I have the capability to be able to do that, just forget about it for a bit. But I did see a post recently where the person was suggesting that we can also help just by reading books by POC, that they don't just have to do with racism and I feel like I do a pretty good job of that as it is. The key, I suppose, is to not let up not that we are, as they say, "woke."
DeleteWonderful list.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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