New to the Collection: Books on Social Justice

Published in

walawlibrary

8 min readDec 16, 2023

This is our third blog installment highlighting recent additions to our collection. Here we focus on new social justice themed books. We are excited to bring you this and three additional posts about new materials in the library. Previously, we highlighted new books for legal professionals and books about criminal justice reform. We will finish our roundup with an overview of new books on miscellaneous subjects.

Eleven books are lined up on a shelf. The two books on the outside face out somewhat, allowing a view of the book covers. The nine other books have their spines facing out.

Books mentioned in this post are available to check out at our temporary location in Tumwater. You can also request them through interlibrary loan at your home library. Contact the reference desk at Library.Requests@courts.wa.gov or 360–357–2136 with questions, or place a hold in our online catalog using your library account.

In the book Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, 3rd ed., Lee Anne Bell writes that “[t]he process for attaining the goal of social justice should … be democratic and participatory, respectful of human diversity and group differences, and inclusive and affirming of human agency and capacity for working collaboratively with others to create change.” She emphasizes that “[f]orming coalitions and working collaboratively with diverse others is an essential part of social justice.”

In this blog post we highlight some of the Washington State coalitions that are working toward social justice along with related books that are new to our collection.

Disability Rights

Disability Rights Washington is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the state’s designated protection and advocacy agency mandated under RCW 71A.10.080. Their mission is “to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities.” Their priorities include housing, health and behavioral health services, accessibility, education, mobility, employment, and more. Check out the tools on their website or request services by phone.

Author Mary Crossley, University of Pittsburgh professor of law recognized for disability and health law scholarship, has written Embodied Injustice Race, Disability, and Health, which brings health research and social science together with personal stories portraying the impact of unjust social structures on Black and disabled people. The author discusses the topic in this video and in this podcast.

Economic Justice

Washington Community Action Network is the largest grassroots community organization in the state and it works toward racial, social, gender, and economic justice. Their mission is “to achieve racial, gender, economic, and social equity to establish a democratic society characterized by justice and fairness, with respect for diversity and a decent quality of life for all those who reside in Washington.” Check out their reports on race, health care, housing, and mass incarceration.

The Pulitzer prize winning author of Evicted, Princeton Professor Matthew Desmond, has written a new book called Poverty, by America. In it, poverty is defined as more than a lack of money, but as the “condition of not having enough choice and being taken advantage of because of that.” According to an NPR book review, the book encourages the reader, through examples and facts, to understand that “the secure, the insured, the housed, the college educated, the protected, the lucky” benefit from and perpetuate poverty. The author is interviewed at PBS Books.

'Poverty, By America' shows how the rest of us benefit by keeping others poor

Pulitzer winner for Evicted Matthew Desmond examines why the U.S. has more poverty than other rich nations. He finds it…

www.npr.org

Immigrants and Refugees

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project has provided legal services for nearly forty years. In 2022 they represented over 9,000 clients and prevented more than 100 deportations. Their mission is to promote “justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.” Check their website for educational videos, Know Your Rights publications, and to learn about eligibility requirements for legal services.

The work of similar non-profit organizations is highlighted in Precarious Protections: Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum in the United States (2023), by assistant professor of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, Chiara Galli. The book, arising from her dissertation, includes interviews with attorneys, children, and others. The author states “the way that we interpret asylum law is so narrow that it doesn’t actually apply to many experiences of escape from life-threatening violence, in particular, those reported by children and teenagers who flee Central America today.” Listen to the author on the Root of Conflict podcast.

LGBTQ Rights

The mission of the QLaw Foundation of Washington is to promote “the dignity and respect of LGBTQ2S+ Washingtonians within the legal system through advocacy, education, and legal assistance.” Services include legal representation and clinics, training, advocacy, and litigation support. Check their website to find legal information for community members and legal professionals. The foundation began in 2008 as a sibling organization to the QLaw Association of Washington, an organization for legal professionals in Washington.

The book Queering Law and Order: LGBTQ Communities and the Criminal Justice System has been called a “must read” about LGBTQ people and sexual justice. In the book Professor Kevin Nadal challenges readers to transform their thinking about sexuality and criminal justice. The author discusses the book in this video.

Racial Justice

The Black Prisoners’ Caucus (BPC) was organized by incarcerated individuals in 1972 and has chapters in nearly all Washington state correctional facilities. Their mission is to “promote cultural growth and provide incarcerated men and women the tools and platform to confront social issues that perpetuate discrimination, inequality and oppression among prisoners and poor communities of color.” In addition to cultural activities, the BPC has organized and supported educational opportunities in Washington’s prisons. Members also educate the community through articles such as How prisoner-led organizing saved my life and partnerships with schools.

A history professor and a civil rights attorney have written a tome examining the United States Supreme Court’s treatment of racial justice spanning hundreds of years. Discussed in depth in this review in The Nation, the book Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court by Orville Vernon Burton and Armand Derfner “reveals a Supreme Court marked by an ongoing tolerance for racial wrongdoing.” The authors discuss nearly two-hundred cases including the well-known, such as Korematsu v. United States, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and Plessy v. Ferguson, and the under-discussed, such as a 1922 decision limiting naturalization to “free white persons” and a 1955 decision regarding the burial of a Native American WWII veteran killed in the Korean War. The discussion continues with more modern decisions concerning topics such as affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. The authors were interviewed here and participated in this Washington History Seminar panel.

Whose Side Is the Supreme Court On?

Many people who came of age in the 1950s and 60s view the Supreme Court as a force for good when it comes to race. But…

www.thenation.com

Women’s Rights

Legal Voice works through litigation, legislative advocacy, and community education to support their belief “that all people facing gender discrimination should be able to live their lives with dignity, safety, and autonomy.” They empower the community to know their rights and provide resources on their website to help people advocate for themselves and their families. Legal Voice is also home to the Sexual Violence Law Center, which provides legal assistance for survivors of sexual violence.

Professor Paisley Currah’s book Sex Is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity is important “for anyone who cares about gender, justice, and social transformation,” according to Susan Stryker, author of Transgender History. This examination of court cases and policy changes suggests that the category of sex is a harmful tool of the government, and asks, what power is gained in defining sex? In an interview the author states that “gender still structures a lot of people’s lives in ways that are unjust.” Read an in-depth discussion of the book in this review.

More social justice organizations in Washington state are listed on the University of Washington Gallagher Law Library’s page on Social Justice Organizations in Washington State, as well as the Washington ACLU, and the Alliance for Equal Justice websites. Government resources include the Washington Human Rights Commission, the Washington State Office of Equity, and the Washington State Access to Justice Board.

Twenty one books are lined up on the top shelf of a red book cart with their spines facing out. The book cart is placed at a slight angle in front of library shelving.

You can always browse our latest new books by checking out the New Books list featured on our library catalog. Just click lists in the top left of the page. We have some new eBooks available for remote access listed there as well.