My Anti-Racism Reading Recs

Jun 10

It’s the weekend, and for me that means carving out time to read. 📚 The other day, I offered to share my anti-racism reading list with folks. To my surprise and joy, I got a ton of DM’s taking me up on the offer. So, I’m sharing it here.

A few caveats:

1. This isn’t exhaustive by any means. If you see something missing, please let me know. I’m always looking for good recs to help me question my beliefs and biases and learn more about people, cultures and hurdles created by whiteness.

I’m especially on the lookout for material that captures the Indigenous, Hispanic and LGTBQ+ communities. My biggest gap is there.

2. My approach has been to steep myself in non-fiction on the topic of racism so I can get a decent foundation/framework in place. I also believe fiction has a place in an anti-racism and social justice education – as long as the authors come from the communities they’re writing about.

I love fiction because it teaches empathy and often teaches facts along the way.

Example: I’m currently reading Abraham Verghese’s “The Covenant of Water,” an epic novel that’s based in Kerala on South Malabar Coast and follows a family for three generations. This book is phenomenal, the kind you can’t put down and savor because you know it will end soon.

I’ve learned about the different castes in India and the country’s British occupation and subsequent partition from Pakistan in 1947. The book tells the fascinating tale of the St. Thomas Christians of India. These Syrian Christians believe that the Apostle Thomas came to Kerala in 52 AD to baptize their ancestors.

So, you will see works of fiction on my list – all by authors who aren’t white. You’ll also see memoirs on here because lived experience counts for a lot and is powerful.

For me, these stories help solidify the non-fiction material and break me of the habit of always imagining fictional protagonists as white.

Happy reading!

DENISE CONROY’S ANTI-RACISM READING LIST

NON-FICTION

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

How To Be an Antiracist by Ibrahm X. Kendi

White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better by Saira Rao & Regina Jackson

I’m Not Yelling: A Black Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Workplace by Elizabeth Leiba

Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates

I'm Tired of Racism: True Stories of Existing While Black by Sharon Hurley Hall

Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in her Workplace and Kept her Job by Jacquie Abram

Hush Money: The Cost of Being Black In Corporate America by Jacquie Abram, Deborah Harris & Delilah Harris