Last week Robin DiAngelo, author of the New York Times best selling White Fragility, announced the release of a new anti-racism book. I have to admit that while I recognize the importance of listening to Black voices on race topics, my initial thought was "are DiAngelo's books that bad they are encouraging white people to learn?" Enter Austin Channing Brown. We regularly discuss Channing Brown's work in my church circles and she provides an important perspective on religion and social justice, and last week she posted an interview with fellow antiracist educator Rachel Ricketts discussing WHY purchasing DiAngelo's (or any white anitracist educator for that matter) is problematic. I learned so much listening to this - if you are a white ally please make time to listen to the discussion ASAP.
One of the biggest points they make is that DiAngelo and other white antiracist educators profit off of information they learned from Black educators, and that everything discussed in DiAngelo's books have already been taught by Black authors. Following this education, I polled the IG community for antiracist books from Black authors. Here is the crowdsourced list of books - I'll keep it as a living list so please feel free to message me with more suggestions.
Resources (videos, articles, courses):
Rachel Ricketts' Racial Justice Resources (articles broken down by topic and level)
Emmanuel Acho: Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (video series)
Books
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
An illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God's ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness--if we let it--can save us all.
Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy by Rachel Ricketts
A revolutionary offering that addresses anti-racism from a comprehensive, intersectional, and spiritually-aligned perspective. This actionable guidebook illustrates how to engage in the heart-centered and mindfulness-based practices
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad (good for entry level)
Structured as a 28-day guide targeted at white readers, the book aims to aid readers in identifying the impact of white privilege and white supremacy over their lives.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
This book explores the complex reality of today's racial landscape--from white privilege and police brutality to systemic discrimination and the Black Lives Matter movement--offering straightforward clarity that readers need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
Examining everything from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, from whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge, and counter racism.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about enabling communication across racial and ethnic divides.
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
So what if it’s true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting.
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux.
Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Mark Lamont Hill
Hill digs underneath events to uncover patterns and policies of authority that allow some citizens become disempowered, disenfranchised, poor, uneducated, exploited, vulnerable, and disposable. To help us understand the plight of vulnerable communities, he examines the effects of unfettered capitalism, mass incarceration, and political power while urging us to consider a new world in which everyone has a chance to become somebody.
White Rage by Carol Anderson
Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage.
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
The National Book Award winning history of how racist ideas were created, spread, and deeply rooted in American society.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
This book points to our entire social structure as an unrecognized caste system.
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