I’ve been answering a lot of messages lately about what books to read for antiracist education. After ten, I lost track of how many times I wrote out a list of suggestions. I decided to put together an antiracist reading list that will live here on the WA site. I also have this list linked to the WA Bookshop account, I will continue to update that list as I come across more books. One other thing to note is that this is also my TBR list. While I have read books on this list, I am still reading. I am committed to reading each book on the list though!
LAST thing: Remember that education is only one step of an action plan. We have to get to the point of actually acting. That means calling reps, speaking out against racism, donating to antiracist organizations, amplifying black voices, challenging our own biases, evaluating our circles (and actually doing something about them if they’re problematic), and ongoing mindfulness. Black Lives Matter.
Here’s my list:
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
Stamped: Racism Antiracism, and You: A Remix if the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
White Rage by Carol Anderson
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
White Tears, Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
Citizen by Claudia Rankine
They Can’t Kill Us All: The Story of the Struggle for Black Lives by Wes Lowery
Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This is My America by Kim Johnson
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
You can find these books and more on our Antiracist reading list via Bookshop.org. (Note we are an affiliate of Bookshop.org, but you can certainly find all of these books via your retailer of choice.)
Any suggestions that are not on our list?
Racquel Henry is a Trinidadian writer, editor, and writing coach with an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is also a part-time English Professor and owns Writer’s Atelier. Racquel is also the co-founder and Editor at Black Fox Literary Magazine and the Editor-in-Chief at Voyage YA. She is the author of Holiday on Park and The Writer’s Atelier Little Book of Writing Affirmations. Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies. When she’s not working, you can find her watching Hallmark Christmas movies.
