Media Reviews
Antiracist Reading List
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8. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 9. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander 10. Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
The Houston Lawyer
Compiled by Christina Beeler
here are thousands of significant books about racism affecting Black people, indigenous people, and other people of color in the United States. All struggles against racism are important. This reading list is focused primarily on anti-Black racism because of the recent killings by police officers of unarmed Black people, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The below recommendations are in no particular order. These adult nonfiction books are focused on Black history, racism, and social justice. These books will guide readers in learning how to become antiracists who actively stand against racism. 1. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi 2. Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi 3. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo 4. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahesi Coates 5. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer L. Eberhardt 6. Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler 7. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin 46
September/October 2020
These adult fiction and poetry books written by Black authors are not solely about racism, but they have important things to say about racism and are all beautifully written. 1. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 2. The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton 3. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine 4. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid 5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 6. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nahesi Coates 7. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 8. The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz 9. Deacon King Kong by James McBride 10. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie These young adult and children’s books show Black characters doing both ordinary and extraordinary things and will help parents talk about anti-Black racism with their children. 1. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi 2. The March Trilogy by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin 3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 4. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson 5. Monster by Walter Dean Myers 6. The Day You Begin by Jacqueline
thehoustonlawyer.com
Woodson 7. Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry 8. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña 9. I Am Enough by Grace Byers 10. Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi. Christina Beeler graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 2018. She recently completed an Equal Justice Works fellowship sponsored by Latham & Watkins LLP at the Juvenile and Children’s Advocacy Project, where her work focused on disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline by providing representation in school disciplinary proceedings. As a lifelong reader and a former high school English teacher, Beeler has read over 500 books during the past decade. She is currently a term law clerk in federal court.
Harvard’s Implicit Association Test Regarding Race
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Reviewed by Koby Wilbanks
uring this time of national discourse surrounding racial disparities in our society, individuals and organizations are contemplating their roles and responsibilities in recognizing and reducing such disparities. The wide range of opinions on this topic are part of a multi-generational discussion that
