I’ve read all these books in the course of my research on race and racism here in the United States. The list is in order by author. For specific recommendations please contact me via the the link at the bottom of this page.
Bibliography
Acho, Emmanuel. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man: Flatiron Book: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54130173-uncomfortable-conversations-with-a-black-man
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness: The New Press: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6792458-the-new-jim-crow
Anderson, Carol and Tonya Bolden. We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide: New York: Bloomsbury, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38232346-we-are-not-yet-equal
Anderson, Carol. One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy: Bloomsbury Publishing: New York, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36711317-one-person-no-vote
Anderson, Carol. The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America: New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860220-the-second
Anderson, Carol. White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide: Bloomsbury: New York, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26073085-white-rage
Anderson, S.E. The Black Holocaust for Beginners: For Beginners LLC: Danbury, CT, 1995
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/430888.The_Black_Holocaust_for_Beginners
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Random House: New York, 2015,
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13214.I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings
Baldwin, James. Go Tell It on the Mountain: New York: Vintage International, 2013
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17143.Go_Tell_It_on_the_Mountain
Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time: Vintage International: New York, 1993
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/464260.The_Fire_Next_Time
Banaji, Mahzarin R., Anthony G. Greenwald. Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People: Bantam Book: New York, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20892262-blind-spot
Bennett, Michael and Dave Zirin. Things That Make White People Uncomfortable: Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37823157-things-that-make-white-people-uncomfortable
Blackmon, Douglas A. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II: Anchor Books, New York, 2009
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2319745.Slavery_by_Another_Name
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America: Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/433281.Racism_without_Racists
Bridges, Khiara M. Critical Race Theory: A Primer: Foundation Press. St. Paul, MN, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43367563-critical-race-theory
Bronski, Michael. A Queer History of the United States: Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2011
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10065595-a-queer-history-of-the-united-states
Brown, Dorothy A. The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans–And How We Can Fix It: New York: Crown, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55028680-the-whiteness-of-wealth
Burrough, Bryan, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford. Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth: Penguin Press: New York, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55411740-forget-the-alamo
Carroll, Raymonde. Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience: The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, 1988
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/288349.Cultural_Misunderstandings
Cash, W. J. The Mind of the South. New York: Vintage Books, 1991
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/114560
Chemerinsky, Erwin. Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights: Liveright Publishing Company: New York, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55298320-presumed-guilty
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me: Spiegel & Grau: New York, 2015
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25489625-between-the-world-and-me
Crenshaw, Kimberlé (editors), Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, Kendall Thomas. Critical Race Theory: Key Writings that Formed the Movement: The New Press: New York, 1995
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/344652.Critical_Race_Theory
Darity Jr., William A. & Kirsten Mullen. From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century: Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48815488-from-here-to-equality
Davis, Angela Y. Freedom is Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement: Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25330108-freedom-is-a-constant-struggle
de Beauvoir, Simone, Constance Borde (translator), Sheila Malovany-Chevallier (translator). The Second Sex: Vintage Books: New York, 2011
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9684227-the-second-sex
DiAngelo, Robin. Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm: Beacon Press: Boston, MA, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57205027-nice-racism
DiAngelo, Robin. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism: Beacon Press: Boston, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43708708-white-fragility=1
Dunbar-Ortiz. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States: Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20588662-an-indigenous-peoples-history-of-the-united-states
Dyson, Michael Eric. Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America: St. Martins Press: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55005143-long-time-coming
Dyson, Michael Eric. Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America: St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31421117-tears-we-cannot-stop
Eberhardt, PhD, Jennifer L. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do: New York: Penguin Books, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40407320-biased
Edim, Glory. Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves: Ballantine Books: New York, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38255372-well-read-black-girl
Fields, Karen E. and Barbara J. Fields. Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life: Verso: London, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14451357-racecraft
Forman Jr., James. Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America: London: Abacus, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34846249-locking-up-our-own
Gates, Jr., Henry Louis. Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow: Penguin Books: New York, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40909438-stony-the-road
Gibran Muhammad, Khalil. The Condemnation on Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America: Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA, 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7093931-the-condemnation-of-blackness
Gordon, Ed. Conversations in Black, On Power, Politics, and Leadership. New York: Hachette Books, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56950174-conversations-in-black-on-power-politics-and-leadership
