What are your fellow Philanthropy West Virginia members reading and watching to learn more about equity? We have started this list with contributions from participants in our “Reveal, Reflect, Recalibrate” racial equity mini series, but welcome further suggestions. You can send your suggestions to kate@philanthropywv.org
- Tamara Lucas Copeland’s blog, Daughters of the Dream, particularly the post about the inaccurate histories that many people have been taught, here.
- “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. Non-fiction book exploring caste systems across multiple civilizations, and underlying principles.
- “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson. Fiction focused on the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.
- “Stamped from the Beginning” by Ibram Kendi. Non-fiction book which uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to offer a window into the contentious debates between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and antiracists.
- “How to be an Anti-Racist” by Ibram Kendi. Non-fiction which weaves together memoir, ethics, history and more to rethink implicit beliefs, policies, and social arrangements.
- “Waking up White” by Debby Irving. Memoir focused on one woman’s journey of discovery around inequality and the socialization of white Americans.
- “Mindful of Race” by Ruth King. Advice on dealing with intense emotions and untangling misconceptions around racial justice, drawing on the author’s experience as a meditation teacher.
- “The Banker” – Film based on a true story about real estate development and finance, that deals with issues of racial discrimination.
- “Show Me a Hero” – Television show focused on the controversy surrounding a public housing development in Yonkers in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, which deals with issues of race and class in housing.
- The works of Dr. Robert Bullard – multiple books tackling environmental racism. Titles include “The Wrong Complexion for Protection”, “Environmental Health and Racial Equity in the United States”, and “Dumping in Dixie”
- “Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome” by Joy DeGruy. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research, this book addresses the residual impacts of generations of slavery and opens up the discussion of how the black community can heal.
- “Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery”. First person excerpts drawn from interviews conducted with former slaves in the 1930s.
- Decolonizing Wealth” by Edgar Villanueva. Non-fiction book focused on the dysfunctional colonial dynamics at play in philanthropy and finance.
- “Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde. Collections of 15 essays and speeches focusing on topics like intersectional feminism, police brutality, coalition building, and self-love.
- “Borderlands/La Frontera” by Gloria Anzaldua. Semi-autobiographical collection of poetry and essays focused on colonialism and Latinx culture.
- The works of Marilou Awiakta, a poet whose perspective fuses her Cherokee and Scot-Irish heritage as well as the experience of growing up in Oakridge, Tennessee. Titles include “Selu”, “Abiding Appalachia” and “Rising Fawn and the Fire Mystery”.
- “There, There” by Tommy Orange. Fiction that deals with how racism and historical trauma continues to impact mental health and substance use in Native communities.