An anti-racist resource list I: things to read

Written resources to help you understand and fight racism

This guide is taken from the Know How Library, a tool on the Unifrog platform. Not sure whether to take the ACT or the SAT? Or how to give the perfect Oxbridge practice interview? The Know How Library is an easily searchable library of 100s of expert guides for both students and teachers, covering every aspect of the progression process. It is included as standard for Unifrog partner schools.

As American political activist, Angela Davis wrote: "In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist." It’s important that we all educate ourselves on what it means to be actively anti-racist so that we can all play our part in the global fight against racism. Here are some written anti-racist resources to get you started.

Books (fiction)

Title	Author	About
Citizen: An American Lyric	Claudia Rankine	With her signature blend of essay, poetry, and imagery, Rankine illustrates the many racial aggressions that permeate society, from the grocery store to the classroom and in the media. For anyone who's ever thought we lived in a post-race society, this book will change their mind.
The Hate U Give	Angie Thomas	Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer.
The Bluest Eye	Toni Morrison	‘The Bluest Eye’ tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the white, blond, and blue-eyed children in America.
To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	Lee’s story, told from a child’s perspective, focuses on the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who’s been falsely accused of raping a white woman in the American South. The book is an American classic about racial injustice.
The Underground Railroad	Colson Whitehead	Colson Whitehead's inventive novel follows Cora and Caesar as they escape from a Georgia slave plantation and run north in pursuit of freedom, aided by the stationmasters and conductors of the Underground Railroad. This is a brilliant and at times brutal novel about the history of slavery and racism in America.
Americanah	Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie	Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. While self-assured Ifemelu heads to America and is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time, Obinze plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.
Homegoing	Yaa Gyasi	Effia and Esi are half-sisters born in 18th-century Ghana with two very different destinies. While Esi is sold into slavery, Effia is married to a slave trader. ‘Homegoing’ follows their descendants over 300 years, from Ghana to Alabama to Harlem, right up to the present day.
Things Fall Apart	Chinua Achebe	Written in 1958, this is the classic African novel about how colonialism impacted and undermined traditional African culture. The novel’s famous quote is found towards the end: ‘He [the white man] has put a knife in the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.’
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings	Maya Angelou	In the first volume of her autobiography, Maya Angelou describes growing up in the 1930s, living with her grandmother and enduring racism in a small American Southern town. Years later, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors will allow her to be free.
White Teeth	Zadie Smith	Set in London, Zadie Smith’s first novel follows two wartime friends – Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and Englishman Archie Jones – and their families in London. The novel is centred on Britain's relationships with people from formerly colonised countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Books (non-fiction)

Title	Author	About
How to be an Anti-racist	Dr. Ibram X. Kendi	Historian and ‘New York Times’ best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi uses a mixture of personal experiences, history, and science to show how a person can go from being racist to anti-racist, and how we can all build a new anti-racist society.
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism	Robin DiAngelo	Anti-racism educator Robin Diangelo examines how white defensive responses to conversations about race and racism reinforce inequality and prevent meaningful dialogue. She then offers ways white people can work against white fragility to engage in more constructive ways.
So You Want to Talk About Race	Ijeoma Oluo	Ijeomo Oluo’s ‘New York Times’ bestseller shows people of all races how to have constructive and useful conversations about race in America. It answers questions about confronting friends and family members while providing comprehensive education on America’s racist past. It covers topics like intersectionality, representation, privilege, and mass incarceration.
Me and White Supremacy	Layla F. Saad	Layla Saad’s anti-racist workbook shows readers how to examine their own privilege and racist behaviours. It has been widely recommended for white people who want to make a change but don’t know where to start. It comes with historical context, key definitions, and anti-racism resources.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race	Reni Eddo-Lodge	Following her viral blog post of the same name, Reni Eddo-Lodge explores what it means to be a person of colour today through a range of issues – from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance and the link between class and race.
Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging	Afua Hirsch	Brit(ish) was written by Afua Hirsch after people kept asking her where she was from, despite her being born in Britain to British parents. The book is about Hirsch’s own search for identity and the everyday racism that plagues British society.
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire	Akala	From the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, race and class have shaped Akala's life and outlook. In this book, he takes his own experiences and uses them to look at the social, historical, and political factors that have left us where we are today.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness	Michelle Alexander	As the United States celebrated the nation's ‘triumph over race’ with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities were locked behind bars or labelled felons for life. In this book, Michelle Alexander argues that the US criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control.
This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work	Tiffany Jewell	This book is written to empower young people to recognise racism and stand up and speak up against it. It will teach you about identity, history, and anti-racism work so that you'll have the language and ability to understand racism and a drive to fight against it.
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir	Patrisse Cullors and Asha Bandele	Black Lives Matter co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Asha Bandele share a powerful memoir of the prejudice and persecution so many black Americans experience at the hands of law enforcement. This memoir draws our attention to the humanity of those whose lives were taken, and those who, still living, continue to fight for justice.
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness	Austin Channing Brown	Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. This led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practise genuine inclusion.
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays	Damon Young	Young humorously chronicles his efforts to endure a series of battles that come with being black. At its most devastating, Young gives us reason to believe that his mother would be alive today if she were white.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption	Bryan Stevenson	By weaving the true story of one African American man’s journey to justice throughout the text, Stevenson tells a heartbreaking tale of a broken system. This text provides opportunities to discuss race, the criminal justice system, reform, and even the American dream.

Articles

Title	Author / Publication	About
The Case for Reparations	Ta-Nehisi Coates for ‘The Atlantic’	This important article looks at the arguments for reparations, a political justice concept that argues that compensation should be paid to the descendants of slaves trafficked into America as part of the Atlantic slave trade.
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack	Peggy McIntosh for ‘Peace and Freedom Magazine’	Peggy McIntosh explores the privilege she enjoys as a white woman by listing 50 ways she benefits from white privilege in her daily life.
The 1619 Project	The New York Times Magazine	The 1619 Project is an ongoing project to mark 400 years from the beginning of American slavery.
How to make this moment the turning point for real change	Barack Obama for ‘Medium’	This four-minute read from Barack Obama looks at how we can sustain the current momentum to bring about real change.
What should we do with videos of police brutality?	Kemi Alemoru for ‘Gal-dem’	This article explains why although videos of police brutality mobilise some into action, others find them traumatising, and why we need to be careful about sharing them online.
106 Things White People can do for racial justice	Corinne Shutack for ‘Medium’	This constantly updated article outlines a series of steps that white people can take to help fight against racism.
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?	Ibram X. Kendi for ‘The Atlantic’	‘Americans don’t see me, or Ahmaud Arbery, running down the road – they see their fear.’ In this article, Kendi examines the murder of Ahmaud Arbery to demonstrate how black men are looked at with fear in public spaces, and how this endangers their lives.
Why Black Lives Matter in the UK	Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff for ‘Gal-dem’	In this 2016 article, Brinkhurst-Cuff explains why the Black Lives Matter movement is as relevant in the UK as it is in America.
The Subtle Linguistics of Polite White Supremacy	Yawo Brown for ‘Medium’	Brown’s article perfectly evokes the subtlety and casualness with which racism occurs in society.