Jan 17, 2022
It’s a little overwhelming how big the issue of anti-racism is and how much we each have to do to move forward and to make things right. Below are some booklists put together by OPL staff that may help to get you started or to continue your work to making an anti-racist society.
Here at OPL we are learning, listening, reading, viewing, and doing the work necessary in our own realm of influence to the same end.
We’re reading books like How to Be Less Stupid about Race by Crystal Marie Fleming and Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino and we’re finding truths that make us uncomfortable, being challenged in different ways and we’re changing and bringing the new perspective into our daily work and lives.
Along the way we’re also reading things that make us laugh like Amber Ruffin’s You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey and we’re being introduced to incredible writers and exploring new topics we’d never have picked up without the most recent push towards justice like This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong and The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole.
If none of these suggestions are speaking to you (or maybe you’ve read them all already!) check out the lists below by OPL staff.
We all have a part to play here – some of us more than others but OPL has what it takes to get you well-informed.
Black Lives Matterby OPL_BPO_Zoe
Des livres pour combattre le racisme.
NoirEs sous surveillance
esclavage, répression et violence d'État au Canada
NoirEs sous surveillance
esclavage, répression et violence d'État au Canada
La couleur de la justice
incarcération de masse et nouvelle ségrégation raciale aux États-Unis
The Intercept's Black author reading listby Steacy_Library
And so, as an antidote to all the political falsehoods, consumer pitfalls, and creative lapses that plague so many “Black Lists,” I bind a list that is restorative, not draining, one that centers Black excellence and joy.. -- Rich Benjamin
The Intercept's Black author reading list
The following list includes titles mentioned in this article and additional lists of digital books by Black authors available from OPL
The book that came after photographer David Jones captured author Kimberly Jones’s riff on American history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llci8MVh8J4
Baldwin holds a distinguished place in American history as one of the foremost writers of both black and gay literature. He was an active participant in the Civil Rights movement.
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved." Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things begin to happen.
After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved." Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things begin to happen.
After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved." Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things begin to happen.
After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved." Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things begin to happen.
" In THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Elizabeth Alexander--poet, mother, and wife--finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband, who was just 49. Reflecting with gratitude on the exquisite beauty of her married life that was, grappling with the subsequent void, and feeling a re-energized devotion to her two teenage sons, Alexander channels her poetic sensibilities into a rich, lucid prose that describes a very personal and yet universal quest for meaning, understanding, and acceptance"
" In THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Elizabeth Alexander--poet, mother, and wife--finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband, who was just 49. Reflecting with gratitude on the exquisite beauty of her married life that was, grappling with the subsequent void, and feeling a re-energized devotion to her two teenage sons, Alexander channels her poetic sensibilities into a rich, lucid prose that describes a very personal and yet universal quest for meaning, understanding, and acceptance"
Anti-Racism.by AnOPLLibrarian
Anti-Racism is being committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion for all people.
Do Better
Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing From White Supremacy
Speaking of Race
How to Have Antiracist Conversations That Bring Us Together
The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias
How to Reframe Bias, Cultivate Connection, and Create High-performing Teams
