Opinion: Want to understand what it means to be anti-racist? Read these books.
The weather's turning cold and it's the perfect time to curl up with a good book. What books come to mind when you think of racial reckoning? What book would you recommend to friends interested in learning more about systemic inequities — those who want to become better allies and advocates in our community?
We asked some community members for their recommendations.
Whether you buy them from your favorite local bookstore or check them out at the Louisville Free Public Library, we hope these books inspire compassion, knowledge and solidarity this holiday season.
'So You Want to Talk about Race'
By Ijeoma Oluo
Race.
It’s a polarizing topic that has pushed and pulled so many families and communities apart. In Ijeoma Oluo’s book, "So You Want to Talk about Race," topics like racism, privilege and intersectionality are addressed. Oluo writes in a way that is easy to understand and decipher. Her comedic and thought-provoking book does not let readers off the hook. Instead, it is a discomforting read that leads the reader to question the state of humanity and how one views the world.
If you have gotten upset when someone has said to you, "check your privilege," this is the book for you. You will not be spoon-fed to make the topics palatable, but educated on what it’s like as a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) navigating a world of people who do not recognize the privileges that they have. Oluo writes that “a privilege has to come with somebody else’s disadvantages – otherwise, it’s not a privilege.” With each chapter, the reader will walk away with knowledge that they didn’t have before.
Ijeoma Oluo’s website describes her as “a writer, speaker and internet yeller” (www.ijeomaoluo.com). Oluo is not going to teach you everything there is to know about racial inequities, but her book is a helpful tool for becoming a better ally. With that being said, you also have to do the work.
—Damera Blincoe is the manager of equity assessment for the Louisville Free Public Library.
'The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America'
By Richard Rothstein
How can an attorney practice real estate law for almost 30 years and not understand redlining and its impact on homeownership? That’s the question I kept asking myself after I read Richard Rothstein’s "The Color of Law." I have personally closed hundreds of FHA and VA loans, and I never knew that both government agencies once purposefully discriminated against Black borrowers, actually requiring deed restrictions excluding African Americans in subdivisions before agreeing to insure a loan in that neighborhood.
Rothstein’s “Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” has awakened many of us to the reality that, because our own government systematically worked to keep Black families from accumulating wealth, we have a responsibility to work to redress the economic disparities that logically followed. As Rothstein reveals, all three branches of government in local, state and federal governments actively discriminated against Black individuals. This begs a different response than when racism was practiced by private individuals or companies for whom we might feel no responsibility. As a white citizen, my family benefited from these practices while my Black neighbors were harmed. How can I not care about that? If you’re having trouble understanding how systemic racism works, start with this book.
—John D. Borders, Jr. is an attorney with the family real estate law practice of Borders & Borders, PLC. He serves currently on the board of directors of the Louisville Urban League as the Development Chair.
'The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots'
By Brenda Stevenson
Long before the grand jury debacle regarding the circumstances of Breonna Taylor’s death, I remember another case that etched in my brain how little value some of society held for the life of a Black female. Latasha Harlins was a 15-year-old Black girl who had been shot in the back of the head by a store owner who had accused her of shoplifting. As she lay bleeding on the store floor, the money she was going to use to pay for the beverage she had been accused of trying to shoplift was still in her hand. Latasha’s killer was convicted by a jury, but the judge when handing down her sentence blamed Latasha for her own demise.
Latasha’s killer was given probation, community service and a fine. In "The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins," you can see how justice is far from blind and how the intersectionality of gender, race and class play out. Until our society gets to a place where all life is seen as sacred, justice and peace as a whole is out of reach. Brenda Stevenson does a great job of laying out the facts and presenting the perspectives from various angles.
—Iris Jasmin is a native Louisvillian. She has worked as a health insurance professional for over three decades. She is a graduate of Florida A&M University and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in education and social change at Bellarmine University.
'And We Are Not Saved'
By Derrick Bell
The legacy of the United States of America is equal parts ennobling and abominable, with the grand character of our formation as a nation and citizenry always on prominent public display. The uncomplimentary truths about the making and meaning of America have never been so readily expressed. Racial reckoning is at the heart of our sojourn as a republic, unable to come fully to terms with itself.
In the expectant spirit of advent, readings on the theme range from Howard Thurman’s "Jesus and the Disinherited" to James Cone’s "The Cross and the Lynching Tree," Toni Morrison’s "Beloved" to Nikole Hannah-Jones’ "1619 Project," Ibram Kendi’s "How to be Anti-Racist," and Alicia Garza’s "The Purpose of Power" are among my essential reads. However, the book I highlight here is Derrick Bell’s "And We Are Not Saved." Bell, a towering legal scholar, social justice activist and seminal author, came to an unsettling conclusion decades ago: Racism is so deeply entrenched in the DNA of our society that it has successfully reasserted itself after each successive reform effort seeking its elimination. His writings were foundational to critical race theory. May we honor one another with our own commitments to be anti-racist.
