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Staff Picks

Race Matters

  • Georgia Coleman
  • Thursday, May 23, 2019

Collection

Are you ready to explore issues of race and racism in America? This list features a broad selection of titles related to race equity and inclusion.

Yes! We Are Latinos

Yes! We Are Latinos

Ada, Alma Flor
Published in 2013
A collection of stories about young Latino's immigrant experiences in the United States.
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Book
 
Muslim Girl

Muslim Girl

A Coming of Age
Al-Khatahtbeh, Amani, author.
Published in 2016
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Book
 
The New Jim Crow

The New Jim Crow

Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Alexander, Michelle, author.
Published in 2012
Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as "brave and bold," this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control-relegating millions to a permanent second-class status-even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a "call to action."Called "stunning" by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis, "invaluable" by the Daily Kos, "explosive" by Kirkus, and "profoundly necessary" by the Miami Herald, this updated and revised paperback edition of The New Jim Crow, now with a foreword by Cornel West, is a must-read for all people of conscience.
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Ebook
White Rage

White Rage

The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
Anderson, Carol (Carol Elaine).
Published in 2016
"As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014, and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as 'black rage,' historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post showing that this was, instead, 'white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames,' she writes, 'everyone had ignored the kindling.' Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate and relentless rollback of their gains. The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with the Black Codes and Jim Crow; the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South while taxpayer dollars financed segregated white private schools; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 triggered a coded but powerful response, the so-called Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs that disenfranchised millions of African Americans while propelling presidents Nixon and Reagan into the White House. Carefully linking these and other historical flashpoints when social progress for African Americans was countered by deliberate and cleverly crafted opposition, Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage. Compelling and dramatic in the unimpeachable history it relates, White Rage will add an important new dimension to the national conversation about race in America"-- Provided by publisher.
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Book
 
The Line Becomes a River

The Line Becomes a River

Cantú, Francisco (Essayist)
Published in 2018
""A beautiful, fiercely honest, and nevertheless deeply empathetic look at those who police the border and the migrants who risk - and lose - their lives crossing it. In a time of often ill-informed or downright deceitful political rhetoric, this book is an invaluable corrective."--Phil Klay For Francisco Cant©ð the border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Haunted by the landscape of his youth, Cant©ð joins the Border Patrol. He and his partners are posted to remote regions crisscrossed by drug routes and smuggling corridors, where they learn to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. They haul in the dead and deliver to detention those they find alive. Cant©ð tries not to think where the stories go from there. Plagued by nightmares, he abandons the Patrol for civilian life. But when an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cant©ð discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the whole story. Searing and unforgettable, The Line Becomes a River makes urgent and personal the violence our border wreaks on both sides of the line"-- Provided by publisher.
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An Unlikely Journey

An Unlikely Journey

Waking Up from My American Dream
Castro, Julián, author.
Published in 2018
The former San Antonio mayor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Barack Obama shares his life story, recounting how his mother's political activism inspired his ascent from poverty to a successful political career.
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Book
 
Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me

Coates, Ta-Nehisi, author.
Published in 2015
"For Ta-Nehisi Coates, history has always been personal. At every stage of his life, he's sought in his explorations of history answers to the mysteries that surrounded him--most urgently, why he, and other black people he knew, seemed to live in fear ... In [this book], Coates takes readers along on his journey through America's history of race and its contemporary resonances through a series of awakenings--moments when he discovered some new truth about our long, tangled history of race, whether through his myth-busting professors at Howard University, a trip to a Civil War battlefield with a rogue historian, a journey to Chicago's South Side to visit aging survivors of 20th century America's 'long war on black people,' or a visit with the mother of a beloved friend who was shot down by the police"-- Provided by publisher.
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Book
 
Some of My Best Friends Are Black

Some of My Best Friends Are Black

The Strange Story of Integration in America
Colby, Tanner
Published in 2012
Chronicles America's troubling relationship with race through four interrelated stories: the transformation of a once-racist Birmingham school system; a Kansas City neighborhood's fight against housing discrimination; the curious racial divide of the Madison Avenue ad world; and a Louisiana Catholic parish's forty-year effort to build an integrated church.
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Book
 
White Fragility

White Fragility

Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
DiAngelo, Robin J, author.
Published in 2018
In this groundbreaking and timely book, 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 explores how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. -- Publisher's description.
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Genesis

Genesis

Galeano, Eduardo, 1940-2015, author.
Published in 2014
Eduardo Galeano's monumental three-volume retelling of the history of the New World begins with Genesis, a vast chain of legends sweeping from the birth of creation to the era of savage colonialism. Through lyrical prose and deep understanding, Galeano (author of the celebrated Open Veins of Latin America) recounts creation myths, pre-Columbian societies, and the brutality of conquest, from the Andes to the Great Plains. Galeano's project to restore to history "breath, liberty, and the word" unfolds as a unique, powerful work of literature. This daring masterpiece sets the past free, weaving a new kind of history from mythology, silenced voices, and the clash of worlds. Genesis is the first book of the Memory of Fire trilogy, which continues with Faces and Masks and Century of the Wind.
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Ebook
The Distance Between Us

The Distance Between Us

A Memoir
Grande, Reyna.
Published in 2013
The story of a childhood spent torn between two parents and two countries. As her parents cross the Mexican border in pursuit of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are left behind with their grandmother. Her mother returns to bring Reyna and her siblings to America and a new life in a new country.
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Book
 
Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Grann, David, author.
Published in 2017
Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
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White Awake

