We’ve had many anti-racist book studies this year, but if you didn’t have a chance to participate in them it’s not too late to add these books to your summer reading list! I have recommendations for all ages.
For the youngest: Antiracist Baby, by Ibram X Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky. A board book about anti-racism!
For elementary grades: So, so, many good books! Check out this list from the Skokie Public Library, they’re all good. Black Lives Matter: A Reading List for Children & Families | Skokie Public Library (skokielibrary.info) I particularly love Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, a memoir in poems of her experiences growing up.
For parents raising white kids: It’s never too early to begin anti-racism education with your kids. Two helpful guides to being an anti-racist parent are Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children In a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey and Raising Antiracist Kids: An Age-by-age Guide For Parents of White Children by Rebekah Gienapp
For tweens and teens: This year the youth group did a book study with the book This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell. There is also a lovely journal, This Book is Antiracist Journal, which I also recommend.
For teens to adults: We had a multigenerational book discussion this year of How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X Kendi. It’s a great book, sure to spark some ideas and discussion.
For adults: this year we had longer classes to engage with three books. The first was Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F Saad. Broken down into 28 chunks with reflection questions, you could do this as a 28 day challenge if you like. We also read Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry, which is this year’s UU Common Read. It is a lyrical, personal meditation on racism and a call to action. And finally, I cannot recommend it enough, we read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. It is a highly illuminating description of how casteism works in our society.