—Alton B. Pollard, III is Seminary President and Professor of Religion and Culture at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
'The New Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness'
By Michelle Alexander
This book argues that the ongoing war on drugs and the resulting mass incarceration of African Americans is the moral equivalent of Jim Crow — a system of laws and policies that enforced and legitimized racism and segregation in the 1960s. Alexander explains how drug policies in the United States disproportionately affect African Americans, building on a pervasive legacy of discrimination. Democratic and Republican governments have contributed to this legacy.
Drug-related mass incarceration obscures its inherent racist nature by underscoring the notion of a colorblind criminal justice system. As racism remains in our public consciousness and the opioid epidemic decimates under-resourced communities in Kentucky, this book inspires us to be actively anti-racist and end the new Jim Crow.
"The New Jim Crow" makes limited mention to other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Other books I enjoy representing diverse perspectives include: “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous”, Ocean Voung; “Brother, I am Dying”, Edwidge Danticat; and “When I was Puerto Rican”, Esmeralda Santiago.
—Dr. Rafael E. Pérez-Figueroa is an assistant professor of Health, Behavior and Society at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. The opinions are his own, not those of the University of Kentucky.
'Linguistic Justice: Black language, literacy, identity, and pedagogy'
By April Baker-Bell
Justice work comes in many different forms, one which often goes unnoticed, linguistic justice. In April Baker-Bell's bookshe introduces us to white mainstream language "calling out" its perpetuation of white supremacy. In this moment of racial reckoning, understanding that there has been and always will be a need of racial reckoning, this book helps us to think about Black language fully.
For people who are willing to be allies, this book will take them on a journey to learn, unlearn and relearn perpetuated white linguistic hegemony and supremacy. This book sheds light on how the educational system, curriculum, community and schools uphold white cultural hegemony, anti-Blackness and white linguistics. Black language has a history full of brilliance, skill, quickness and wit. Instead of calling Black language ghetto, slang or street talk, "Linguistic Justice" acknowledges the rhetorical features showing us the brilliant way Black language signifies, uses semantics, syntax and phonology in modes of discourse each and every day.
Many of our Black students describe experiences with schools where the Black Language they speak is deemed unintelligent and incorrect. I am reminded by the great writer and activist Audre Lorde's well-known declaration that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” If we are really about the work of racial reckoning, stop using the master's tools.
—Shashray McCormack, M.Ed is a cultural humility coach at Grace James Academy of Excellence.
'Pedagogy of the Oppressed'
By Paulo Freire
It has been said that the greatest tool of the oppressor is the ability to convince the oppressed to hate themselves and others that look like them. Due to the experience of microinvalidations, denial of systematic oppression and the tension between privileged guilt and oppressed victimization, many BIPOC individuals have internalized a belief in inherent cultural deficits. This belief system has manifested in the form of colorism, hair texture prejudice and respectability politics. However, how can BIPOC individuals be responsible for a system that they did not build and blamed for their discrepant lived experience when they have been knocking at the door of opportunity for hundreds of years with no answer? Furthermore, how can BIPOC individuals regain their voice and choice in the face of legal, cultural and institutional oppression? The book, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire" (1970), explores the ways in which oppressed individuals have been robbed of their humanity as well regulated to being the perpetual “other.” Additionally, Freire offers a blueprint for how a movement for liberation can be created to reclaim one’s humanity as an oppressed individual. Specifically, Freire highlights the importance of re-education, reconstruction of identity and the importance of liberation movements being led by oppressed individuals. Pedagogy of the Oppressed is an important read for allies wanting to learn more about how to support liberation movements as well as for oppressed individuals seeking education on how to reclaim and affirm their humanity.
—Steven D. Kniffley Jr., PsyD MPA ABPP is Spalding University’s Chief Diversity Officer, an Associate Professor in Spalding University’s School of Professional Psychology and Coordinator for the Collective Care Center Racial Trauma Clinic. Dr. Kniffley's area of expertise is research and clinical work with Black males and the treatment of race-based stress and trauma.
'White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism'
By Robin DiAngelo
Since its 2018 release, Robin Di’Angelo’s New York Times Best Seller "White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism" has seen its fair share of detractors and supporters. Some aspects of the book I love while others make me cringe. Overall, it’s a book worth wrestling with.
For me, this book is a literary microcosm of our racist American society in that:
1. Racism is presented as systematic and not indicative of “bad people”
2. White people are positioned as the “default” race
3. Systematic solutions do not rise above their individual parts
DiAngelo presents an America I know. An America that I must make comfortable with my Black existential existence in every step of my life. However, this is an America largely unfamiliar to many white people as expressed in a quote by DiAngelo herself: “I wasn’t raised to see my race as saying anything relevant about me.” As a Black man, I was raised to combat the ways that race will speak for me in every way possible.
Herein lies the significance in White Fragility – racial empathy. This lies at the heart of DiAngelo’s efforts, moving white people from a position of sympathy to empathy. Going from “I know how you feel” to “I feel how you feel.” DiAngelo’s relentlessness is found in not allowing her audience to turn away when their fragility arises. For the learning, understanding, and accepting that must take place is found in this discomfort. At the other end of that discomfort is the pot of gold that is allyship.
—John Blackwell is the associate vice president for Enrollment Management for Simmons College of Kentucky.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Let these books on race in America inspire your racial reckoning
