Black Lives Matter
Red at the bone
Jacqueline Woodson
FICTION Woodson, Jacqueline
Black Lives Matter, Black History, Literary Fiction, Diverse Characters
"Two familes from different social classes are joined together by an unexpected pregnancy and the child that it produces. As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody's coming of age ceremony in her grandparents' Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the music of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody's mother, for her own ceremony-- a celebration that ultimately never took place"--Adapted from jacket.
Hair Love
Matthew A. Cherry, Vashti Harrison
Black Lives Matter, Kids, Diverse Characters
A New York Times Bestseller and tie-in to Academy-Award Winning Short Film "Hair Love" "I love that Hair Love is highlighting the relationship between a Black father and daughter. Matthew leads the ranks of new creatives who are telling unique stories of the Black experience. We need this." - Jordan Peele, Actor & FilmmakerIt's up to Daddy to give his daughter an extra-special hair style in this ode to self-confidence and the love between fathers and daughters, from Academy-Award winning director and former NFL wide receiver Matthew A. Cherry and New York Times bestselling illustrator Vashti Harrison.Zuri's hair has a mind of its own. It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Zuri knows it's beautiful. When Daddy steps in to style it for an extra special occasion, he has a lot to learn. But he LOVES his Zuri, and he'll do anything to make her —
Added by Alexander A
I'm still here : black dignity in a world made for whiteness
Austin Channing Brown
305.896 /Brown
Black Lives Matter, Memoir
The author's first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when her parents told her they named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. She grew up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, and has spent her life navigating America's racial divide as a writer, a speaker, and an expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. While so many institutions claim to value diversity in their mission statements, many fall short of matching actions to words. Brown highlights how white middle-class evangelicalism has participated in the rise of racial hostility, and encourages the reader to confront apathy and recognize God's ongoing work in the world.
Austin Channing Brown provides an enlightening view of what life in America is like for a black woman. Her account is humbling, informative, and inspiring. -Mykle
Concrete Rose
Angie Thomas
OverDrive Audiobook
Young Adult, Fiction, Black Lives Matter, Read Woke
International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.
Dion Graham breathes life into the characters and setting of Angie Thomas's prequel to The Hate U Give. Don't miss this powerful chapter in Carter family history. -Casey
How the word is passed : a reckoning with the history of slavery across America
Clint Smith
973.00496 /Smith
History, Black Lives Matter
"'How the Word is Passed' is Clint Smith's revealing, contemporary portrait of America as a slave owning nation. Beginning in his own hometown of New Orleans, Smith leads the reader through an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks - those that are honest about the past and those that are not - that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nations collective history, and ourselves."--
A thoroughly researched exploration of the impact of slavery and how it's history has been recorded through various monuments and landmarks. You may never see the Statue of Liberty or Wall Street the same way again! -Victoria
White fragility : why it's so hard for White people to talk about racism
Robin J. DiAngelo
305.8 /DiAngelo
Nonfiction, Black Lives Matter
In this groundbreaking and timely book, antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility. Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo explores how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. --
Added by Beth
How to be an antiracist
Ibram X. Kendi
305.8 /Kendi
Nonfiction, Black Lives Matter
""The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it -- and then dismantle it." Ibram X. Kendi's concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America -- but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it. In this book, Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism. How to Be an Antiracist is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society." --
Added by Beth
We are each other's harvest : celebrating African American farmers, land, and legacy
Natalie Baszile
630.973 /Baszile
Black History, Black Lives Matter, Nonfiction
"In this impressive anthology, Natalie Baszile brings together essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories to examine black people's connection to the American land from Emancipation to today. In the 1920s, there were over one million black farmers; today there are just 45,000. Baszile explores this crisis, through the farmers' personal experiences. In their own words, middle aged and elderly black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss. The Returning Generation--young farmers, who are building upon the legacy of their ancestors, talk about the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations."--
An absolutely fascinating exploration of African American connection to land past, present and future. I loved the acknowledgment of historical truths and hopes for restorative futures in this series of essays, poems and photography. -Victoria
You are your best thing : vulnerability, shame resilience, and the Black experience -- an anthology
152.44 /You
Black Lives Matter, Self Help
This stark, potent collection of essays on Black shame and healing present a space to be vulnerable and affirm the fullness of Black love and Black life. They allow readers to recognize and process the trauma of sexual assault, and white supremacy and sexual assault, in order to work toward healing. Through lived experiences, we can work to dismantle oppressive systems-- of all types-- in this country. -- adapted from jacket and Introduction.
I've read much of Brené Brown's work, but I think this one is my favorites so far because it builds on her framework in a different way. These essays lay out what vulnerability, shame resilience and determination can look like in BIPOC places and spaces. By cracking open who can authentically feel and more importantly learn to thrive by being vulnerable and succeeding despite what has happened to them in the past, her contributing authors offer insight and solace for the reader. The reader can feel more resonance with the authenticity of her work in a way they may never have been able to before. As we begin to see each other on a spectrum of cultural experiences, backgrounds, social statuses, mental health and gender, we have a greater capacity to learn, empathize, communicate and share in each other's vulnerabilities. I loved this book! -Victoria
We do this 'til we free us : abolitionist organizing and transforming justice
Mariame Kaba
303.372 /Kaba
Black Lives Matter, Political
"What if social transformation and liberation isn't about waiting for someone else to come along and save us? What if ordinary people have the power to collectively free ourselves? In this timely collection of essays and interviews, Mariame Kaba reflects on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle."--Page 4 of cover.
Seasoned activist, abolitionist, community organizer and Founder/Director of Project NIA (an organization that works to end the incarceration of children and young adults by promoting restorative and transformative justice practices,) Mariame Kaba's latest book is a collection of essays that have been described as a "pragmatic playbook" that reimagines institutionalized systems and how ordinary people can collectively implement change. In her essays she describes what it means to defund and abolish the police and how we as communities can contribute to making our spaces more equitable through strategic, collective action. In the beginning of her book she cites a quote from her father: "Everything worthwhile is done with other people". Everything she has done in her work has amplified this sentiment and I think is a truly beautiful mantra. Well worth reading! -Victoria
This was a beautiful read. It packs so many different feelings, perspectives, and atmospheres into one relatively short book. This is not one to miss! -Heidi K