Reading list
In my experience as a teacher, I’ve seen the power that reading has in opening up new understanding, releasing old beliefs, and creating new behaviors. Some of the books and resources on this page may be a good start to learning about inequality and anti-racism. It is by no means comprehensive to all the sides or issues.
James Baldwin
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and activist. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son, explore intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western society, most notably in regard to the mid-twentieth-century United States.
As the voice of the American civil rights movement, he is also known for works including The Fire Next Time and Go Tell It on the Mountain.
Nelson Mandela
One of the great moral and political leaders of his time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country.
“I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
"We've got some difficult days ahead," civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., told a crowd gathered at Memphis's Clayborn Temple on April 3, 1968. "But it really doesn't matter to me now because I've been to the mountaintop. . . . And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land."
These prophetic words, uttered the day before his assassination, challenged those he left behind to see that his "promised land" of racial equality became a reality; a reality to which King devoted the last twelve years of his life.
Other Resources
Harvard’s Advancing Black Lives 5-Part Series
Policing Policy Ideas from CivilRights.org
The Science of Justice: Race, Arrests, and Police Use of Force
Adams, M. (Ed.). (2000). Readings for diversity and social justice. Psychology Press.
Feagin, J. (2013). Systemic racism: A theory of oppression. Routledge.
Johnson, A. G. (2001). Power, privilege, and difference. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.
Lau, M. Y., & Williams, C. D. (2010). Microaggressionsresearch: Methodological review and recommendations. In: D. W. Sue (Ed.). Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics and impact (pp. 313–336). New York, NY: Wiley
Ross, L. (2016). Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on America’s Campuses. Macmillan.
Sue, D. W. (2003). Overcoming our racism: The journey to liberation. John Wiley & Sons.
Race Lessons: Using Inquiry to Teach About Race in Social Studiesedited by Prentice T. Chandler, Todd S. Hawley (2017)
Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schoolsby Glenn E. Singleton
Eyes on the Prize, transcripts here
Audio: 1619 podcast, Witness Black History by BBC World Service, Seeing White documentary series, on Scene On Radio, The Echo Chamber, Black History in Two Minutes
Films: 13th, Selma, and When They See Us, and 26 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students on NYT
Videos: Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap, I Am Not Your Negro, and James Baldwin Debates William F. Buckley (1965), and Oprah’s Where Do We Go From Here with Black Thought Leaders Part One and Part Two.
Donate: 137 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color