Gordon-Reed, Annette. On Juneteenth: New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55298325-on-juneteenth
Grier, William H. & Price M. Cobbs. Black Rage: New York: Bantam Books, 1969
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/839189.Black_Rage
Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing: Vintage Books: New York, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27071490-homegoing
Haas, Jeffrey. The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther: Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books, 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6561790-the-assassination-of-fred-hampton
Hill, Marc Lamont. Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond: Atria Paperback: New York, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27274349-nobody
Hinton, Anthony Ray. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34964905-the-sun-does-shine
Hinton, Elizabeth. From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America: Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27311802-from-the-war-on-poverty-to-the-war-on-crime
Hurston, Zora Neale. their eyes were watching god. New York: Amistad, 2006.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37415.Their_Eyes_Were_Watching_God
Ifill, Sherrilyn A. On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century: Beacon Press. Boston, MA, 2007
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386739.On_the_Courthouse_Lawn
Irving, Debby. Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race: Elephant Room Press: Cambridge, MA, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20665987-waking-up-white
Isenberg, Nancy. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America: Viking: New York, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27209433-white-trash
Jackson, George. Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson: Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books, 1970, 1994
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/962568.Soledad_Brother
Johnson, Walter. The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States: New York: Basic Books, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51343985-the-broken-heart-of-america
Jones, Martha S. Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All. New York: Basic Books, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358524-vanguard
Jones, Robert P. White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity: Simon & Schuster: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52764767-white-too-long
Joseph, Peniel E. Waiting ‘til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America: Owl Books: New York, 2006
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177400.Waiting_Til_the_Midnight_Hour
Kaepernick, Colin (Editor). Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future without Policing and Prisons: Kaepernick Publishing. United States: 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58021042-abolition-for-the-people
Kahneman, Daniel, Oliver Sibony, Cass R. Sunstein. Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement: Little, Brown Spark: New York, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55339408-noise
Katznelson, Ira. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America: New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88367.When_Affirmative_Action_Was_White
Kendall, Mikki. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot: New York: Penguin Books, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36687229-hood-feminism
Kendi, Ibrahim X. How to Be an Antiracist: One World: New York, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40265832-how-to-be-an-antiracist
Kendi, Ibrahim X. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America: Bold Type Books: New York, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25898216-stamped-from-the-beginning
Kendi, Ibram X. (editor). Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019: New York: One World, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54998251-four-hundred-souls
Kivel, Paul. Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice: New Society Publishers: Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95099.Uprooting_Racism
Lemon, Don. This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism: New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56211225-this-is-the-fire
Lewis, John. Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America: Hachette Books: Boston, 2012
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13622279-across-that-bridge
Lewis, Michael. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56790170-the-premonition
López, Ian Haney. Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism & Wrecked the Middle Glass: New York: Oxford University Press, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17847530-dog-whistle-politics
Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches: Crossing Press: Berkeley, CA, 1984, 2007
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32951.Sister_Outsider
MacLean, Nancy. Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America: Viking: New York, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30011020-democracy-in-chains
McGhee, Heather. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together: One World: New York, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53231851-the-sum-of-us
Metzl, Jonathan M. Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland: Basic Books. New York, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40697553-dying-of-whiteness
Mills, Charles W. The Racial Contract: Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY, 1997
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/440704.The_Racial_Contract
Mock, Janet. Redefining Realness. New York: Atria Paperback, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144031-redefining-realness
Mock, Janet. Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me: New York: Atria Paperback, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32620327-surpassing-certainty
Model, Suzanne. West Indian Immigrants: A Black Success Story?: Russell Sage Foundation: New York, 2008
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4560522-west-indian-immigrants
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye: Vintage International: New York, 1970
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11337.The_Bluest_Eye
Morrison, Toni. Beloved: Vintage International: New York, 2004
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6149.Beloved
Morrison, Toni. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination: Vintage Books: New York, 1993
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37405.Playing_in_the_Dark
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon: New York: Vintage International, 1977, 2004
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11334.Song_of_Solomon
Myers, Vernã A. What If I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People: ABA Publishing: United States, 2013
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18444384-what-if-i-say-the-wrong-thing
Nielsen, Kim E. A Disability History of the United States: Beacon Press: Boston, MA, 2012
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262462-a-disability-history-of-the-united-states
