Some books provide an escape from the world. These titles are not that escape. These titles are recommended for anyone wishing to engage in the important work of self-education for action on being an anti-racist.
What does being anti-racist mean? In the words of Ibram X. Kendi:
"To be antiracist is to think nothing is behaviorally wrong or right -- inferior or superior -- with any of the racial groups. Whenever the antiracist sees individuals behaving positively or negatively, the antiracist sees exactly that: individuals behaving positively or negatively, not representatives of whole races. To be antiracist is to deracialize behavior, to remove the tattooed stereotype from every racialized body. Behavior is something humans do, not races do."
This list includes many titles recommended in Ibram X. Kendi's recommended reading list, author of How to Be an Antiracist. This list includes titles in physical and virtual formats. For more copies or digital versions in ebook and audiobook, we recommend checking Washington Anytime Library. You can also log in to HathiTrust for books available through the temporary access program.
An African American and Latinx history of the United States by 
Biased : Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by 
Cold War Civil Rights by 
Fire Shut up in My Bones by 
From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime by 
Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by 
Me and White Supremacy : Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by 
A More Beautiful and Terrible History : The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History by 
The Price for Their Pound of Flesh : The Value of the Enslaved, From Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation by 
Too Heavy a Load by 
When and Where I Enter by 
Where do we go from here : chaos or community? by Where do we go from here chaos or community? by 
White Fragility : Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by 
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by 
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by 
American Apartheid by 
I Am Alfonso Jones by 
Bessie Stringfield by 
Strange Fruit, Volume II by 
Beyond Survival : Strategies and Stories From the Transformative Justice Movement by 
Class, Race, Gender, and Crime : The Social Realities of Justice in America by 
Invisible No More : Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by 
The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by 
The Paradox of Punishment : Reflections on the Economics of Criminal Justice by 
Policing Black Bodies : How Black Lives Are Surveilled and How to Work for Change by 
Policing the Black Man : Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment by 
Policing the Planet : Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter by 
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