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Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (2017)
The of the multiple Stamped books, Stamped from the Beginning is organized around the lives of five figures: Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis. Key to its argument is the observation that, while racism may encourage people to hate one another on the basis of race, racist ideas do not emerge from hate. Instead, they are reflections of power in its many forms.
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (2019)
In this book, Kendi argues that there are only two basic positions. A person is either racist or actively antiracist; no middle ground exists. Stamped from the Beginning provides the historical background for the activist program outlined in How to be an Antiracist.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Iljeoma Oluo (2018)
In her critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, So You Want to Talk About Race, Iljeoma Oluo examines the systemic racism that is inherent in American society and explores the many ways it harms and hinders Black Americans by using personal anecdotes and hard evidence. She incorporates data to support her arguments, and she presents suggestions for social change and conclusions about hot-button racial topics ranging from police brutality to affirmative action to microaggressions. Oluo explains that racism is not just about feelings. Instead, she incisively shows how systems are themselves racist, offering a clear program through which everyone can work to combat racism in their daily lives.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2015)
Written as a letter to his teenage son, Coates’s 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction-winning work, Between the World and Me, unpacks the distortions created by racism and white supremacy. Moving between personal and historical narrative, the book is an intimate account of the challenges faced by Black men in American society. Coates delves into the historical, social, and personal dimensions of the Black American experience, addressing issues of systemic racism, identity, and the struggle for justice. Published during a time of heightened awareness and activism surrounding racial injustice, Between the World and Me has become a seminal work in discussions about race and social justice.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (2017)
Told in short, powerful verse, Reynolds’s novel Long Way Down explores the tenacity of the cycle of violence, the pain of toxic masculinity, and the dangers of repressed grief. Reynolds writes powerfully of the challenges associated with racialized understandings of masculinity, offering insight into the ways racist ideas shape the lives of young Black men.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (2015)
All American Boys is a 2015 young adult novel written by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely to address police brutality and racial profiling. In this Coretta Scott King Honor Book, two high school students—one Black and one white—lead parallel lives that overlap on a fateful evening. As Rashad and Quinn’s friends and families divide themselves into separate camps during the aftermath of that evening’s events, both boys learn the true meaning of loyalty and they gain the courage to stand up for their ideals and for themselves.
