reading
A selected list of books to expand your consciousness about race, organized into non-fiction, fiction, and children’s books. Scroll down for a list of Black-owned bookstores where you can purchase these books…
non-Fiction
Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
To Die for the People by Huey P. Newton
Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis
Women, Race, & Class by Angela Davis
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
What Does It Mean to Be White: Developing White Racial Literacy by Robin DiAngelo
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
fiction and poetry
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Beloved by Toni Morrison
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Children’s Books
It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
Let’s Talk about Race by Julius Lester
Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
My Hair is a Garden by Cozbi A. Cabrera
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston
To show support for the ongoing protests against police violence we highly recommend purchasing the recommended books from black-owned and African American–focused bookstores.
Loyalty Bookstore, Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Md.
Lushena Books, Bensenville, Ill.
Mahogany Books, Washington, D.C.
Marcus Books, Oakland, Calif.
Medu Bookstore, Atlanta, Ga.
MeJah Books, Claymont, Del.
Mocha Books, Tulsa, Okla.
Nubian Bookstore, Morrow, Ga.
Olive Tree Books-n-Voices, Springfield, Mass.
Pyramid Art, Books, & Custom Framing, Little Rock, Ark.
Revolution Books, Berkeley, Calif.
Riches in Reading, Maryland City, Md.
Sankofa, Washington, D.C.
Semicolon Bookstore, Chicago, Ill.
Sister's Uptown Bookstore, New York, N.Y.
Sistah Scifi, Online
Smith & Hannon, Cincinnati, Ohio
Solid State Books, Washington, D.C.
Source Booksellers, Detroit, Mich.
Source of Knowledge, Newark, N.J.
The Dock Bookshop, Fort Worth, Tx.
The Black Reserve, Lansdale, Pa.
The Key Bookstore, Hartford, Conn.
The Listening Tree, Decatur, Ga.
The Lit. Bar, Bronx, N.Y.
The Tiny Bookstore, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Turning Page Bookshop, Goose Creek, S.C.
Willa's Books, Kansas City, Mo.
Uncle Bobbie's Books and Cafe, Philadelphia, Penn.
Underground Books, Sacramento, Calif.
Yoruba Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Zawadi Books, Columbus, Ohio
44th and 3rd Bookseller, Atlanta, Ga.
A Different Booklist, Toronto, Ont.
The African American Literature Book Club, online
AfriWare Books, Maywood, Ill.
Amalgam, Philadelphia, Pa.
Ashay by the Bay, Vallejo, Calif.
Atomic City Comics, Philadelphia, Pa.
Babycakes Book Stack, Online
Between the Lines Bookstore, Baton Rouge, La.
Beyond Barcodes Bookstore, Kokomo, Ind.
Black World Books, Killeen, Tex.
Blackstone Bookstore & Cultural Center, Ypsilanti, Mich.
Book Boutique, Atlanta, Ga.
Books and Crannies, Martinsville, Va.
Brian Lair Books, South Bend, Ind.
Brave and Kind Books, Decatur, Ga.
Cafe Con Libros, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Carol's Bookstore, Sacramento, Calif
Cultured Books, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Da Book Joint, Chicago, Ill.
Dare Books, Longwood, Fla.
Detroit Book City, Southfield, Mich.
Enda's Booktique, Duncanville, Tex.
Eso Won Books, Los Angeles
Eye See Me, University City, Mo.
For Keeps Books, Atlanta, Ga.
Frugal Bookstore, Roxbury, Mass.
Fulton Street Books & Coffee, Tulsa, Ok.
Harambee Books, Alexandria, Va.
Harriett's Bookshop, Philadelphia, Pa.
Hakim's Bookstore, Philadelphia, Pa.
This list of Black-owned and African American-focused bookstore courtesy of Publishers Weekly