Noah, Trevor. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood: New York: One World, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29780253-born-a-crime
Obama, Barack. A Promised land: Crown. New York,2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55361205-a-promised-land
Oluo, Ijeoma. Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America: Seal Press, New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53056522-mediocre
Oluo, Ijeoma. So You Want to Talk About Race: Seal Press: New York, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35099718-so-you-want-to-talk-about-race
Ortiz, Paul. An African American and LatinX History of the United States: Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34564996-an-african-american-and-latinx-history-of-the-united-states
Piketty, Thomas. Capital in the Twenty-First Century: The Belknap Press of Harvard University: Cambridge, MA, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18736925-capital-in-the-twenty-first-century
Ramey Berry, Daina and Kali Nichole Gross. A Black Women’s History of the United States: Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45153160-a-black-women-s-history-of-the-united-states
Rather, Dan & Elliot Kirschner. What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism: Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34519483-what-unites-us
Roberts, Dorothy. Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First-Century: The New Press: New York, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10055524-fatal-invention
Robinson, Cedric J. Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition: The University of North Carolina Press: London, 1983
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200142.Black_Marxism
Robinson, Randall. The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks: A Plume Book: New York, 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194929.The_Debt
Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America: Liveright Publishing Corporation: New York, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32191706-the-color-of-law
Russell, Bill, Bill McSweeney. Go Up for Glory: Dutton: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1837936.Go_Up_For_Glory
Saad, Layla F. me and white supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor: Sourcebooks: Naperville, IL, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46002342-me-and-white-supremacy
Schron, Bob. Taking a Knee, Taking a Stand: African American Athletes and the Fight for Social Justice: Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52000200-taking-a-knee-taking-a-stand
Sellers, Bakari. My Vanishing Country: A memoir: Amistad: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52219321-my-vanishing-country
Senso, Özlem and Robin DiAngelo. Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education: Teachers College Press: New York, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12911267-is-everyone-really-equal
Sered, Danielle. Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration and a Road to Repair: The New Press: New York, 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42759711-until-we-reckon
Serwer, Adam. The Cruelty is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America: One World: New York, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55873263-the-cruelty-is-the-point
Sklansky, David Alan. A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice: Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55400193-a-pattern-of-violence
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Live of Henrietta Lacks: Crown: New York, 2011
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6493208-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks
Smith, Clint. How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America: New York: Little Brown and Company, 2021
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55643287-how-the-word-is-passed
Smith, Hedrick. Who Stole the American Dream?: Random House: New York, 2012
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13331153-who-stole-the-american-dream-can-we-get-it-back
Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Redemption: Spiegel & Grau: New York, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20342617-just-mercy
Stewart, Dianne M. Black Women, Black Love: America’s Ware on African American Marriage: New York: Seal Press, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50999089-black-women-black-love
Tatum, PhD, Beverly Daniel. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race: Basic Books: New York, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16280.Why_Are_All_The_Black_Kids_Sitting_Together_in_the_Cafeteria_
Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta (Editor). How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective: Haymarket Books: Chicago, IL, 2017
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34381451-how-we-get-free
Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. From #Blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation: Haymarket Books: Chicago, IL, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25330220-from-blacklivesmatter-to-black-liberation
Walker, Martin. America Reborn: A Twentieth-Century Narrative in Twenty-Six Lives: Vintage Books: New York, 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220678.America_Reborn
Warren, Mark R. Fire in the Heart: How White Activists Embrace Racial Justice: Oxford University Press. Oxford, 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8658803-fire-in-the-heart
Washington, Harriet A. A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and its Assault on the American Mind: New York: Little Brown Spark, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40697000-a-terrible-thing-to-waste
Washington, Harriet A. Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present: New York: Anchor Books, 2008
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/114192.Medical_Apartheid
Wellman, David T. Portraits of White Racism: Cambridge University Press. Cambridge England, 1993
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1399620.Portraits_of_White_Racism
Westover, Tara. Educated: A Memoir: Random House: New York, 2018
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35133922-educated
Wilkerson, Isabel. Caste: The Origins of our Discontents: Random House: New York, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51152447-caste
Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration: Vintage Books: New York, 2011
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8171378-the-warmth-of-other-suns
Williams, Chancellor. The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D.: Chicago, IL: Third World Press, 1987
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35454057-the-destruction-of-black-civilization
Woodward, C. Vann. The Strange Career of Jim Crow: Oxford University Press: Oxford, England, 2002
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97484.The_Strange_Career_of_Jim_Crow
X, Malcolm, Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Ballantine Books: New York, 2015
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92057.The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_X
Zucchino, David. Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy: New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51243325-wilmington-s-lie