Essential Reads for Black History Month
In the wake of Trump, there has been a surge of extremist right-wing candidates elected to Congress and a flood of groups like Moms for Liberty attempting to take over local positions and school boards. Government posts at all levels have been battered each election cycle by Christofascists, MAGA nuts, and QAnon believers.
All pontificating beliefs and legislative measures that reek of inhumanity and violate the rights of others.
And that includes a revival of racist policies and white nationalist attitudes. Banning books. Demonizing critical race theory. Gerrymandering voting districts. Encouraging discriminatory laws. Ignoring police and prison reform. Mocking practices that promote diversity and inclusion.
This mentality at a government level has emboldened radical citizens, stoking the flames of violence in our country with significant increases in hate crimes, harassment, and police brutality.
But, what is the root cause of this hate? Ignorance.
Ignorance begets fear and fear begets hate.
How do we combat this? Education.
In the fight against systemic racism and the battle for racial justice, knowledge is power. We must uplift and support voices that seek to spread understanding about race and racism in our country and teach the true history and lived experiences of Black Americans.
Here are some commanding and poignant reads that, I feel, have the power to shape minds and change hearts:
The 1619 Project
Nikole Hannah-Jones weaves together essays, poems, and works of fiction to investigate the legacy of oppression in America, highlighting how slavery has always defined this nation and continues to shape our country in the modern day.
So You Want to Talk About Race
Ijeoma Oluo provides a comprehensive guide to having open, honest, and meaningful conversations with others about race, while also shining a light on everyday racism in American life.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander exposes the truth that segregation in the U.S. has never truly ended, but rather taken on new life in the form of structural racism through discrimination within our criminal justice system and disparities in mass incarceration.
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt observes race through the lens of unconscious bias, presenting scientific research on the racial biases that lurk in all facets of our society and offering insights on how we can work to acknowledge and overcome them.
His Promised Land
John P. Parker, in this previously unpublished manuscript, chronicles his young experiences as a slave, recounts buying his own freedom from slavery after working in an iron foundry, and reveals his harrowing experience helping others to freedom as an integral conductor on the Underground Railroad.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou paints a heartrending portrait of her own coming-of-age in a pre-Civil Rights Movement America, telling the story of her early personal struggles with trauma and bigotry.
The Fire Next Time
James Baldwin showcases two essays, examining the haunting and harsh realities of Black American life during segregation in the 1960s and scrutinizing the way white supremacists warp Christianity to perpetuate inequality.
My Life, My Love, My Legacy
Coretta Scott King — who was more than just wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — divulges in this posthumous memoir her own extraordinary journey as a civil rights activist and non-violent leader, devoting her life to championing the rights and freedoms of others.
The Souls of Black Folk
W.E.B. Du Bois shares many essays on race where he analyzes segregation and racial power dynamics and introduces the topics of “double-consciousness” and the “color-line,” articulating his ideology that the path towards progress for Black Americans is through classical education and political power.
