• Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debbie Irving - a great starting point for white people to examine their understanding of race in America, questioning much of what they know of American history and challenging their own role in the status quo

• White Fragility, by Dr. Robin DiAngelo - a popular and eye-opening read for white people, particularly helpful in recognizing and overcoming defensiveness in racial interactions and conversations

• How to be an Anti-Racist – by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi – part memoir, part history but all clear on the idea that it is not enough to simply not be racist, but that we must become anti-racist if we want to help shift our country towards a more equitable society

• The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person - Frederick Joseph - “I really liked how the author shares a lot of experiences from his childhood and life.” - Julie Murphy

•• Caste: The Origins of our Discontents - by Isabel Wilkerson - though this is Wilkerson’s second book, it’s worth reading first as it sets out to explain the foundational concept of American racism and gives us a new language to use when discussing our society

• The Warmth of Other Suns – by Isabel Wilkerson - winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this is an absorbing and wonderful nonfiction narrative about the Great Migration of Black Americans moving from the South to northern and western cities, highlighting three stories as examples

• So You Want to Talk About Race – by Ijeoma Oluo – a blunt and honest assessment of what it’s like to exist as a Black woman in America

• Eloquent Rage – by Dr. Brittany Cooper – a professor at Rutgers, Dr. Cooper writes with the raw exasperation of being a Black woman in our society and refreshingly, does not mince words 

• Hood Feminism - Mikki Kendall - this is an excellent book about what is important for white feminism to address.  There is a lot about intersectionality and also how poverty, gun control, sexualizing Black girls, and food security all are feminist issues. - Julie Murphy

• How to be Less Stupid About Race – Dr. Crystal Fleming – helpful for people who want to learn how to talk about racism and avoid some of the minefields

•• Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates – goes right for the gut, a must read; based on the concept of James Baldwin’s letter to his nephew; “This was my entry point into learning more, actually more like a shove through the doors. It gripped me and slapped me across the face with its clarity and emotion. I realized how little I knew of the Black experience in America and how much I would never know, but that I had to try and fill in the gaps.” - Ellen Wolff

•• The Souls of Black Folk – W.E.B. Du Bois – beautiful but challenging with its older style of writing, demands undivided concentration but is well worth the work

•• The Sum of Us - Heather McGhee - a great book on how our country has stymied its own progress and kept the majority of our population from thriving all because of racism

•• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria – Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum – written several decades ago but has an excellent updated version, a lot of psychology/sociology

•• Dying of Whiteness – Dr. Jonathan Metzl – how entrenched racist ideas in the white population end up harming white people themselves by preventing progress that helps everyone 

•• A Colony in a Nation – Chris Hayes – yep, the MSNBC guy, it’s an excellent book about militarized policing, among other things