Our team has reviewed and recommended a great collection of anti-racism books for you to catch up on during the holidays. There are books for adults and children offering tools and ideas to nurture minds. We hope you find a good page turner amongst this collection and if you like something you read, share your thoughts with us.
After Australia by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
“This book was on my must-read list this year. This anthology of short pieces by black, Indigenous and people of colour authors reimaging Australia’s past, present and future is inspiring. Omar Sakr’s contribution is a stand-out in this COVID world we now live in, offering us a dystopian tale in ‘White Flu’.” – Priscilla
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
“An invaluable toolkit for readers seeking to challenge their own white supremacy, anti-blackness, racist ideas and beliefs. The book provides 28 daily readings and reflections that cover topics such as tone policing, white privilege, white superiority, practical versus optical allyship, and how to engage in antiracist conversations with family and friends. The book can be read individually, but also provides tools to be read as part of a reading group. Saad meets readers where they are at on their antiracism journey, and makes it clear that this journey is really only just beginning. She encourages readers to make ongoing commitments and to revisit the book to strengthen their understanding over time.” – Jen
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
“I recommend reading Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility most of all because it’s an accessible book. I think that white and white passing people should read it to gain a new perspective and vocabulary for challenging problematic behaviours caused by racial biases that we inadvertently carry. Di Angelo, an experienced facilitator, teaches people about damaging reactions and how to deal with them, in order to overcome ‘white fragility’ in anti-racism work. If while reading this book we find ourselves thinking ‘but I’m not this person’, a good next step is to read Layla F. Saad’s Me and White Supremacy and try to address our own conscious and unconscious biases.”
-Deliana
Anti-Racism books for the young ones in your life…
Skin Again by bell hooks, with illustrations fromChris Raschka
“This award winning children’s picture book by legendary author and critic bell hooks is a great little book for parents who want to talk about race and identity with their young children. It emphasises who we are on the inside, “all made up of stories, present, past, future” and says “You can find all about me / coming close and letting go / of who you might think / I am”.
-Stijn
Finding Our Heart by Thomas Mayor, with illustrationsfrom Blak Douglas
“This is a children’s book about the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It explains really well why the Uluru Statement is so necessary and how it came about and is a great entry point for children to learn more about Australia’s black history and the continuing impact of colonialism.”
-Stijn
Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship; by Irene Latham and Charles
“This book is in the form of a collection of small poems written by Irene, a white girl and Charles, a black boy – two kids who have been paired – up as partners in a poem writing project. Written from the point of view of two fifth graders, the poems present simple, straightforward and honest views on issues around racial differences, friendship and the world around us.”
