The following resources on racial justice are recommended by the Racial Justice Subcommittee of the Ministry and Oversight Committee.
Table of Contents
Books for Children
Lester, Julius. 2005. Let’s Talk about Race
Our skin is just the covering of our body. We are much more than our skin. What is each one of our stories? The art work is beautiful and the words will bring up many opportunities for readers to share their stories with each other.
Davis Pinkney, Andrea. 2010. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood up by Sitting Down
This book celebrates and teaches about the infamous moment four college students staged a peaceful protest at a Woolworth’s lunch counter.
Davis Pinkney, Andrea. 2000. Let it Shine
Highlights the stories and histories of a number of powerful black women on the front-lines of the civil rights movement.
Levinson, Cynthia. 2017. The Youngest Marcher
This is a story about Audrey Faye Hendricks, the then 9-year-old marcher who was arrested in 1963 during a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama.
Nyasha Warner, Jody. 2010. Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged
Tells the story of Viola Desmond, a Canadian woman who refused to sit in a movie theatre balcony.
Jones, Kimberly; Segal, Gilly. 2019. I’m Not Dying with You Tonight
Story of two teen girls—one black, one white—who have to confront their own assumptions about racial inequality as they rely on each other to get through the violent race riot that has set their city on fire with civil unrest. (Good for teens.)
Browne, Mahogany L. 2020. Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice
Poetry and spoken word inspiring our youth to become activists.
Jewell, Tiffany. 2020. The Book Is Anti-Racist
20 activities to empower teens and young adults to undo racial oppression.
Books for Adults
Menakem, Resmaa. 2017. My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
Author is a social worker who writes “Stop trying to address white supremacy through dialog. Don’t expect to change the world by teaching tolerance. Forget about changing attitudes. They all miss the mark. Racism is not only about the head. It’s also about the body. The body is where we live. It’s where we fear, hope, and react; where we constrict and relax; and where we fight, flee, or freeze. This trauma doesn’t just affect African American bodies. White American bodies suffer their own historical trauma as well. So do the bodies of our police. We all need to recognize this trauma, metabolize it, work through it, and grow up out of it. Only in this way will we at last heal our bodies, our families, and the social body of our nation. The process differs for African-American, European American, and police bodies. But all of us need to heal our racialized trauma—and, with the right guidance, all of us can.” https://www.resmaa.com/#book
Oluo, Ijeoma. 2018. So you want to talk about race
Ms. Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the “N” word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don’t dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.
DiAngelo, Robin. 2018. White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. 2015. Between the World and Me
Alexander, Michelle. 2010. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Kendi, Ibram X. 2019. How to Be an Antiracist
Hill Collins, Patricia. 1990. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment
Cooper, Dr. Brittney. 2018. Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower
Laymon, Kiese. 2018. Heavy: An American Memoir
Angelou, Maya. 1969. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
X, Malcolm; Haley, Alex. 1965. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Anderson, Jervis. 1997. Bayard Rustin: Troubles I’ve Seen: A Biography
Stevenson, Bryan. 2014. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Saad, Layla F. 2020. Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor
Arnold, Jenna. 2020. Raising Our Hands: How White Women can start Avoiding Conversations, start Accepting Responsibility, and Find our Place on the New Frontlines
Mock, Janet. 2014. Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity and So Much More
Lorde, Audre. 1984. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
Morrison, Toni. 1994. The Bluest Eye
Baldwin, James. 1963. The Fire Next Time
Lee Boggs, Grace. 2011. The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century
Wilkerson, Isabel. 2010. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
Neale Hurston, Zora. 1937. Their Eyes Were Watching God
Moraga, Cherríe. 1981. This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
Katznelson, Ira. 2005. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America
Mitchell, Sherri. 2018. Sacred Instructions
Abu-Jamal, Mumia. 2017. Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?
Articles
“White Fragility” (Essay) by Robin DiAngelo
Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup
George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, What do we Tell Our Children?
“America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists
”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)
The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The NYT Mag
The Combahee River Collective Statement
“The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)
Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD
“Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)
”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh
“Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)
American Psychological Association (APA) We Must Unmute
75 Things White People Can do for Racial Justice
What is Antiracism and Why Should I Care
100+ Free Education for Peace (and Justice) Resources Online [See especially the sections on “Intercultural and interfaith” and onwards.]
Short Videos
Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity (Made available for free thanks to the Racial Justice Subcommittee and the PYM Youth Programs Fund)
QuakerSpeak Video: Confronting White Privilege, May 14, 2020
Talking About Race with your own Mom Can be Hard, Here’s Why it’s Worth it
Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives | Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers
TED: “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” | Bryan Stevenson
TED: “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh
New York Times; A conversation with Native Americans on race
New York Times; A conversation about race with Black Women
New York Times; A conversation about growing up Black
New York Times; A conversation with Asians about race
New York Times;A conversation about race with white people
New York Times; A conversation about race with Latinos
New York Times; A conversation about race with police
Audio/Podcasts
Kojo For Kids: Jason Reynolds Talks About Racism And The Protests (Good for teens.)
The Spiritual Work of Black Lives Matter with Patrisse Cullors & Robert Ross (An intergenerational conversation between the Black Lives Matter co-founder and the physician philanthropist.)
More Beautiful” with Imani Perry (Speaks powerfully about her experience raising black sons in America.)
Let’s Talk About Whiteness with Eula Biss (Opens up an important conversation about whiteness, complacence, guilt, and privilege.)
Parenting Forward Podcast, Episode: “Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt”
Integrated Schools Podcast, Episode: “Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey”
Fare of the Free Child Podcast (A weekly-published podcast community centering Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color in liberatory living and learning practices.)
1619 (New York Times Podcast on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.)
About Race (A lively multiracial, interracial conversation about the ways we can’t talk, don’t talk, would rather not talk, but intermittently, fitfully, embarrassingly do talk about culture, identity, politics, power, and privilege in our pre-post-yet-still-very-racial America.)
Code Switch (NPR: Hosted by a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting.)
Seeing White (Podcast exploring: Where did the notion of “whiteness” come from? What does it mean? What is whiteness for?)
Intersectionality Matters! (Podcast hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory.)
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast (Features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice. Uplifts narratives of hope, struggle, and joy, as we continue to build the momentum needed to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.)
Pod For The Cause (Hosted by The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights.)
Pod Save the People (Crooked Media, organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics. Offers special focus on overlooked stories and topics that often impact people of color.)
Shine Brighter Together Podcast (A place where we share the challenges, complexities and sheer joy of building healthy relationships and doing the heart work for true diverse unity.)
The Stakes (A show about social change, hosted by Kai Wright. We live in extreme times—a climate on the verge of crisis, an economy built on inequality and a political system that feels like it’s falling apart.)
The Nod (Tells the stories of Black life that don’t get told anywhere else; we celebrate the genius, the innovation, and the resilience that is so particular to being Black — in America, and around the world.)