Resources To Help Us All Be Better Allies to BIPOC
Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Just three names we know who lost their lives in sickening and heartbreaking acts of racism. There are so many more names, both known and unknown, that are no longer with us because of injustices of all kinds. It’s not okay. It’s evil. It’s unacceptable.
We all have work to do. We all have a part to play in the fight for freedom, for equality, for peace and healing and restoration, for justice. Where there is no justice, there is no peace. The fight is far from over, but the time has come (and honestly, it was “time” centuries ago) for us to stand up, speak out, humble ourselves to learn from Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and join the fight.
As a white person with privilege, I want to use everything I have, however I can, wherever I am able, to rally others (alongside myself) in this fight for justice.
I’ve started gathering resources that have helped me (and will continue to help me) be a better ally to BIPOC, and I will continue adding to this list as I discover, explore, and learn more.
This is a FAR cry from a comprehensive list. If anyone or any resource is not included, it was not intentional, and I will gladly add to and improve this list over time and with your help. It is a collaborative list, and I’m thankful to all the many friends who have shared resources, suggestions, and recommendations included here. (Please feel free to share others in the comments, I welcome them!) I in no way want to amplify my own voice, but instead point to the voices of those who are Black, indigenous, people of color themselves, who have lived in an unjust and unequal world for far too long and know better than I what it’s like, what to do, and how to fight.
I cannot encourage and urge you enough to listen to people of color, to learn from them (without asking them to do the work for you!!!), to follow as they lead (instead of thinking you know better), to believe their stories and their perspectives, to trust their wisdom, and to join alongside them.
I hope these tools help in that work.
books i have read by bipoc:
These are both books on/about racism and injustice as well as fiction books, memoirs, poetry, etc.
Unified: How Our Unlikely Friendship Gives Us Hope for a Divided Country by Tim Scott and Trey Gowdy
The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma
March (trilogy) by John Lewis
Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays by R. Eric Thomas
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
All the Colors We Will See: Reflections on Barriers, Brokenness, and Finding Our Way by Patrice Gopo
You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Hate U Give (young adult) and On the Come Up (young adult) by Angie Thomas
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Can't Nothing Bring Me Down: Chasing Myself in the Race against Time by Ida Keeling
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
Brown Girl Dreaming (young adult/middle grade) by Jacqueline Woodson
One Crazy Summer (middle grade/childrens) by Rita Williams-Garcia
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.: Essays by Samantha Irby
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols
Zion by T.J. Jarrett
books recommended to me:
Thank you to everyone who shared recommendations with me!
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
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice That Restores by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo and Michael Eric Dyson
So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White by Daniel Hill
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
Black and White: Disrupting Racism One Friendship at a Time by Teesha Hadra and John Hambrick
Gracism: The Art of Inclusion by David A. Anderson
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice by Eric Mason
Rabbit: A Memoir by Patricia Williams
Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice by Brenda Salter McNeil
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Book lists created by others:
Antiracist reading list from The Stacks
From Austin Channing Brown: books that might be helpful to you on your journey towards racial justice and reconciliation
From Kaitlin Curtice: 25 Books by Indigenous Authors You Should Be Reading
21 Books By POC Writers That You Should Definitely Read At Some Point
23 Phenomenal Young Adult Books By Black Authors From The First Half Of 2020
12 Books Written by Black Women That Should Be Required Reading
20 YA Books You Need to Read—Especially During Black History Month
These Books Can Help You Explain Racism and Protest to Your Kids
Documentaries/movies:
Podcasts:
Episode 175: LaTasha Morrison - That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs
