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An Anti-Racist Reading List: 20 Highly Rated Nonfiction Books by Black Authors
There are many ways to take action against racism. Reading in order to learn more about oppression and how to oppose it is just one of those ways. For those who seek resources to understand more about the Black experience in America, books like Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me and Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow have been illuminating calls to action.
In that vein, we've gathered 20 recent non-fiction books, memoirs, and histories on the topic of race, written by Black American authors. While by no means a comprehensive list, these books are a good place to start. All published in the past two years, they share the distinction of being widely read and highly rated by Goodreads members—every title has an average 4-star rating or above.
Let us know in the comments what other essential books on anti-racism you would recommend to your fellow readers.
In that vein, we've gathered 20 recent non-fiction books, memoirs, and histories on the topic of race, written by Black American authors. While by no means a comprehensive list, these books are a good place to start. All published in the past two years, they share the distinction of being widely read and highly rated by Goodreads members—every title has an average 4-star rating or above.
Let us know in the comments what other essential books on anti-racism you would recommend to your fellow readers.
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Which of these books have you read and which will you plan to read? Let us know in the comments.
Comments Showing 51-100 of 217 (217 new)
Lots of books here are on my to-read list! Also, are there any book recommendations of discrimination against the yellow race? I'd love to check those out as well!
I don't live in america, so I can't vote butplease, PLEASE vote to the right person.
(that means, no racist, no white supremacist)
I'm counting on you guys :)
Wow, good list but missed a lot of necessary books. I don't know HOW Coates and Baldwin weren't in there. I'm also adding some books by white authors here as well. "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism" by Robin DiAngelo
"Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do" by Jennifer L. Eberhardt
"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
"Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" by Bryan Stevenson
"The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
"Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race" by Reni Eddo-Lodge
"They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, And A New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement" by Wesley Lowery
"Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism" by bell hooks
"Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People" by Ben Crump
"From Slavery To Freedom: A History of African Americans" by John Hope Franklin
"The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement Is Overcoming the Politics of Division and Fear" by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and William Barber II
"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
"Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
“The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander
Night wrote: "Even though she is British and not American, I really liked Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. It is very instructive, and in..."YES!!!!!
Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."HOW TO BE ANTI RACIST
and I personally would add BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Coates. Those two to begin with !!!
siriusedward wrote: "Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."Yes , please.."
HOW TO BE ANTI RACIST
BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME
White Fragility is a great book, but written by a white woman. She does a great job talking about why white people have a hard time hearing hard things.
Annie wrote: "I don't know well the African American story but I would like recommend Beloved by Tony Morrison and The hate u Give that I read and I loved so much. Now that my English reading is better I can lea..."Love these recommendations!
I am currently reading Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower and I just added A Black Women's History of the United States and What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays to my "Want to Read" list.
Anybody who doesn't understand why we need this list, or has a problem with it, or has a problem with the "Black Lives Matter" movement, please read
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
or at least read some of the articles about it. Sharon, thank you so much for posting this list. There is a great need for it.
siriusedward wrote: "Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."Yes , please.."
Always start at your public library. Don't forget about ebooks and eaudio books during this time, too!
I want to read as many of them as I can..starting with so you want to talk about race...thank you for posting them all!
Stephanie wrote: "White Fragility is a great book, but written by a white woman. She does a great job talking about why white people have a hard time hearing hard things."Yes I said some were written by a few white people and you are right it is worth reading. I think so and I am not even a fan of identity politics.
Add Solitary - The Albert Woodfox Biography, he was falsely imprsisoned and ended up getting mulitple paroles refused. Became a huge advocated for Black Rights and joined the Black Panthers while incarcerated. Undertook hunger strikes and other extreme tactics to petition to end Racism against Blacks. outstanding read about a man with high morality.
Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."Hi Miryamu, agreed. This is a great list but where to dive in ... I am going to start with So You Want to Talk About Race, which seems like an accessible primer. The author is well-known and the book has been very visible. Goodreaders have responded favourably to it as well.
I'd like to recommend Dear Martin by Nic Stone. I really love it and I think the way justyce, the Mc, writes his letters so open and raw add to the story. I really love that book
Check out my antiracist book recommendations here (a few books on this list overlap with my recommendations): https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-m...
While I think this is a great list and it's good that Goodreads did this, I wish Goodreads would also donate all of the ad profits from this list (actually any profit related to the books here) to a charity that's fighting for equality for black people. I mentioned it here, no official reply yet unfortunately:
https://help.goodreads.com/s/question...
May I be so bold as to recommend Isabel Wilkerson's "The Warmth of Other Suns"? From the perspectives of three Black people who grew up in the Jim Crow South, then relocated (to Chicago, NYC and LA, respectively), this book is instructive in the ways that Black people have had the specter of racism following them everywhere they went. Black people relocated from south to north between 1915 and 1970 in droves, and if you want to get at some of the roots of the problems, you should know about this disapora. Just an amazing read.
Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."Use your public library!!!
I live on the minimal SSI. I have a library card that I use daily to download ebooks and audiobooks. I've already paid, through my taxes, for that card.
Look it up. My library allows people to sign up online. No in-person stuff required.
I read over 200 books a year. All for free.
You can, too.
Dave wrote: "May I be so bold as to recommend Isabel Wilkerson's "The Warmth of Other Suns"? From the perspectives of three Black people who grew up in the Jim Crow South, then relocated (to Chicago, NYC and LA..."I agree. I include it in my list:
https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-m...
JZ wrote: "Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."Use your public library!!!
I live..."
Amen! The library is where i get most of the books I read from too!
Raymond wrote: "Dave wrote: "May I be so bold as to recommend Isabel Wilkerson's "The Warmth of Other Suns"? From the perspectives of three Black people who grew up in the Jim Crow South, then relocated (to Chicag..."That book sounds so good!
Michelle wrote: "Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."You might try the Libby app, link..."
Seconded! Libby is wonderful. Also, for @Miryamu or anyone else looking to buy a book, here's a wonderful list someone put together of Black-owned independent bookstores to support! They ship :)
pt. 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6EKt4DmPL/
pt. 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/CA_IfPYjMeG/
Hey, Goodreads/Amazon Staff. You ever going to step in and do something about the mess this thread has turned into? This place is looking a lot more like 4chan by the hour.
@miryamu see if you can check them out from your local library. Many libraries have extensive digital collections that are available even if the physical buildings are closed.
I recommend:White Rage by Carol Anderson
How to be Less Stupid About Race by Crystal Fleming
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
Any book/article by Koritha Mitchell, English professor at Ohio State
Another suggestion:Catrice Jackson is the owner of the 'shetalks, wetalk' series in which she specifically discusses the problems between white and black women (and to some extent, other brown and indigenous women). She also runs workshops....
https://www.shetalkswetalk.com/
Only for dedicated anti-racists---not for the faint of heart!!
Perhaps you will find this helpful:https://www.shetalkswetalk.com/30-day...
"Eight Reasons Why Black women Don't Trust White women"
by Catrice Jackson.
One of the main reasons is that white women constantly re-center themselves instead of allowing the actual victim of racism to tell her ACTUAL story of racism.
I have read: "How to be an AntiRacist" (and "Stamped from the Beginning") by Ibram X. Kendi
"Baracoon" (and "Their Eyes Were Watching God") by Zora Neale Hurston.
Sitting in my pile (or on my Nook) are these books (among others not on the list) to read:
"So You Want to Talk About Race" by Ijeomo Oluo
"When They Call You a Terrorist" by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
"Eloquent Rage" by Brittney Cooper
Other books, not on this list....
I am currently reading:
the 10th anniversary edition of "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
I have also read, and highly recommend (among others):
"Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
"The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson
"Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi
"Moving Forward" by Karine Jean-Pierre
"American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
"The Hate You Give" by Angie Thomas
"Day of Tears" by Julius Lester
"Heart and Soul" by Kadir Nelson
"Red at the Bone" by Jacqueline Woodson
"Tears We Cannot Stop" by Michael Eric Dyson
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
"The Water Dancer" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together" by Beverly Daniel Tatum
"Across That Bridge" by John Lewis
"Bone Black" by Bell Hooks
"His Promised Land" by John P. Parker
Kyndle wrote: "I want to read all of them lol but They Were Her Property..sounds like it could fuck me up"I just read the summary also and thought - this one is going to be HAAAAAAAAAARD! As a white woman it is difficult yet so important to lay my heart open and learn what we were never supposed to know. I intersperse these learning books with my regular reading because the emotional energy to constantly push away defensiveness and stay open to the pain is a lot.
Yo les recomiendo La Confesión de John Grisham.I recomended to you The Confession by John Grisham.
For white people who struggle to understand racism, I would recommend Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving.This might be useful for any who sincerely want to understand before tackling the titles on this list.
And I second Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. Powerful book about the criminal justice system, particularly in the U.S. south.
And I got to meet the author of The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, Anthony Ray Hinton. What an amazing and completely lovely man he is - and after spending 30 years on death row for a crime he didn't and couldn't have committed. He has no anger, no hatred for the people who did that to him. He is very much an inspiring figure. Full of compassion and wisdom...
When I was in high school I read the book "Black Boy" by Richard Wright and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book this one if people are interested in reading more about the "black experience".
Hugo wrote: "When I was in high school I read the book "Black Boy" by Richard Wright and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book this one if people are interested in reading more about the "black exper..."Thank you! I’ve heard of it and want to read it!
Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."I suggest starting with "So You Want to Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo or "How to Be an Anti-Racist" by Ibram X. Kendi.
Is there a list for 20 Highly Rated Fiction Books by Black Authors?
Miryamu wrote: "Anybody could recommend where to start among those books? I've got a tight budget, so I have to pick one or two, but they all seem interesting..."Hi there, you should check out Internet Archive. They have most of the times the books you are looking for
Alexander Dumas's THE COUNT OF MONTECRISTO is a story of someone who escapes unfair imprisonment, and then has a form of benevolent slave ownership, eventually marrying one of his slaves. This is a great and highly entertaining novel, a novel which helpsed form the foundation of our current literature. The fact that Dumas was Black shows how nuanced the human experience can be, and how previous generations lived with slavery as a reality, as opposed to now when slavery exists openly only in backwards countries or in war torn countries like Libya. This book helped open my mind because Dumas had so much sympathy for The Count, the hero of the book, which could be an example to American writers, who have never owned or been slaves, that a Black writer who lived in a time of slavery could describe slavery without anger or hate.
Are any of these fiction?Or are they all non - fiction?
I loved all of these