Right now, many are wondering how to come to a better understanding of racism (particularly against Black Americans) in our culture and what they can do to support anti-racist initiatives. With something so deeply ingrained in our society that some don’t even recognize it, education is a good starting point. There are hundreds of books on the subject, many available at your local library. We’ve put together a “primer” of titles available at Cheshire Library that many consider essential reading on the subject:

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo.  Examines the sensitive, hyper-charged racial landscape in current America, discussing the issues of privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and more.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. Combines ethics, history, law, and science with a personal narrative to describe how to move beyond the awareness of racism and contribute to making society just and equitable.

The Fire Next Time  by James Baldwin. The powerful evocation of a childhood in Harlem that helped to galvanize the early days of the civil rights movement examines the deep consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic

Just Mercy  by Bryan Stevenson. The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama explains why justice and mercy must go hand-in-hand through the story of Walter McMillian, a man condemned to death row for a murder he didn’t commit. 

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In 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, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis.

The Condemnation of Blackness : Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Gibran Muhammad. Chronicles the emergence of deeply embedded notions of black people as a dangerous race of criminals by explicit contrast to working-class whites and European immigrants, and reveals the influence such ideas have had on urban development and social policies.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. Argues that the War on Drugs and policies that deny convicted felons equal access to employment, housing, education, and public benefits create a permanent under caste based largely on race.

White Fragility : Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. Anti-racist educator DiAngelo illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility, how these actions protect racial inequality, and presents strategies for engaging more constructively in these conversations.

I’m Still Here : Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown. An eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America.

Me and White Supremacy : Combat racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by  Layla F. Saad. The host of the “Good Ancestor” podcast presents an updated and expanded edition of the Instagram challenge that launched a cultural movement about taking responsibility for first-person racism to stop unconsciously inflicting pain on others.