The Best Anti-Racist Books You’ll Love to Read
This post is about anti-racist books to read.
The Black Lives Matter movement is still going strong, so it’s important to make sure you’re constantly educating yourself! Here’s a list of some of my favorite anti-racist books that I’ve read or am planning to read that you should too. And if you’re just now jumping into the subject, this list is full of engaging, and beginner-friendly options.
When They Call you a Terrorist by Patrisse Kahn-Cullors & Asha Bandele
In this book, Cullors writes about her upbringing and interactions with law enforcement that lead to her activism. She co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi after Trayvon Martin’s death in 2013 as a way to transform her “personal pain into political power.” All in all, This piece is a call to action to change the culture of declaring innocent black lives as expendable.
Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis
In less than 120 pages, Davis considers race, gender, and civil rights to make a compelling case for “decarceration” and the transformation of society as a whole. She challenges readers to imagine a world without prisons and provides many alternatives to our current system. You can start reading right now with this free pdf.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This one is an absolute must-read (even Toni Morrison said so). It’s a compilation of letters from Coates to his sons about the realities that come with being Black in America. He writes about white supremacy and structural racism and it’s stronghold on American society that have always affected Black people. It’s similar to James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, which I also HIGHLY recommend below.
*Ta Nehisi Coates is also a correspondent for The Atlantic and he’s written multiple pieces for them about race.
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
This is a personal favorite! It’s written by a well-known Civil Rights Activist, James Baldwin, and is composed of two essays- “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” and “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind.” He discusses race in American history and race and religion together.
How to be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Kendi explores anti-racism and how it can be applied to individual behavior and systemic changes. He pulls from his own experiences and observations to describe manifestations of racism (scientific racism, colorism) and intersections of racism (gender, sexuality, and class).