White Fragility: WHY IT’S SO HARD FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT RACISM – Robin DiAngelo

This is a good primer for those who are getting started. One particularly helpful takeaway is for white people to learn that having a racist thought, saying something racist, or acting in a racist way does not make you an immoral or bad person. It is far worse to ignore, resist, or deny that we all have work to do, because we all have racism coursing through our blood. 

Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race – Debbie Irving

Irving’s memoir of her journey of becoming aware of her whiteness, her privilege and her responsibility to use both to counter systemic and individual racism. This would be a good first read, even before DiAngelo’s, for those brand new to the idea that they have work to do.

How To Be An Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi

A challenging read for those first diving into this work, but Kendi blends personal stories, including those of his own anti-black racism, anti-white racism, colorism and more. This is an excellent how-to “manual” about the work of anti-racism, particularly in the areas of systems, policies and procedures.

13th – Documentary on Netflix directed b y Ava DuVernay

A must see documentary about the the criminal justice system in America. Slavery may have been abolished by the 13th amendment, but white supremacy has and continues to find ways to profit from keeping Black bodies in chains.

New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander

Some of Alexander’s work is revealed in the documentary 13th, but the documentary is not a substitute for the deep dive of this book. Mixing personal stories of those who have been impacted with careful analysis of statistics, laws and the key players profiting from the white supremacy effort to keep Black men (and others incarcerated), Alexander will move you to want to bring change to America’s very broken and expensive system of injustice.

The Girl with the Louding Voice – Abi Daré Fiction

This is a painfully beautiful story of hope and one girl’s determination to never give up on her dreams.

“An unforgettable, inspiring story of a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village who longs to get an education so that she can find her “louding voice” and speak up for herself, The Girl with the Louding Voice is a simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant tale…”m description

White Too Long – Robert P. Jones

Jones takes a hard look how his family, the church in America and our nation have clung to white supremacy. Weaving personal narratives, history and enough statistical analysis to delight social scientists, White Too Long challenges white Christians in the pew and pulpit to take a hard look at racism, our pursuit of quick, and often meaningless, racial reconciliation, and how the church needs to divorce itself from white supremacy. If you start to feel hopeless, don’t give up reading. The last chapter holds some answers and hope.tem description

Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi – Fiction

“One of my all-time favorite books.” Pastor Kelly Dahlman-Oeth

“The unforgettable New York Times best seller begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. Written with tremendous sweep and power, Homegoing traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and 300 years of history, each life indeliably drawn, as the legacy of slavery is fully revealed in light of the present day.

Effia and Esi are born into different villages in 18th-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery.

One thread of Homegoing follows Effia’s descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of 20th-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.” – 2016 Random House Publishers

So You Wanna Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo

Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from police brutality and cultural appropriation to the model minority myth in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race, and about how racism infects every aspect of American life.

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas and other books for young and preteen readers.

A review of The Hate U Give – Gr 9 Up—Starr has learned to adapt her personality to fit two worlds. “Garden Heights Starr” helps her ex-gangbanger father in his neighborhood grocery. “Williamson Starr” has a white boyfriend, and is one of the few black students at a tony prep school in an exclusive part of town. When gunshots ring out at a Garden Heights party, Starr and her friend Khalil leave. Soon after, Khalil makes an innocent but unanticipated move at a traffic stop, and Starr witnesses his death by a white officer. In the ensuing weeks and months, Starr deals with reactions: her own, her family’s, and those of her inner-city neighbors and upscale private school friends. Starr’s first-person narration creates an immediacy that draws listeners into the anger and grief.she is feeling, while also acknowledging that Khalil may have been involved with drugs and that gang activity is driving families out of Garden Heights. Debut author Thomas populates her story with true-to-life characters—flaws and all. Starr’s family members are particularly well-drawn. Bahni Turpin perfectly captures dialect, cadence, and slang, providing each individual with nuanced tones. At times, Starr’s voice is thoughtful and gentle; at others, it is spitting out four-letter words in frustration and outrage. VERDICT A thought-provoking, highly current, and worthy addition that will enhance most high school collections.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX 

Do Better – Rachel Ricketts

An individual spiritual journey of welcoming racial justice into your mind and heart on a daily basis — that’s why I thought it would be a good practice for Lent. We started on February 22, but if you would like to join us on a Monday we will be having open discussions based on the questions and challenges presented in the book Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy.