The past few days have showed us that we need to do more to stand up to racism. Non-black people need to be actively anti-racist and work together to end racism and end the systems that result in police brutality. It is time we ALL use our voices to advocate for equality and justice. Your social media pages have most likely been flooded with people showing their activism, but social media is not enough! We have to sign petitions, donate to funds, protest, and educate ourselves on the Black Lives Matter movement. And a great place to start with further educating yourself is through books. Here are important Black Lives Matter books that we should all be reading:
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
This book discusses important conversations about how white people need to do more than just mean well- they need to use their white privilege to speak up and advocate.
Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This non-fiction book tells the author’s experiences of being a black man in the United States. It is written as a letter to the author’s son to prepare him for the future.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
This book is written by a civil rights litigator and dives into the mass incarceration of black men in the United States.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The time of feeling uncomfortable talking about race is over. The author of this book shares important resources on how to have these difficult conversations and how white people place a role in racism.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde
This book is a posthumous collection of essays, speeches, and poems by Audre Lorde, an African American author and poet.
How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
It is not enough to just be not racist. We must be anti-racist. Kendi discusses the importance of going beyond being not racist and actively working to fight racism.
