I often get requests for books, podcasts, and films about Black history or racism. So here I am sending you a few recommendations.
But before you see the list, let me mention that I could have sent this in February for Black History Month. I could have sent it a week ago to mark the four years since George Floyd’s death. I could have saved it another two weeks for Juneteenth.
But I wanted to post this today, because this belongs on any old ordinary day of the year.
Black history is not a tacked-on duty that comes around only when the calendar says time. It’s a part of learning our own shared history.
With that in mind, I hope you’ll take this ordinary day as a good enough excuse to choose something new from the following list of resources on Black history and racism.
Short views
“The Racial Wealth Gap.” A half-hour episode in the Netflix series Explained. It’s brief and excellent. My kids saw this in high school, and it’s one of the best little introductions I’ve seen.
Mellody Hobson’s TED talk, Color Blind or Color Brave? Looking for motivation to be a part of addressing racism? As a Black woman who has held some of the top corporate positions in America, she’s got no-nonsense wisdom.
Dorothy Roberts’ TED talk, The Problem of Race-Based Medicine. If you work in healthcare, watch this. If you don’t work in healthcare, watch it anyway. You can surely apply what you learn to whatever field you live or work in.
Longer views
The Banker. True story of two ingenious entrepreneurs fighting for housing integration in the 1960s. I love that this movie refuses to settle for simplistic victories, and it is subtly educational about structural aspects of racism including red-lining and de jure segregation.
Thirteenth. Documentary on anti-Black racism through this history of the United States incarceration system.
Just Mercy. True story of folks working to make the incarceration system more just. It’s based on the book by Bryan Stevenson, which is well worth the read, too, and even has a youth adaptation.
Selma. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965. It’s a famous story, and one that always bears retelling.
Listens
Interviews with Michelle Alexander and Isabel Wilkerson, two authors whose books you’ll find in the recommendations below.
Interview with Daryl Davis, a black musician who befriended a leader of the KKK. Also check out the follow-up episode called “How to Argue.”
Reads for folks newer to this conversation
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson. She’s an elegant storyteller and explainer. This book introduces the topic of inequality in a fresh way (using the term “caste” instead of “race”), and I’ve heard some hesitant readers find it a helpful on-ramp.
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, by Jemar Tisby. If you’re interested in the links between the church and racism—what goes wrong and what can be done about it—check out this one. Another classic on this topic is Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith’s Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America.
Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience, by Sheila Wise Rowe. She writes directly to readers of color looking for next steps in how to heal personally and collectively.
Home, by Toni Morrison. This one burrowed deep into my psyche, and I don’t regret letting it do so. But how to choose between the many, many great fiction books addressing Black history and racism? As a close second choice, I’ll also mention Richard Wright’s 1940 classic, Native Son.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander. Another detailed non-fiction walk through Black history.
Heavier reads
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein. Is racism more than just personal prejudice and happenstance? Has it actually been coded into U.S. law? Rothstein’s answer is thorough and compelling.
The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson. Through oral histories and a wealth of historical research, Pulitzer Prize winner Wilkerson recounts the Great Migration of the mid twentieth century, when over six million Black people left the South for the North.
How Racism Takes Place, by George Lipsitz. A more academic book, but an excellent read. Big thinking about why America is segregated and what that does to humans.
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates. An artful reflection on Black experiences in America, told through the framework of a letter to his adolescent son.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, Beverly Tatum. This one has been around a while, but it’s still often cited for its crisp explanation of how racism shapes American schools and what to do about it.
This list is far from complete. It’s not meant to represent my views in full. These authors don’t even necessarily agree with each other, much less should you or I have to agree with everything they say. And don’t feel you have to read them all this summer. Just choose something.
Plus I’d love to hear from you! What are your favorite learning resources of late?
Let’s keep learning, dear friends.