As February is Black History Month, here is a list of 5 nonfiction/fiction books, (in no particular order) that are essential to read, before the month ends (or anytime during the year!).
White Fragility – Robin DiAngelo
This book is one of many books that I will constantly recommend to others. In it, the author explores ideas of why it is so hard for white people to talk about race without inevitably becoming defensive. The author teaches us about how racism is constantly evolving, introducing terms such as colour-blind racism (pretending to not see race) and aversive racism (claiming to be anti-racist, yet favouring white people over their very equal minority counterpart).
When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir – Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
This is another excellent book for educating yourself on the BLM movement and why it’s important. In this memoir, the author, Patrisse Khan, talks about how hard it is growing up Black in the USA. She draws on her own vivid experience, forcing readers to confront with harsh injustices such as being racially profiled by police. The aggressions which come with growing up Black range from microaggressions that build up over time to major and traumatic events. For instance, the author describes watching her older brother get pinned down and searched by police just outside the window of her own home.
So you want to talk about race – ljeoma Oluo
This book, beautifully written by the author, mentions all the hardships the Black community faces. Much like, the school-to-prison pipeline system, higher mortgages, and being more likely to be pulled over. The book talks about how hard it is to live in a white dominant society where others compare racial slurs like the n-word to words such as “cracker,” and believing they’re both equally bad.
The Skin We’re In – Desmond Cole
Many Canadians tend to view racism from an American perspective and as a chiefly American problem, as opposed to Canadian. This book, written by a Black journalist in Toronto, explores all the racism Black Canadians experience in Canada in just one year. It attempts to dissect the myth that Canada is this “ideal” country, far removed from the problems of the US. Although it’s true that systemic racism in Canada does not look the same as it does in the US, Canada is by no means a perfect country. For example, due to our lack of a strong Confederate history, everyone often ignores the fact that Canada also participated in and benefited from the transatlantic slave trade before Canada was officially a country.
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
This very popular YA fiction book written by Angie Thomas talks about the hardship the main character goes though after one of her childhood friends, Khalil, is pulled over and killed in front of her by a police officer. The book follows Starr’s journey, and all the feelings she feels as she was with Khalil during his last moments. There are also two other books the author wrote, On The Come Up and Concrete Rose, set in the same world as The Hate U Give.