White Awake

An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White
Hill, Daniel, 1973- author.
Published in 2018
Daniel Hill will never forget the day he heard these words: "Daniel, you may be white, but don't let that lull you into thinking you have no culture. White culture is very real. In fact, when white culture comes in contact with other cultures, it almost always wins. So it would be a really good idea for you to learn about your culture." Confused and unsettled by this encounter, Hill began a journey of understanding his own white identity. Today he is an active participant in addressing and confronting racial and systemic injustices. And in this compelling and timely book, he shows you the seven stages to expect on your own path to cultural awakening. It's crucial to understand both personal and social realities in the areas of race, culture, and identity. This book will give you a new perspective on being white and also empower you to be an agent of reconciliation in our increasingly diverse and divided world.
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Eaudiobook
Fresh off the Boat a Memoir

Fresh off the Boat a Memoir

Huang, Eddie, 1982-
Published in 2013
"Long before I met him, I was a fan of his writing, and his merciless wit. He's bigger than food."--Anthony Bourdain Eddie Huang is the thirty-year-old proprietor of Baohaus--the hot East Village hangout where foodies, stoners, and students come to stuff their faces with delicious Taiwanese street food late into the night--and one of the food world's brightest and most controversial young stars...
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Eaudiobook
We Too Sing America

We Too Sing America

South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future
Iyer, Deepa (Deepa Vasudeva), 1972- author.
Published in 2015
"Many of us can recall the targeting of South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh people in the wake of 9/11. We may be less aware, however, of the ongoing racism directed against these groups in the past decade and a half. In We Too Sing America, nationally renowned activist Deepa Iyer catalogs recent racial flashpoints, from the 2012 massacre at the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, to the violent opposition to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and to the Park 51 Community Center in Lower Manhattan. Iyer asks whether hate crimes should be considered domestic terrorism and explores the role of the state in perpetuating racism through detentions, national registration programs, police profiling, and constant surveillance. She looks at topics including Islamophobia in the Bible Belt; the "Bermuda Triangle" of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim hysteria; and the energy of new reform movements, including those of "undocumented and unafraid" youth and Black Lives Matter. In a book that reframes the discussion of race in America, a brilliant young activist provides ideas from the front lines of post-9/11 America. "-- Provided by publisher.
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Book
 
This Will Be My Undoing

This Will Be My Undoing

Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (white) America
Jerkins, Morgan, author.
Published in 2018
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Book
 
Stamped from the Beginning

Stamped from the Beginning

The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kendi, Ibram X, author.
Published in 2016
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Book
 
Ghettoside

Ghettoside

A True Story of Murder in America
Leovy, Jill.
Published in 2015
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Book
 
March

March

Vol. 01
Lewis, John, 1940 February 21-
Published in 2013
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Book
 
March. Vol. 02

March. Vol. 02

Lewis, John, 1940 February 21- author.
Published in 2015
"After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence -- but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before."--page 3 of cover.
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Book
 
The Other Wes Moore

The Other Wes Moore

One Name, Two Fates
Moore, Wes, 1978-
Published in 2010
Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a few years of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, army officer, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.
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The Color of Law

The Color of Law

A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Rothstein, Richard, author.
Published in 2017
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Americanized

Americanized

Rebel Without a Green Card
Saedi, Sara, author.
Published in 2018
In San Jose, California, in the 1990s, teenaged Sara keeps a diary of life as an Iranian American and her discovery that she and her family entered as undocumented immigrants.
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Book
 
Not Quite Not White

Not Quite Not White

Losing and Finding Race in America
Sen, Sharmila, author.
Published in 2018
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Book
 
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-
Published in 2010
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer and viruses; helped lead to in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks is buried in an unmarked grave. Her family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. The story of the Lacks family is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of--From publisher description.
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Book
 
Just Mercy

Just Mercy

A Story of Justice and Redemption
Stevenson, Bryan, author.
Published in 2014
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Book
 
Dear Martin

Dear Martin

Stone, Nic, author.
Published in 2017
Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.
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Book
 
"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"

"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"

And Other Conversations About Race
Tatum, Beverly Daniel.
Published in 2003
With a discussion guide and a new Epilogue by the author, this is the fifth anniversary edition of the bestselling work on the development of racial identity. Shares real-life examples and current research that support the author's recommendations for "straight talk" about racial identity, identifying practices that contribute to self-segregation in childhood groups.
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Book
 
The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give

Thomas, Angie, author.
Published in 2017
After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.
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The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad

A Novel
Whitehead, Colson, 1969- author.
Published in 2016
A magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South.
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Book
 
The Warmth of Other Suns

The Warmth of Other Suns

The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Wilkerson, Isabel.
Published in 2010
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Book
 
White Like Me

White Like Me

Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
Wise, Tim J.
Published in 2011
"With a new preface and updated chapters, White Like Me is part memoir, part polemical essay collection. It is a personal examination of the way in which racial privilege shapes the daily lives of white Americans in every realm: employment, education, housing, criminal justice, and elsewhere. Using stories from his own life, Tim Wise demonstrates the ways in which racism not only burdens people of color, but also benefits, in relative terms, those who are 'white like him.' He discusses how racial privilege can harm whites in the long run and make progressive social change less likely. He explores the ways in which whites can challenge their unjust privileges, and explains in clear and convincing language why it is in the best interest of whites themselves to do so. Using anecdotes instead of stale statistics, Wise weaves a narrative that is at once readable and yet scholarly, analytical and yet accessible."--Back cover.
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Book
 
American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Luen
Published in 2006
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.
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Book
 
Author

Georgia Coleman

Chief Customer Officer

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