39 Books to Read in Order to Become A Better Antiracist
In these turbulent times it may be difficult to determine what to do during these repeated episodes of racial violence and police brutality. People are protesting, promoting reform policies, and checking in on their friends and families who are people of color. All of these are good and are productive activities to make our society better. One additional activity that concerned citizens should participate in is reading more books about racism. We cannot confront America’s original sin if we do not know how it worked in the past and continues to work to this very day.
Below I have compiled a list of my favorite books on this subject that I have read and written about in the past decade. These are by no means the only books that are out there on this topic, there are more than enough to read in a lifetime. The books below have impacted me and I hope they will do the same for you. You don’t have to read every book on this list. Find a few that speak to you at this moment and start from there. But don’t stop there, after you read these books, use them to push change in society, whether it be at you job, your house of worship, your city, state, or even the nation.
My list below is divided into 11 genres and is heavy on history, memoirs, and biographies. If you have books that you recommend reading, please drop them in the comments section below.
History
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (2016):
This book challenged and changed me.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (2010):
As I read this book I actually felt like I was getting to know these people and that I saw them grow in age and as a person.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (2017):
It was well researched and it read almost like an episode of 48 Hours.
I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin (2017):
I started and finished this book on the same day.
Lincoln’s Gamble: How the Emancipation Proclamation Changed the Course of the Civil War by Todd Brewster (2014):
I felt as if I was in the different rooms when Lincoln debated on whether to even issue the proclamation and on the potential ramifications of his action.
Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson (2015):
Anderson’s treatment of this dark episode in American history is very well researched (the amount of detail is amazing) and is in my opinion the definitive account of the Till case.
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby (2019):
Tisby’s book gives a historical overview of how the white Christian church has been complicit in the promotion of racism in America from 1619 to the present day.
Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation by Steve Luxenberg (2019):
Steve Luxenberg’s book gives Plessy vs. Ferguson the treatment it deserves.
Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston (2018):
I found Lewis’ story captivating, I enjoyed reading it in his own words and dialect. His constant “you unnerstand me” made his storytelling more genuine. At times I felt like I was there as he was telling Hurston about his journey.
Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino (2020):
Wilmington’s Lie is definitely a must read book especially if you are unfamiliar with the events and want to know more about the first and only coup in the United States.
The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt by Jill Watts (2020):
Watts’ phenomenal book sheds light on these figures; they need to be known by more people. Students of history and politics will enjoy reading this groundbreaking work.
Memoir
The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict by Austin Reed (2016):
Reed tells his life and adventures as if it were a novel. Many have compared it to Charles Dickens writing.
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele (2018):
It is a story of survival, perseverance, and the endless pursuit of freedom.
From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream by Janice S. Ellis (2018):
Ellis’ life is a story of the challenges and triumphs of being a black woman, in a sense it’s a story of intersectionality.
Coretta: My Live, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King (2017):
The history books don’t tell the full story. Coretta was an influential woman as many women were during the Civil Rights Movement but who don’t get their due compared to the male leaders.
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton (2018):
It is a great story of perseverance.
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (2018):
It’s in essence a story about the challenges of being a black man in America, about the pressures one experiences even at the height of what society calls “success”.
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity In A World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown (2018):
Many of Brown’s experiences being black in a white world have echoed my own. However, they are more visceral because she lives with the double bind of being a black female.
Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018):
Ultimately in this memoir Michelle shows that her life wasn’t a storybook. She overcame various obstacles
How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (2019):
Kendi … in turn challenges us to question our own racist views that we all espouse…How to Be An Antiracist has changed my thinking for the better.
There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir by Casey Gerald (2018):
Gerald successfully shows the reader that there is always struggle in success and that one person’s life should not be used as the example for a whole race of people to live up to. Plato once said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Fortunately Gerald examines his life with a critical eye, exposing both the triumphs and flaws.
Biography
Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray by Rosalind Rosenberg (2017):
Rosenberg’s book is so well written that at times I felt like I personally knew Murray…Murray was a fighter. She fought racism, sexism, and the patriarchy within the law, society, and in the church.
The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott (2016):
Bell-Scott includes excerpts of letters between the two women which I found fascinating and illuminating. I could really tell that both women admired and respected each other.
The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age by Patrick Parr (2018):
This book does a good job showing how the experiences of this school made the young man who was in his late teens/early 20s into the minister and civil rights leader that he would become just a few short years later in Montgomery, Alabama and then to the rest of the country in the 1960s.
Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow (2018):
Black’s rise out of white nationalism would not have occurred if it were not for his college friends
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight (2018):
Blight does a great job of using Douglass’s words from his speeches, letters, and other writings to share his thoughts on the issues of the 19th Century. Douglass’s words still ring true.
The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. by Peniel E. Joseph (2020):
Joseph effectively shows that both leaders evolved to a place where they were more alike at the time of their respective deaths.
Literature
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler (2012):
Calling Me Home was a great story of two female friends from different generations and races.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017):
This book received alot of praise and hype and was being called by some as the Black Lives Matter book. In my opinion it lived up to its hype and more.
Politics
The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and Paradox of Progress by William Jelani Cobb (2010):
Don’t let this book fool you, it may be small but its packed with so much history and political commentary that you forget it is less than 200 pages.
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2017):
Reading these essays [all] together was definitely an experience seeing the lines connecting as well as Coates’ evolution as a writer and thinker.
Faith
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson (2017):
Dyson draws on history, current events, and his own personal story to give a sermon on the sins of racism and the effect it has had on how White people have treated Black people in America.
Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy On Identity and Hope by Jasmine Holmes (2020):
Holmes’s book is a must read for black Christian sons, black Christian mothers, and the white evangelical church. It will definitely bring about fruitful discussions amongst its readers.
Comics
Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story by Alfred Hassler, Benton Resnik, and Sy Barry (1957):
I liked that the Montgomery Bus boycott was told from the point of view of a everyday person who would have participated or saw the boycott in person.
Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans by Roland Laird, Taneshia Laird, and Elihu “Adofo” Bey (2009):
I actually learned some new facts especially from the 19th Century.
Humor
How To Be Black by Baratunde Thurston (2012):
It should be read by every black person whoever felt like they weren’t black enough. It also should be read by non-black people who have misconceptions on what and how “all” black people think and behave.
Poetry
Dark Testament by Pauli Murray (1970):
Dark Testament is really good, it’s full of socially conscious poems.
Children’s
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson (2019):
Simply beautiful, the poem is great and the illustrations are amazing and powerful.
For more book reviews please check out my publication Ballasts for the Mind:
