Black Lives Matter

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi From the National Book Award-winning author of "Stamped from the Beginning" comes a "groundbreaking" (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society--and in ourselves. Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism--and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas--from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities--that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. 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.

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad; Robin DiAngelo (Foreword by) Based on the viral Instagram challenge that captivated participants worldwide, Me and White Supremacytakes readers on a 28-day journey of how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too. When Layla Saad began an Instagram challenge called #meandwhitesupremacy, she never predicted it would spread as widely as it did. She encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviors, big and small. She was looking for truth, and she got it. Thousands of people participated in the challenge, and nearly 100,000 people downloaded the Me and White Supremacy Workbook. Updated and expanded from the original workbook, Me and White Supremacy,takes the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources. Awarenessleads to action, and action leads to change.The numbers show that readers are ready to do this work--let's give it to them.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander; Cornel West (Introduction by) In a bold and innovative argument, a rising legal star shows readers how the mass incarceration of a disproportionate number of black men amounts to a devastating system of racial control. This is a terrifying reality that exists in the UK as much as in the US. Despite the triumphant dismantling of the Jim Crow laws, the system that once forced African-Americans into a segregated second-class citizenship still haunts and the criminal justice system still unfairly targets black men and deprives an entire segment of the population of their basic rights.

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo; Michael Eric Dyson (Foreword by) The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. Antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility. Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. Download readers guides at www.beacon.org/whitefragility.

I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown From a powerful new voice on racial justice, an eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America Austin Channing Brown's first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, Austin writes, "I had to learn what it means to love blackness," a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America's racial divide as a writer, speaker and expert who helps organizations practice genuine inclusion. In a time when nearly all institutions (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claim to value "diversity" in their mission statements, I'm Still Here is a powerful account of how and why our actions so often fall short of our words. Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice, in stories that bear witness to the complexity of America's social fabric--from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations. For readers who have engaged with America's legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson, I'm Still Here is 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.

My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze. My Grandmother's Hands is a call to action for Americans to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body. Author Resmaa Menakem introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.

Citizen by Claudia Rankine A provocative meditation on race, Claudia Rankine's long-awaited follow up to her groundbreaking book Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

Eloquent Rage 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. Far too often, Black women's anger has been caricatured into an ugly and destructive force that threatens the civility and social fabric of American democracy. But Cooper shows us that there is more to the story than that. Black women's eloquent rage is what makes Serena Williams such a powerful tennis player. It's what makes Beyoncé's girl power anthems resonate so hard. It's what makes Michelle Obama an icon. Eloquent rage keeps us all honest and accountable. It reminds women that they don't have to settle for less. When Cooper learned of her grandmother's eloquent rage about love, sex, and marriage in an epic and hilarious front-porch confrontation, her life was changed. And it took another intervention, this time staged by one of her homegirls, to turn Brittney into the fierce feminist she is today. In Brittney Cooper's world, neither mean girls nor fuckboys ever win. But homegirls emerge as heroes. This book argues that ultimately feminism, friendship, and faith in one's own superpowers are all we really need to turn things right side up again.

This Bridge Called My Back, 4th ed. by Gloria Anzaldúa (Editor); Cherríe Moraga (Editor) Updated and expanded edition of the foundational text of women of color feminism.

Chops by Cherryl Floyd-Miller Poems by Floyd-Miller (now Cherryl T. Cooley), a native of the Carolinas and poet, playwright and fiber artist who explores cultural and feminine themes through folklore. "Chops" won a 2005 AIGA Gold SEED Award.

Pretend by Adrian Piper This exhibition catalog documents Piper’s installation works that investigate racism. As Piper sees it, “Overcoming racism involves personal transformation. And I am committed to using my work as a catalytic tool of political change.” --from Printed Matter's website

Reading Dick and Jane with Me by Clarissa Sligh Artist's statement: "Reading Dick & Jane with Me is an artist's book created to interrupt the authority of old elementary school textbooks called The Dick and Jane Readers. These reading textbooks of the 1940s and '50s represented a white upper middle class suburban family as normal life for most Americans. Although statistically the average American at this time was working class, the artist as a young girl thought these depictions meant that her family must be an aberration outside the norm."--Vamp and Tramp website.

Transforming Hate: An Artist's Book by Clarissa Sligh "I am a black woman. I am an artist. For many years I have been creating work to bring issues of social justice into the public discourse. This book evolved from a project for which I folded origami cranes from pages of white supremacist books for the exhibition, 'Speaking volumes: transforming hate.' It was organized by the Montana Human Rights Network and the Holter Art Museum in Helena, Montana and opened in 2008."--Artist's statement from front flap of book cover.

Danny: The Last African American in the 22nd Century by Danny Tisdale An illustrated fantasy/futuristic narrative of the author/artist and other African Americans as objects in a museum exhibition.

The Affrilachian Sonnets: Poems by Frank X. Walker; wood engravings by Joanne Price Frank X. Walker is a Poet Laureate of Kentucky, and Professor in the department of English and the African American and Africana Studies Program at the University of Kentucky. ... He is the originator of the word, Affrilachia, and wholly committed to deconstructing and forging a new definition of a pluralistic Appalachia. Joanne Price, founder of Starpointe Studio, is an artist primarily focused on relief printmaking processes, and the book arts"Vamp & Tramp website. See more at: http://www.vampandtramp.com

Promise Not to Tell by Bisa Washington "The artist confronts a personal history of child abuse and trauma and breaks a family promise in search of enlightenment. She is joined by the voices of her ancestors, ending their long held silence and creates a voice for children hurt, lost, and violated." -- Publisher

A Is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara

Bad News for Outlaws by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson; R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill; Bryan Collier (Illustrator) Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.

From Miss Ida's Porch by Sandra Belton; Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

Grandpa and the Library by C. Ian White Every day, young Charles White's mother takes him the Chicago Public Library, where the librarians look after him until she picks him up again after work, at six o'clock. At the library Charles looks carefully at the picture books the librarians give him and also at the people around him, later drawing what he sees on scraps of paper at home. He learns to be patient and observant--and, by watching art students painting in the park, how to mix and use oil paints. As he grows into an artist, he paints the people he sees and admires. Ultimately, Charles becomes a great artist whose works now hang in museums throughout the United States. Written and illustrated by White's son, C. Ian White, and featuring full-color reproductions of Charles White's artworks, this deeply personal story traces the childhood influences that inspired young Charles to become an artist and a teacher.  

I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes; Bryan Collier (Illustrator)

March: Books One, Two, Three by John Lewis; Andrew Aydin; Nate Powell (Illustrator)

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander; Kadir Nelson (Illustrator) Winner of the 2020 Caldecott Medal A 2020 Newbery Honor Book Winner of the 2020 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree. Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present. Robust back matter at the end provides valuable historical context and additional detail for those wishing to learn more.