Books to read about Black History Month and Anti-Racism
Below is a list of books we compiled about Black History Month and Anti-Racism categorized for reading by adults, teens, and kids.
For adults:
"So You Want to Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo
"Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do" by Jennifer L. Eberhardt
"How to Be an Antiracist," by Ibram X. Kendi
"Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019" edited by Ibram X. Kendia and Keisha N. Blain
"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”by Michelle Alexander
"Me and White Supremacy," by Layla F. Saad
"An African American and Latinx History of the United States" by Paul Ortiz
"The Autobiography of Malcolm X," by Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley
“Chokehold: Policing Black Men” by Paul Butler
“Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools,” by Monique W. Morris
"White Fragility," by Robin DiAngelo
"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
"Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson
"Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
"Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption"by Bryan Stevenson
"Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde
"Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America" by Charisse Jones and Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden
"Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion" by Nishta J. Mehra
"The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality" by Angus Deaton
"The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
"From Slavery To Freedom: A History of African Americans" by John Hope Franklin
"Rising Out of Hatred" by Eli Saslow
"This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century" by Mark Engler and Paul Engler
"They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, And A New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement" by Wesley Lowery
"Raising White Kids"by Jennifer Harvey
“The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement" by Matthew Horace and Ron Harris
"Hood Feminism: Notes From The Women That The Movement Forgot" by Mikki Kendall
"Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism" by Bell hooks
"Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People" by Ben Crump
"The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement Is Overcoming the Politics of Division and Fear" by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Dr. William Barber II
"Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement" by John Lewis and Michael D'Orso
"The Burden" edited by Rochelle Riley
"Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde
"This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color" edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa
"Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower" by Brittney Cooper
"When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America" by Paula Giddings
"Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism" by Patricia Hill Collins
"Wandering in Strange Lands" by Morgan Jerkins
Impactful fiction from Black authors based on real-world issues:
"Transcendent Kingdom" by Yaa Gyasi
"The Vanishing Half" by Britt Bennett
"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead
"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
"Passing" by Nella Larsen
"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
"Sula" by Toni Morrison
"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
"White Teeth" by Zadie Smith
"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf" by Ntozake Shange
"An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones
"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett
"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
"Such a Fun Age" by Kiley Reid
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead
"Luster" by Raven Leilani
Books of poetry by Black writers:
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou"
And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems" by Maya Angelou
"Montage of a Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes
"Annie Allen" by Gwendolyn Brooks
"I Can't Talk About the Trees Without the Blood" by Tiana Clark
"Coal" by Audre Lorde
"The Black Unicorn: Poems" by Audre Lorde
"Finna: Poems" by Nate Marshall
"Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine
"There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé" by Morgan Parker
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown
Talking to kids about complex world issues can be tough, but these books can help young people learn in a gentle, thoughtful way.
Stories to help younger kids:
"The Colors of Us" by Karen Katz
"Let’s Talk About Race" by Julius Lester
"The Skin I’m In: A First Look at Racism" by Pat Thomas
Sesame Street's "We're Different, We're the Same" by Bobbi Jane Kates
"Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice" by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
"I Am Enough" by Grace Byers
"Happy in Our Skin" by Fran Manushkin and Lauren Tobia
"Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement" by Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes
"Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America" by Jennifer Harvey
"Daddy Why Am I Brown?: A healthy conversation about skin color and family" by Bedford F. Palmer
"A Terrible Thing Happened" by Margaret Holmes
“Antiracist Baby" by Ibram X. Kendi
"Hair Love" by Matthew A. Cherry
"Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights" by Rob Sanders and Jared Andrew Schorr
"The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family" by Ibtihaj Muhammad and S.K. Ali Hatem Aly
"Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter" by Shani King
For teens:
"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
"Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
"This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work" by Tiffany Jewell and Aurelia Durand
"Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
"Dear White People" by Justin Simien
"The Black Kids" by Christina Hammonds Reed
"Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
"All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
"The Black Flamingo" by Dean Atta
"This Is My America" by Kim Johnson
"Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves" by Glory Edim
"I'm Not Dying With You Tonight" by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
"First look for sameness" by Kristen Bell
