“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (P. 2)

As I said about the first two books I highlighted in this Anti-Racist Literature series, I guarantee the following books will be well-read and well-loved! Be sure to head over to the Bookedbag, and grab a book protector. The Bookedbag just restocked and added 4 new colors as a part of the Junior Collection.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Dr. Beverly Tatum (2017) - This book was originally published in 1995, but was republished in 2017 after it was updated and revised to reflect the current climate of our country today. I remember first reading this book in college, and recently re-read it last year after seeing it in the hands of some of my students. Dr. Tatum shares her own experiences dealing with race as a black woman and mother, but the majority of this book is spent discussing the psychology behind racism and racial identities and how both shape how we see ourselves. Through this book, Tatum confronts a number of difficult conversations about race and discusses how to effectively engage in these difficult conversations despite how uncomfortable these conversations may feel. 

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (2018) - In this book, Oluo discusses race in America in a way many of us have never thought to discuss race. Being black in corporate America, police brutality, intersectionality, and recognizing privilege are just a few of the many topics discussed in this book. Despite the heaviness of the topics discussed in this book, Oluo approaches these topics with humor, honesty, and a number of questions/comments that will make you reflect on how you have been discussing race and tools to equip in order to have better conversations.

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn (2015) - In 2020, I received this book as a gift from one of my good friends who is a history teacher at an urban public high school. 2020 left me with many questions about the history of the United States and after beginning my own exploration of the history of the United States, she knew this is one book I needed to read. Zinn’s book contains the stories of people who are often left out of the traditional history books; which helps to provide readers with a fuller picture of the history of America. 

As the saying goes, before we can move forward we must understand the past, and this book is the first step in helping us (readers, people of this country, etc.) understand that past. To know that my friend has made a choice to equip her students with the whole picture of the United States by using this book to teach from, gives me hope for the future of this country.