Anti-Racist Reading Recommendations

Below is some suggested reading that we hope can help facilitate the conversation and help us move to REAL CHANGE. It is only a small sample of the broad range of books for readers of all ages and reading styles. If you would like additional recommendations, please call or email the store.

As of right now (early June 2020) we have sold out of most books on the list but the publishers are working on re-printing and if you order them we will make sure that we get them to you as soon as possible.

How to Be an Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780525509288
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: One World - August 13th, 2019

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other.


Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning By Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780316453691
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - March 10th, 2020

This might be one of the best books ever for a parent child book group. It looks at history in a new way, while giving pointers on how to do better going forward.


White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism By Dr. Robin DiAngelo, Michael Eric Dyson (Foreword by) Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780807047415
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Beacon Press - June 26th, 2018

DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.


The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America By Richard Rothstein Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781631494536
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Liveright - May 1st, 2018

This “powerful and disturbing history” exposes how American governments deliberately imposed racial segregation on metropolitan areas nationwide (New York Times Book Review).


So You Want to Talk About Race By Ijeoma Oluo Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781580058827
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Seal Press - September 24th, 2019

"Oluo gives us--both white people and people of color--that language to engage in clear, constructive, and confident dialogue with each other about how to deal with racial prejudices and biases."

--National Book Review


The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781620971932
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: New Press - January 7th, 2020

Now celebrating 10-years since publication, this was one of the first books to restart the conversation about the pervasive and insidious impact of racism in our country through looking at how our history has led to the mass incarceration of black people.


Between the World and Me By Ta-Nehisi Coates Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780812993547
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: One World - July 14th, 2015

A profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son.


The Fire Next Time (Vintage International) By James Baldwin Cover Image
$13.95
ISBN: 9780679744726
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - December 1st, 1992

"Basically the finest essay I’ve ever read. . . . Baldwin refused to hold anyone’s hand. He was both direct and beautiful all at once. He did not seem to write to convince you. He wrote beyond you." --Ta-Nehisi Coates


Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor By Layla Saad, Robin DiAngelo (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Layla Saad, Robin DiAngelo (Foreword by)
$25.99
ISBN: 9781728209807
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Sourcebooks - January 28th, 2020

A 28-day journey on how to dismantle the privilege within so that we can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.


This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work (Empower the Future #1) By Tiffany Jewell, Aurelia Durand (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Tiffany Jewell, Aurelia Durand (Illustrator)
$14.99
ISBN: 9780711245211
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Frances Lincoln Children's Books - January 7th, 2020

Appropriate for you middle schooler who is trying to figure out how to make a difference


Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption By Bryan Stevenson Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780812984965
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: One World - August 18th, 2015

The adult version of Bryan Stevenson's bestselling look at the impact of incarceration and miscarriages of justice.  Read it with your middle schooler or teen (Young Reader's Edition available below).

Basis for the film -- read and watch together.


Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice By Bryan Stevenson Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9780525580065
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Ember - September 10th, 2019

March: Book One By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Illustrator) Cover Image
By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Illustrator)
$14.95
ISBN: 9781603093002
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Top Shelf Productions - August 13th, 2013

Book One in the National Book Award winning graphic novel trilogy about the life of civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis.


Ghost Boys By Jewell Parker Rhodes Cover Image
$7.99
ISBN: 9780316262262
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - September 10th, 2019

A heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy killed by a police officer, drawing connections through history


The Hate U Give: A Printz Honor Winner By Angie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Angie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780062498533
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Balzer + Bray - February 28th, 2017

A very powerful, well told and balanced portrayal of a girl struggling with the death of her friend shot by the police. For teens, or for a parent/child discussion.


Blended By Sharon M. Draper Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9781442495012
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books - April 7th, 2020

A story about divorce and racial identity, perfect for your tween. On a lot of school summer reading lists.


Let's Talk About Race By Julius Lester, Karen Barbour (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Julius Lester, Karen Barbour (Illustrator)
$8.99
ISBN: 9780064462266
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - December 23rd, 2008

A good way to start the conversation with your 4-8 year old


Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice By Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781433828546
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Magination Press - March 1st, 2018

Follows two families, one black, one white after a black man is shot in their town, for children 4-8 years old.


Antiracist Baby Board Book By Ibram X. Kendi, Ashley Lukashevsky (Illustrator) Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9780593110416
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Kokila - June 16th, 2020

From the author of Stamped and How to be an Anti-Racist!