OUR COMMITMENT TO equity and racial justice

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo: Antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility. Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions that result in 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 examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving: A humbling account that interrupts internalized or unconscious thought and behavior patterns that perpetuate inequality, inspiring action toward making the world a more just place.

Me and White Supremacy workbook by Layla F. Saad: Based on her viral Me and White Supremacy Instagram challenge, this workbook takes readers on a 28-day journey in dismantling the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in The Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander: This book discusses race-related issues specific to African-American males and mass incarceration in the United States, but Alexander notes that the discrimination faced by African-American males is prevalent among other minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged populations.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson: As a young lawyer, Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice. 

How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi: An essential instruction manual but also a memoir of the author’s own path from anti-black racism to anti-white racism and, finally, to antiracism. Kendi dissects why in a society where so few people consider themselves to be racist the divisions and inequalities of racism remain so prevalent. How To Be an Antiracist punctures the myths of a post-racial America, examining what racism really is—and what we should do about it.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates: In a letter to his adolescent son, Coates shares the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Tyson: A provocative and deeply personal call for change. Dyson argues that if we are to make real racial progress we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted.

Biased by Jennifer L. Eberhardt: With a perspective that is at once scientific, investigative, and informed by personal experience, Eberhardt offers us the language and courage we need to face one of the biggest and most troubling issues of our time. She exposes racial bias at all levels of society—in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and criminal justice system—and offers us tools to address it. Eberhardt shows us how we can be vulnerable to bias but not doomed to live under its grip. Racial bias is a problem that we all have a role to play in solving.

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by John G. Neihardt: The story of Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and his people. Black Elk’s visions of the unity of humanity and the world around him have transformed his account into a venerated classic.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer: Kimmerer weaves together her indigenous heritage, experience as a scientist and botany professor, and journey as a modern-day Potawatomi woman and mother into this series of deeply personal stories. Through them, she conveys the beauty and necessity of reciprocity in humanity’s relationship with all aspects of our living world.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown: In this documented account, Brown allows great chiefs and warriors of many tribes to tell us of the series of battles, massacres, and broken treaties that occurred in the late 1800s.

Chokehold: Policing Black Men – A Renegade Prosecuter’s Radical Thoughts on How to DIsrupt the System by Paul Butler: Butler argues that the US criminal justice system is institutionally constructed to control African-American men. But, he says, that is merely one facet of a pervasive “chokehold” over black men that can be observed in numerous social and political arenas.The work has been described by the New York Times as “the most readable and provocative account of the war on drugs since Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.”

Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas, by Mari Sandoz: From her quiet perch behind the wood stove in her family’s Nebraska sod house, Mari Sandoz grew up with the voices of Crazy Horse’s friends and contemporaries. Here, she presents North America’s most principled leader and warrior through a Lakota worldview.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne: Twin narratives of the Comanches’ four-decade defense of their territory from European invaders, and the astonishing account of the mixed-blood warrior chief Quanah Parker offer a penetrating look at the cold realities of westward expansion in North America. Cynthia Ann Parker’s kidnapping at age nine by the most powerful Indian tribe in history, and her utter refusal to return to white civilization, subsequent marriage, and the birth of Quanah and his siblings, give voice to the deep human desire for a kind of belonging, a communal and committed way of life. Never shying away from the violence and brutality that are part and parcel of our shared history, Gwynne illustrates the extraordinary hardships of life on the southern plains and the fortitude of those who fought there.

Living in Two Worlds: The American Indian Experience by Charles Eastman (Ohíye S’a): An autobiographical account by Eastman (1858-1939), who straddled the world of the traditional Santee Sioux and that of the white settlers. He became a prominent figure in the struggle for Native rights. This book vividly describes the daily lives of Eastman’s people and is embellished with compelling photographs. Other books by Eastman are also recommended.

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathways to Mending our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menaken: In this groundbreaking book, therapist Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology. The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. 

Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder by Kent Nerburn: Travel with the author and a Native elder known as Dan, from their first encounter through travels to forgotten places and times, with a vivid cast of characters. Dan’s voice is powerful, eloquent, and confronting, inviting readers beyond myths and stereotypes into a revealing look at contemporary reservation life and the Native American experience.

On the Rez by Ian Frazier: An unflinching account of the modern-day American Indian experience, as observed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, one of the poorest places in America today. New Yorker staff writer Ian Frazier mixes first-hand observation, historical research, and modern-day statistics to create this book that is funny at times while also sad. Includes a list of resources for further reading.

Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life by David Treuer: Treuer, a member of the Ojibwe tribe of northern Minnesota, examines reservation life, past and present, illuminating contemporary issues and tracing waves of public policy, while also exploring the preservation of his native language and culture.

Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle: A story of the Cherokee people and the treaty that relinquished their land east of the Mississippi in return for promises of wealth and better land. The US government used the treaty to justify the eviction of the Cherokee nation from its ancestral lands east of the Mississippi to an area in present-day Oklahoma in an exodus that has become known as the Trail of Tears.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann: The author takes the reader from the top to bottom of the Americas, detailing archeological findings that expand the worlds understanding of the sheer scope of civilization, complex cultures and the extent of ecological engineering that was present in the Americas, challenging old narratives and shedding light on the unfathomable cultural, social and human loss that came with european colonization.

1493: Uncovering the World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann: A followup book to 1491, Mann follows the far-reaching ecological, economic and cultural effects of a world stitched together by commerce. Follow Potatoes, Tomatoes, Gold and Silver, Mosquitoes and more across the globe and be astonished at the far-reaching implications for better and for worse.

Raising Free People by Akilah S. Richards is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring how the concepts of “education” and “liberation” cross paths. Akilah uses her own experience unschooling her two daughters, Sage and Marley, to poke holes in the cultural narrative we’ve been fed that going to school is the only way to achieve liberation for black and brown people. She offers a new perspective on what learning and liberation can—and maybe should—look like. If you have an opportunity to listen to the audiobook, it is particularly moving to hear Akilah’s thoughts in her own voice. Akilah Richards also hosts a podcast (“Fare of the Free Child”) and has a TEDTalk, both of which focus on alternatives to schooling as a means to liberation for all people.