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To Our Beloved Community,
We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and against injustice and racism. We are encouraged by the many people who are making their voices heard and are advocating for real, substantial change. During times like these, it is up to each of us individually to be responsible for change and to involve ourselves in the conversation. We can find hope in people trying to educate themselves and their children. Below are a few different book lists, sorted by age (including links to our website) with titles that can help explain and aid in our education and in our conversation.
"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." -Lucius Annaeus Seneca
These are just a few of the more popular titles right now (that are likely waiting for the publishers to catch up with the demand):
How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work by Tiffany Jewell, Aurelia Durand (Illustrator)
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
In addtion to the books above that may be on backorder due to their popularity, please consider some of the recommendations below for further reading.
~Peace To You, Our Neighbors~
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Adult Titles
*2021 Whatcom Reads Selection*
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Talking to Strangers by Malcomb Gladwell
(for teachers)
Teaching for Black Lives by Dyan Watson (Editor), Jesse Hagopian (Editor), Wayne Au (Editor)
The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing ( Social Justice Handbook ) by Anneliese A. Singh
Unapologetic by Charlene A. Carruthers
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Supreme Inequality by Adam Cohen
Black History in its Own Words by Dozens of Black Luminaries
The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur
All About Love: New Visions by Bell Hooks
The Souls of Black Folk : The Unabridged Classic by W. E. B. Dubois
Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry by African American Poets Over Two Centuries
James Baldwin: Collected Essays by James Baldwin
I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin
*Highly Recommended by our Fairhaven Store Manager, Lauren*
Transcendent Kingdom (Pre-Order September 2020) by Yaa Gyasi
Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America by Nefertiti Austin
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight
The New Negro: The Life of ALain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart
Officer Clemmons by Dr. Francois S. Clemmons
Overground Railroad by Candacy Taylor
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? by Kathleen Collins
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
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Ages 13-18+
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
In Search of Safety by Susan Kuklin
American Struggle by Teens associated with various Museums & Academies
How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson
I Am Alfonso Jones (Graphic Novel) by Tony Medina
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bad Boy : A Memoir by Walter Dean Myers
M is for Movement by Innosanto Nagara
The Skin I'm in (Anniversary 20th Edition) by Sharon G. Flake
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus
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Ages 9-12
Midnight Without Moon by Linda Jackson
What was the March on Washington? by Kathleen Krull
Who Was Frederick Douglass? by April Jones Prince
Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
The Jazz Man by Mary Hays Weik, Ann Grifalconi (Illustrated by)
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry : 40th Anniversary Special Edition by Mildred D. Taylor
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Black Women in Science : A Black History Book for Kids by Kimberly Brown Pellum, PhD
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Multiple Authors
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
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Ages 3-8
A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
Antiracist Baby (Pre-order, due June 16) by Ibram X. Kendi, Ashley Lukashevsky (Illustrator)
I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
Every Little Thing: Based on the Song 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley & Cedella Marley
I am Brave: A little book about MLKJ by Brad Meltzer
Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up The World by The Undefeated
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Equality's Call by Deborah Dieson
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, Kadir Nelson (Illustrated by), Kadir Nelson
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry by Stephen Alcorn
Princess Hair by Sharee Miller
*2020 Caldecott Medal and a Newbery Honor WINNER*
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
One Last Word : Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes
Brown Baby Lullaby by Tameka Fryer Brown
Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry & Jessica Curry
I am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown
What is Given from the Heart by Patricia C. Mckissack, Illustraded by April Harrison