As Black Lives Matter protests and marches continue, many Americans want to educate themselves by finding anti-racism resources. Recently, the top five books on the New York Times paperback nonfiction list were all books about race: “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo; “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo; “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly Tatum; “The Color of Law” by Richard Rothstein; and “Stamped From the Beginning” by Ibram X. Kendi.
The Montclair Public Library has joined in supporting the statement of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) in condemning violence and racism towards Black people and all People of Color.
The library writes on its home page: “Black Americans are two-and-a-half times as likely as white Americans to be killed by the police. We cannot tolerate or allow prejudice, ignorance and hatred in our society. We pledge to continue educating our community by providing programming and resources that address the issues of race and inequality.”
The library’s anti-racism reading list includes the following categories: Books for Youth, Books for Adults, and Young Adult/Teen. All titles are available at MPL. Many are available as e-books and audiobooks, as well as in print.
BOOKS FOR YOUTH
Juvenile Nonfiction
“Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice” by Marianne Celano and Leslie Green
“Enough! 20 Protesters Who Changed America” by Emily Easton and Ziyue Chen
“A Is for Activist” by Innosanto Nagara
“The Undefeated” by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson
“Martin Rising: Requiem for a King” by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
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READ: DISCUSSION COVERS HOW TO TALK ABOUT RACISM WITH CHILDREN
READ: UUCM: FIGHTING RACISM, FOR THE LONG HAUL
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“Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X” by Ilyasah Shabazz
“28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World” by Charles R. Smith Jr.
“Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library” by Carole Boston Weatherford
Juvenile Fiction
“I Am Enough” by Grace Byers (picture book)
“The Mighty Miss Malone” by Christopher Paul Curtis (chapter book)
“AntiRacist Baby” by Ibram X. Kendi (release date: June 15, 2020)
“Finding Langston” by Lesa Cline-Ransome (chapter book)
“The Story of Ruby Bridges” by Robert Coles and George Ford (picture book)
“Skin Again” by bell hooks (picture book)
“The Parker Inheritance” by Varian Johnson (chapter book)
Audiobook
“Ruth and the Green Book” by Calvin Alexander Ramsey (picture book)
“Betty Before X” by Ilyasah Shabazz (chapter book)
Young Adult/Teen Nonfiction
“Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow” by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Tonya Bolden
“March” (series) by John Lewis
Available as e-books:
“On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope” by DeRay Mckesson (adult title recommended for older teens)
“Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
“Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice” (adapted for young adults) by Bryan A. Stevenson
Young Adult/Teen Fiction
“Tyler Johnson Was Here” by Jay Coles
“All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
e-book
“X: A Novel” by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon
“Dear Martin” by Nic Stone
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
“Piecing Me Together” by Renee Watson
“Watch Us Rise” by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan
“Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America” edited by Ibi Zoboi
BOOKS FOR ADULTS
Adult Nonfiction
“The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander
“We Can’t Breathe” by Jabari Asim
“The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin
“I Am Not Your Negro” by James Baldwin
“Things That Make White People Uncomfortable” by Michael Bennett
“I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown
“We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
“The Cress Theory: Surviving Racism in the 21st Century” by Guest Colossill (available as a print book)
“White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo
“What Truth Sounds Like: RFK, James Baldwin and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America” by Michael Eric Dyson
“Why I’m No Longer Speaking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge (available as a print book)
“How to Be Less Stupid About Race” by Crystal Marie Fleming
“Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin” by Sybrina Fulton
“How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi
“Stamped From the Beginning: A Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” by Ibram X. Kendi
“It’s Time to Talk (and Listen): How to Have Constructive Conversations About Race, Class, Sexuality, Ability & Gender in a Polarized World” by Anatasia S. Kim and Alicia del Prado
e-book
“The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea” by Christopher J. Lebron
“They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement” by Wesley Lowery
“The Color of Water” by James McBride
“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo
“Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad
“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” By Beverly Daniel Tatum
“Race Matters” by Cornel West
“The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel 
Wilkerson
Adult Fiction
“Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Kindred” by Octavia Butler
“Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
“An American Marriage” by Tayari Jones
“The Cutting Season” by Attica Locke
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
“Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley
“Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid
“The Vulture” by Gil Scott-Heron
“Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward
“Another Brooklyn” by Jacqueline Woodson
Audiobook
“Native Son” by Richard Wright