Apeirogon, Colum McCann

“ ‘Bassam Aramin is Palestinian. Rami Elhanan is Israeli. They inhabit a world of intractable conflict that colors every aspect of their daily lives, from the roads they are allowed to take to the schools their daughters, Abir and Smadar, each attend… But their worlds shift irreparably when ten-year-old old Abir is killed by a rubber bullet meant to quell unruly crowds, and again when thirteen-year-old Smadar becomes the victim of suicide bombers. When Bassam and Rami learn one another's stories and the loss that connects them, they become part of a much larger tale that ranges over centuries and continents.’ ” (Note: this novel, while set in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, depicts the relentless struggle when people are oppressed, and offers a path forward in one of its central messages: “This will not be over until we talk.”)

Barracoon, Zora Neale Hurston

In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation's history. Based on those interviews, featuring Cudjo's unique vernacular, and written from Hurston's perspective with the compassion and singular style that have made her one of the preeminent American authors of the twentieth century, Barracoon masterfully illustrates the tragedy of slavery and of one life forever defined by it.

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, Mahzarin Banaji

In this accessible and groundbreaking look at the science of prejudice, Banaji and Greenwald show that prejudice and unconscious biases toward others are a fundamental part of the human psyche.

Braving the Wilderness, Brené Brown

A timely and important new book that challenges everything we think we know about cultivating true belonging in our communities, organizations, and culture. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.

Everyday Bias, Howard Ross

If you are human, you are biased. Bias is natural to the human mind, a survival mechanism that is fundamental to our identity. And overwhelmingly it is unconscious. Ross explores the biases we each carry within us. He explains that most people do not see themselves as biased towards people of different races or different genders, and yet in virtually every area of modern life disparities remain.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Charles C. Mann

Traditionally, Americans learned in school that the ancestors of the people who inhabited the Western Hemisphere at the time of Columbus's landing had crossed the Bering Strait twelve thousand years ago; existed mainly in small, nomadic bands; and lived so lightly on the land that the Americas was, for all practical purposes, still a vast wilderness. But as Charles C. Mann now makes clear, archaeologists and anthropologists have spent the last thirty years proving these and many other long-held assumptions wrong. Mann sheds clarifying light on the methods used to arrive at these new visions of the pre-Columbian Americas and how they have affected our understanding of our history and our thinking about the environment. His book is an exciting and learned account of scientific inquiry and revelation.

Harvest of Empire, Juan González

“A sweeping history of the Latinx experience in the United States… Harvest of Empire spans five centuries--from the European colonization of the Americas to the 2020 election. With family portraits of real-life immigrant Latino pioneers, as well as accounts of the events and conditions that compelled them to leave their homelands, González highlights the complexity of a segment of the American population that is often discussed but frequently misrepresented.’ ” (Also a video; see Audio/Visual section below)

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.

The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander

In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community - and all of us - to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.

Poética sin fronteras/Poetics Without Borders, J. Altamirano-Crosby, A. Chávez y Sánchez, A.L. Geist, B. Vásquez, editors

This is the meeting of eight [writers] who write about the virtual dots and lines that make up the border between Mexico and the United States, turning a barrier of disagreements into [commonality]. [Their] goal has been to explain in two languages what unites human beings on either side. The fact that they have used poetry as a vehicle is exciting. They talk about encounters and losses, they talk about those who migrate with their load of memories on their backs, they talk about those who are not from there and want to be from here or vice versa, and about those who do not know where they are from. (Description taken from publisher Valparaiso Editions, Granada, Spain)

See No Stranger, A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love, Valarie Kaur

Drawing from her personal experiences, Sikh wisdom, and the work of civil rights leaders of all kinds, Kaur has re-envisioned love as a public ethic: a commitment to loving others, opponents, and ourselves. She argues that this type of love is not a passing feeling; it is an act of will. It is an active, political, and moral response to violence, hate, and otherness. It is the choice to extend our will for the flourishing of others and ourselves.

So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo

A current, constructive, and actionable exploration of today's racial landscape, offering straightforward clarity that readers of all races need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide. In So You Want to Talk About Race, Editor-at-Large of The Establishment, Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don't dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.’ ”

Strangers in Their Own Land, Arlie Russell Hochschild

In Strangers in Their Own Land, the renowned sociologist Arlie Hochschild embarks on a thought-provoking journey from her liberal hometown of Berkeley, California, deep into Louisiana bayou country--a stronghold of the conservative right. As she gets to know people who strongly oppose many of the ideas she famously champions, Hochschild nevertheless finds common ground and quickly warms to the people she meets…people whose concerns are actually ones that all Americans share: the desire for community, the embrace of family, and hopes for their children. 

Waking Up White, Debby Irving

For twenty-five years, Debby Irving sensed inexplicable racial tensions in her personal and professional relationships. As a colleague and neighbor, she worried about offending people she dearly wanted to befriend. As an arts administrator, she didn't understand why her diversity efforts lacked traction. As a teacher, she found her best efforts to reach out to students and families of color left her wondering what she was missing. Then, in 2009, one "aha!" moment launched an adventure of discovery and insight that drastically shifted her worldview and upended her life plan. In Waking Up White, Irving tells her often cringe-worthy story with such openness that readers will turn every page rooting for her-and ultimately for all of us. 

The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson

In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America.

The Wrath to Come, Sarah Churchwell (currently available from the Seattle Public Library)

Sarah Churchwell examines one of the most enduringly popular stories of all time, Gone with the Wind, to help explain the divisions ripping the United States apart today. In The Wrath to Come, Sarah Churchwell charts an extraordinary journey through 160 years of American denialism. From the Lost Cause to the romances behind the Ku Klux Klan, from the invention of the 'ideal' slave plantation to the erasure of interwar fascism, Churchwell shows what happens when we do violence to history, as collective denial turns fictions into lies, and lies into a vicious reality.

The Beauty of Human Skin in Every Color, Angélica Dass 

“Angélica Dass's photography challenges how we think about skin color and ethnic identity. In this personal talk, hear about the inspiration behind her portrait project, Humanæ, and her pursuit to document humanity's true colors rather than the untrue white, red, black, and yellow associated with race.”

Being Color Brave, Mellody Hobson

“The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a ‘conversational third rail’. But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race — and particularly about diversity in hiring -- makes for better businesses and a better society.”

Believing in Refugees, Luma Mufleh

"’We have seen advances in every aspect of our lives -- except our humanity,’ says Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian immigrant and Muslim of Syrian descent who founded the first accredited school for refugees in the United States. Mufleh shares stories of hope and resilience, explaining how she's helping young people from war-torn countries navigate the difficult process of building new homes. Get inspired to make a personal difference in the lives of refugees with this powerful talk.”

Cultural Humility: People, Principles and Practices, Vivian Chavez

"’Cultural Humility: People, Principles and Practices’ is a 30-minute documentary by San Francisco State professor Vivian Chávez, that mixes poetry with music, interviews, archival footage, and images of community, nature and dance to explain what Cultural Humility is and why we need it.”

Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America – 2012 film documentary (link to trailer only) 

“Explores the political events, social conditions and U.S. government actions that led millions of Latinos to leave their homelands and move to America.”

How to Overcome Biases, Verna Myers

“Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly — as we've seen in the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, in Staten Island, New York. Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. In a funny, impassioned, important talk, she shows us how.”

I’m Not Your Inspiration, Stella Young

“Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who happens to go about her day in a wheelchair — a fact that doesn't, she'd like to make clear, automatically turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity. In this very funny talk, Young breaks down society's habit of turning disabled people into ‘inspiration porn.’"

Missing in Brooks County – “As the national debate over immigration policy simmers to a boil, its practical consequences are felt every day in Brooks County, Texas. Located 70 miles north of the border with Mexico, it is the site of an estimated 3000 deaths since 2008, as migrants try to circumvent the state's busiest interior immigration checkpoint and find themselves lost in the vast private ranch lands that surround it.

“Missing in Brooks County follows the journey of two families who have come to Brooks County to look for their loved ones who went missing. As they search for answers, they encounter a haunted land where death is a part of everyday life. A gripping documentary mystery, it is also a deeply humane portrait of the law enforcement agents, human rights workers, and activists who come face to face with the life and death consequences of a broken system.”

A Tale of Two Americas, Anand Gridharadas

“Ten days after 9/11, a shocking attack at a Texas mini-mart shattered the lives of two men: the victim and the attacker. In this stunning talk, Anand Giridharadas, author of "The True American," tells the story of what happened next. It's a parable about the two paths an American life can take, and a powerful call for reconciliation.” (Ed. Note: This line sums it up: “This immigrant [was] begging America to be as merciful to a native son as it had been to an adopted one… not just two men, but two Americas collided. An America that still dreams, still strives, still imagines that tomorrow can build on today, and an America that has resigned to fate, buckled under stress and chaos, lowered expectations, and ducked into the oldest of refuges: the tribal fellowship of one's own narrow kind.” Wow!)

13th – 2016 film documentary (link to trailer only)

“Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.”

The Urgency of Intersectionality, Kimberlé Crenshaw

“Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.”

We Need to Talk About an Injustice, Bryan Stevenson

“In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness.”

What white people can do to move race conversations forward, Caprice Hollins | TEDxSeattle

In this 2020 TEDxSeattle talk, Dr. Caprice Hollins explains why we often fail to have productive conversations about race, race relations, and racism in this country. Her talk sheds light on why People of Color and White people take different approaches to these conversations and what White people can do to move race conversations forward. With over twenty years of experience leading and facilitating conversations on race, Dr. Hollins uses current events and daily moments as teaching opportunities about race relations in America today.

Why I Keep Speaking up, Even When People Mock My Accent, Safwat Saleem

“Artist Safwat Saleem grew up with a stutter -- but as an independent animator, he decided to do his own voiceovers to give life to his characters. When YouTube commenters started mocking his Pakistani accent, it crushed him, and his voice began to leave his work. Hear how this TED Fellow reclaimed his voice and confidence in this charming, thoughtful talk.”