BLACK LIVES MATTER

*If you plan to purchase a book listed below or any literature written by a Black author, please consider supporting a Black owned business by visiting 125 Black Owned Bookstores. *

Books for Adults

  1. The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson
  2. Caste: The Origins of our Discontents – Isabel Wilkerson [there is also a companion workbook available]
  3. I’m Still Here:  Black Dignity In A World Made For Whiteness – Austin Channing Brown
  4. White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide – Carol Anderson
  5. Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: and Other Conversations About Race – Beverly Tatum
  6. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness – Michelle Alexander
  7. White Fragility – Robin DiAngelo
  8. Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson
  9. How To Be An AntiRacist – Ibram X. Kendi (also on YouTube free audiobook)
  10. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America – Ibram X. Kendi 
  11. The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America – Khalil Gibran Muhammad
  12. Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America – James Forman Jr.
  13. Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present – Harriet A. Washington
  14. From #blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation – Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
  15. From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America – Elizabeth Hinton
  16. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces – Radley Balko
  17. They Can’t Kill Us All: The Story of the Struggle for Black Lives – Wesley Lowery
  18. Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color – Andrea J. Ritchie
  19. Born a Crime – Trevor Noah
  20. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom – David W. Blight
  21. The Overground Railroad:  The Green Book and roots of Black Travel in America – Candacy Taylor
  22. How to be less Stupid about Race – Crystal Fleming
  23. My Grandmother’s Hands – Resmaa Menakem
  24. The Color of Law, A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America – Richard Rothstein 
  25. Begin Again – James Baldwin
  26. The Fire Next Time – James Baldwin
  27. A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings for the Evening Meals from Buddha to the Beatles – M.J. Ryan
  28. Practice of the Presence of God – Brother Lawrence (letters and records of conversations with a 17th century Carmelite Monk)
  29. Brown Girl Dreaming – Jaqueline Woodson
  30. An American Marriage – Tayari Jones
  31. American Dirt – Jeanine Cummins
  32. Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
  33. Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison
  34. Beloved – Toni Morrison
  35. Sula – Toni Morrison
  36. Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
  37. The Water Dancer – Ta-Nehisi Coates
  38. There Will Be No Miracles Here – Casey Gerald
  39. So you Want To Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
  40. Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  41. Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
  42. The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett
  43. Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
  44. Waking Up White – Deb Irving
  45. A Knock at Midnight by Brittany Barnett
  46. America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America – Jim Wallis
  47. Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States – Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
  48. Robert E. Lee and Me – Ty Seldule
  49. Lighting the Trail: The African American Heritage of Martha’s Vineyard – Elaine Cawley Weintraub
  50. A Letter to My White Friends and Colleagues: What You Can Do Right Now to Help the Black Community by Steven S. Rogers
    51. The Ground Breaking. An American City and Its Search for Justice by Scott Ellsworth

    52. The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth about Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations by Robert Livingston

    53. Books about/Poetry written by Frances E. W. Harper, who was among the first African-American women to have her work published.

Books for Kids & Teens

  1. The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family– Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrations by Hatem Aly
  2. All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/Todos los colores de nuestra piel: La historia de por qué tenemos diferentes colores de piel– Katie Kissinger, photography by Chris Bohnhoff
  3. IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All– Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi, illustrations by Ashley Seil Smith
  4. I Am Enough– Grace Byers, illustrations by Keturah A. Bobo
  5. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy– Tony Medina and 13 Artists
  6. Freedom River– Doreen Rappaport, illustrations by Bryan Collier
  7. When We Were Alone– David A. Robertson, illustrations by Julie Flett
  8. Harbor Me– Jacqueline Woodson
  9. What Lane?– Torrey Maldonado
  10. The Undefeated– Kwame Alexander, illustrations by Kadir Nelson
  11. American Born Chinese– Gene Luen Yang
  12. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You– Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  13. Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice– Bryan Stevenson
  14. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood– Trevor Noah
  15. Genesis Begins Again– Alicia D. Williams
  16. Dear Martin– Nic Stone
  17. Stella by Starlight– Sharon M. Draper
  18. Works – Angie Thomas
  19. The Colors Of Us– Karen Katz
  20. Skin Again– Bell Hooks
  21. Let’s Talk About Race– Julius Lester
  22. All American Boys– Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
  23. This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work– Tiffany Jewell
  24. Anti-Racist Baby – Ibram X. Kendi
  25. Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson
  26. Monster– Walter Dean Myers
  27. A is for Activist– Innosanto Nagara

