I firmly believe that in order for us to truly flourish in the way God intended, all must be able to flourish. As Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in Letter from the Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Because of this, it's not enough that we are simply "not racist." Instead, we all must actively be anti-racist, choosing to be part of dismantling the systems of white supremacy anywhere we find them. One key way we do this is to do our own inner work, rooting out any hint of racism in our own hearts and minds. This requires that we learn the truth about race, unlearning what we think we know and what we were taught. And it requires that we listen to people of color, seeking to hear and understand their experiences and perspectives. This is important soul care that each of us must do.
With the recent killings of Amaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd bringing racism in America to the top of our minds, many people are embarking on this work for the first time, and it can feel daunting to figure out where to begin. I was honored to host Chi Chi Okwu at The Perch for a workshop earlier this year on how to have conversations about race and how to begin this important inner work of uncovering racism in ourselves. It was an incredible morning, and she suggested so many great resources for us to "do our homework." I've taken many of her recommendations and added some of my own, placing them all here so you can easily access them and begin this important work.
These resources have been chosen because they help us understand more of our history and the issues surrounding the social construct of race. I've included resources mostly for adults with a few resources for kids at the end. You'll note there are resources on race in general, the history of being black in America, the history of Indigenous people in America, the history of Asian Americans, and more. You'll also find different mediums: books, articles, and videos. I pray these resources are helpful to you. Please let me know how they impact your soul care.
Books
The following books feature a wide range of angles to the topic of racism. There are memoirs, how-to books, history books, and more. I've included links to Bookshop and Amazon so you can easily find them. Bookshop is a lovely retailer that supports independent bookstores and gives The Perch a small percentage of sales for books we recommend. I hope you'll consider shopping with them. The links that follow are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase something, The Perch will get a small percentage of the sale to support our work. Thanks for your support!
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity In A World Made for Whiteness
by Austin Channing Brown
How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice
by Jemar Tisby
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Jim Crow
by Michelle Alexander
How to be an Anti-Racist
by Dr. Ibram Kendi
White Fragility
by Dr. Robin DiAngelo
So You Want To Talk About Race
by Ijeoma Oluo
Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice In Troubled Times
by Soon Chan Rah & Brenda Salter McNeil
Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery
by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah
The Very Good Gospel
by Lisa Sharon Harper
Native
by Kaitlin B. Curtice
Disunity in Christ: Uncovering The Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart
by Christena Cleveland
by Howard Thurman
The Cross and The Lynching Tree
by James Cone
Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church
by Soong-Chan Rah
An Indigenous People's History of the United States
by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
An African American and Latinx History of the United States
by Paul Ortiz
Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism
by Drew Hart
The Color of Life: A Journey Toward Love and Racial Justice
by Cara Meredith
White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White
by Daniel Hill
Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation
by Latasha Morrison
The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
by Jemar Tisby
Born a Crime
by Trevor Noah
(just a note that the audio version is excellent)
Articles
Equal Justice Initiative Calendar: Each day this organization shares stories of racism from our nation's history. You can bookmark this link to see the stories each day or follow them on social media to see the history each day.
1619 Project (New York Times)
The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
"Why you should stop saying 'all lives matter' explained in 9 different ways" by German Lopez (Vox)
"The Case for Considering Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates (The Atlantic)
"'Implicit Bias': The problem and how to interrupt it. Plus, the beads test." by Michelle Sharpe Silverthorn (Chicago Tribune)
"Choosing A School For My Daughter In A Segregated City" by Nikole Hannah-Jones (New York Times)
"I've Had Enough of #Solidarity" by Veronica Gilliard (Red Letter Christians)
"Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?" by Ibram X. Kendi (The Atlantic)
"My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant" by Jose Antonio Vargas (New York Times Magazine)
"Meet the Last Surviving Witness to the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921" (NPR)
Document compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein with tons of resources specifically for white people
Videos
The Next Question (Web Series)
Reverse Racism (Fear of A Brown Planet) by Aamer Rahman
“Color Blind or Color Brave” (Melody Hobson - TED Talk)
“How to raise a black son in America” (Clint Smith - TED Talk)
“We need to talk about Injustice” (Bryan Stevenson - TED Talk)
“The Danger of a Single Story” (Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Race: The Power of An Illusion (PBS)
Asian Americans (PBS)
When They See Us (Netflix)
13th (Netflix)
Just Mercy (Movie adaptation of the book; available to rent)
Kids
Here are a few good roundups from others:
Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup by Katrina Michie
31 children's books to support conversations on race, racism, and resistance by Embrace Race
One of the best things you can do for young children is read books with people from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities. Here are a few favorites of mine:
A is for Activist (under 3)
by Innosanto Nagara
Counting on Community (under 3)
by Innosanto Nagara
Antiracist Baby (under 3)
by Ibram X. Kendi
The Day You Begin (ages 3-7)
by Jaqueline Woodson
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History (ages 3-7)
by Vashti Harrison
Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History (ages 3-7)
by Vashti Harrison
Esperanza Rising (ages 8+)
By Pam Muñoz Ryan
Amy Jackson is founder and director of The Perch.