Mary Ross | Site Director
With the murder of George Floyd and the consequent national and international protests that have taken place to protest police brutality and racism, it is important to understand what it means to support these protests and the movement they represent. Though talking to people and truly listening to their stories and experiences with racism and police brutality is a good place to start, reading books that discuss these concepts are also valuable. Below are some book recommendations to help educate people about what it means to live in a world where racial inequality exists.
So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
In Oluo’s 2018 novel, she describes race in America across many different topics including intersectionality, affirmative action, model minorities and more. This book is a guide to understanding race, racism and race relations in America while giving a foundation on how to talk about these concepts with other people in your life to educate them more.
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
In Kendi’s memoir of growing up in the United States, he discusses what it means to be actively antiracist today while prompting new ways of thinking in order to do so. He does this by pulling together conversations about race and racism in terms of ethics, history, law and science to show how they all affect the systems that keep racism around. He also does this by discussing how people have to change how they think to establish and antiracist America.
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
In Saad’s 28-day challenge book, she lays out what white privilege is, how important it is to recognize that privilege in order to stop inflicting damage on marginalized communities. Complete with historical and cultural contexts, stories, and resources, Saad’s book encourages people with privilege to reevaluate how they are contributing to a system that perpetuates the cycle of oppression.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
In Thomas’s young adult novel, Starr Carter attends a primarily white school while living in a poorer black community. After witnessing her best friend die at the hands of a police officer, Starr has to decide what to stand up for. Thomas creates a novel that gives insight into the mind of a teenage girl struggling with many of the daunting concepts surrounding racism that exist today.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Stone’s Dear Martin is another young adult novel that discusses what being a black teenager trying to navigate growing up in a society plagued by racism is like. Justyce, the main character, is trying to navigate this and figure out his place by writing journal entries that analyze the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mary Ross is a third-year English major at BGSU. She enjoys all types of books, with a special love for historical fiction, poetry and Mitch Albom’s books. When she is not reading, you can find her taking care of her plants, writing content to hopefully publish her own book one day, or studying for her classes, always with a coffee nearby. Any questions about her thoughts or opinions in these blog posts can be sent to her email, mkross@bgsu.edu.