Podcasts

  1. Still Processing, a New York Times culture podcast with Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morrison
  2. Seeing White, a Scene on the Radio podcast 
  3. Code Switch, an NPR podcast tackling race from all angles 
  4. Jemele Hill is Unbothered, a podcast with award-winning journalist Jemele Hill 
  5. Hear To Slay, “the black feminist podcast of your dreams,” with Roxane Gay and Tressie McMillan Cottom 
  6. Pod Save The People, organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with analysis from fellow activists Brittany Packnett, Sam Sinyangwe, and writer Dr. Clint Smith III 
  7. While Black, A podcast on Black Excellence with two seriously opinionated hosts bringing you the real and the sometimes raw on anything happening while black  
  8. About RaceFrom the author behind the bestselling Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, comes a podcast that takes the conversation a step further featuring key voices from the last few decades of anti-racist activism, About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge looks at the recent history that lead to the politics of today 
  9. Diversity Gap, learning from thought leaders, authors, creatives and more  about the diversity gaps in society and culture. The goal is to discover promising practices  for closing diversity gaps in our everyday lives and work 
  10. Genius Brain-Justice for George Floyd 
  11. Hella Black Podcast, Hope to educate and inform listeners on all things related to blackness 
  12. Strange Fruit, Jaison Gardner and Dr. Kaila Story talk race, gender, and LGBTQ issues, from politics to pop culture 
  13. How to Survive the End of the World, a podcast to delve into the practices we need as a community, to move through endings, and to come out whole on the other side 
  14. Pod for the Cause, This podcast was created for those of you wanting to effect change, who understand the importance of restoring our democracy and want to engage in deep conversation around the issues
  15. Unlocking Us – Brene Brown hosts conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are, so that we can live, love, parent, and lead with more courage and heart
  16. Speaking of Racism – A podcast celebrating everyday activists who are disrupting, deconstructing, and dismantling racism
  17. Intersectionality Matters – a podcast hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory
  18. 1619 – a New York Times Podcast – An audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling
  19. Justice in America – Each episode explains a new criminal justice issue and features conversations with experts and advocates
  20. Identity Politics – Co-hosts Ikhlas Saleem and Makkah Ali invite guests to talk about issues impacting their lives as Muslims at the intersection of multiple identities. Features new stories and perspectives about race, gender and Muslim life in America.

Films / Documentaries / Videos

  1. 13th – Netflix documentary exposing racial inequity within the criminal justice system
  2. Trevor Noah “Born a crime” (YouTube – multiple videos)
  3. Jane Elliot “A Class Divided” Frontline. (YouTube)
  4. PBS “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross”, Narrated by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (YouTube – multiple episodes)
  5. Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson
  6. Harriet (film about Harriet Tubman)
  7. PBS “We Shall Remain” (5 series documentary about the history of Native American’s history from the 17th century through the 20th century) [YouTube]
  8. PBS “Asian Americans” (5 hour film series in 2020)
  9. Frederick Douglass, Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight (YouTube – multiple videos)
  10. The Overground Railroad – Candacy Taylor (YouTube – multiple videos
  11. The Niceties (YouTube – there are several performances of the same plays)
  12. Malcolm X – Spike Lee (Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime)
  13. Fruitvale Station (2013) – (YouTube, Amazon Prime) – a film concerned with upending the idea of the young Black man as ‘thug’ stereotype. A sensitive portrait of a man on the last day of his life.
  14. Hidden Figures – a film about the brilliant African American women of NASA (Hulu Live TV)
  15. The Help – Tate Taylor (Netflix)
  16. I am Not Your Negro – Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck documentary about James Baldwin, his writings and his times (Amazon Prime)
  17. Panther (1995 – YouTube)
  18. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am (Hulu)
  19. Queer Harlem Renaissance: A Prospective (2019) – Daveed Diggs (PBS)
  20. The Hate U Give, a film based on the YA Novel of the same name
  21. Becoming – Documentary following Michelle Obama’s book tour (Netflix)
  22. Let it Fall – Documentary looking at racial tensions in Los Angeles and the 1992 riots over LAPD’s brutal assault on Rodney King
  23. When They See Us – Ava DuVernay (Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five)
  24. Selma – Ava DuVernay’s chronicling marches of the Civil Rights Movement (YouTube, Amazon Prime)
  25. Whose Streets? 2017 documentary about the uprising in Ferguson (Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube)
  26. Do the Right Thing – Spike Lee (1989) (YouTube, Amazon Prime)
  27. The Murder of Fred Hampton – (Amazon Prime) 1971 documentary about a 21 year old Black Panther leader from Chicago who was one of the great inspiring speakers of the 20th century cut down in his youth by the FBI and the Chicago police department
  28. Blacks Brittanica (YouTube) – commissioned by PBS in Boston in 1978, examines racism through the lens of black, working-class Brits and includes interviews with several black activists
  29. Handsworth Songs (YouTube) – a “freeform documentary mosaic,” uses the 1985 Handsworth riots in Birmingham, England, to examine broader racial tensions in the country
  30. Dear White People – a Netflix series about being black at a predominantly white college

Online Racial Equity Workshops

www.eventbrite.com  [once on the site, type “race, racism, racial, white privilege” etc. into the search bar for current workshop information]

Black History Archival Projects – You Can Help!

  • Last Seen is a project of the Department of History at Villanova University and Mother Bethel AME Church.  Last Seen is recovering the stories of families separated in the domestic slave trade. You can search thousands of Information Wanted Ads taken out by former slaves to look for your ancestors, help us transcribe these ads, and find out how educators are using these family stories in their classrooms.http://informationwanted.org/