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Find your next great read by clicking on one of our Reading Lists!  Each collection features a curated list of books available in our catalog or through Inter-Library Loan.

Racial Issues for Adult Readers

Racial Issues Reading List for adult Readers

A list for those who would like to learn more about the history and experiences of People of Color in America.

“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”  – Thurgood Marshall


Fiction

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Black Enough by Ibi Zoboi

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead


Nonfiction & poetry

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman

Busted In New York by Darryl Pinckney

Chokehold by Paul Butler

Citizen by Claudia Rankine

Dark Sky Rising by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Democracy in Black by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas

Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

No Ashes In the Fire by Darnell L. Moore

On the Other Side of Freedom by DeRay Mckesson

One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson

Race Matters by Cornel West

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Stamped–Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Survival Math by Mitchell S. Jackson

Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson

The Black and the Blue by Matthew Horace

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Things That Make White People Uncomfortable
by Michael Bennett and Dave Zirin

This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins

When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Kahn-Cullors & Asha Bandele


Racial Issues for Young Readers

Racial Issues Reading List for Young Readers

A list for those who would like to learn more about the history and experiences of People of Color in America.

“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”  – Thurgood Marshall


Fiction

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy

For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington

Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry

Hey Black Child by Useni Eugene Perkins

I Am Enough by Grace Byers

Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin A. Ramsey

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

The Night Is Yours by Abdul-Razak Zachariah

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore


Nonfiction

A Few Red Drops by Claire Hartfield

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr. by Kadir Nelson

March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell

March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell

March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander & Kadir Nelson


Books That Connect Us

BOOKS TO CONNECT US

Here is a short list of books for adults that may be of interest to you during this stay-in-place time.

Hopeful and upbeat

Hotel Silence by Audur Ava Olafsdottir

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald Alice Menzies (Translator)

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Gentle feel good

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Thrillers and suspense

Cold Storage by David Koepp

The Passengers by John Marrs

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

Helpers (non-fiction)

The Boys in the Cave by Matt Gutman

We Fed an Island by Jose Andres and Richard Wolffe

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede

Armchair travel

I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson

From Scratch by Tembi Locke

Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth

Self-improvement

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

10% Happier by Dan Harris

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Cathy Hirano (Translator)


Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Youth Books

Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer

Islandborn by Junot Díaz

Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison

Julián is a mermaid by Jessica Love

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers

The Proudest Blue : a Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

You Matter by Christian Robinson

Just ask!  Be Different Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor

Adult Books

Breaking the Silence Habit : a Practical Guide to Uncomfortable Conversations in the #MeToo Workplace by Sarah Beaulieu

The Person You Mean To Be : How Good People Fight Bias by Dolly Chugh

White Fragility : Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo

The Power of Disability : 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World by Al Etmanski

Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring by Lisa Z. Fain

The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table by Minda Harts

#MeToo in the Corporate World: Power, Privilege, and the Path Forward by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Edge: Turning Adversity Into Advantage by Laura Huang

Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions by Tiffany Jana

Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams by Stefanie K. Johnson

In the Land of Men: A Memoir by Adrienne Miller

We Can’t Talk About That At Work! by Mary- Frances Winters