Anti-Racist Reading For Adults

"In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist." - Angela Davis

We hope you’ll use these booklists and links below to learn more about the history and present reality of racism in this country, start conversations, and take action. All titles listed here can be accessed via hoopla, OverDrive, or curbside book pickup, subject to availability. The resources tab includes links to local and national activist organizations.

Many of the books on this list are in high demand right now, and we are ordering more. Look for titles marked as "always available" from hoopla. These titles are instantly available through the hoopla app, with no waiting.

  1. Reading
  2. Resources

Activism, Protest, and Civil Disobedience

#1960Now: Photographs of Civil Rights Activists and Black Lives Matter Protests by Sheila Pree Bright (book)

Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (book, OverDrive eBook

Becoming a Citizen Activist : Stories, Strategies, and Advice for Changing our World by Nick Licata (book)

Beyond Charlottesville : Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism by Terry McAuliffe (book)

Dissent : The History of an American Idea by Ralph Young (book)

If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance by Angela Y. Davis (book, OverDrive eBook)

Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt by Sarah Jaffe (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Set The Night On Fire : L.A. In The Sixties by Mike Davis and Jon Weiner (book)

They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery (book, OverDrive audiobook)

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors (book, Book on CD, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Racial Disparity and Violence in America

Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by Bell Hooks (book, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (book, book on CD, large print, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook)

The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America’s Law Enforcement by Matthew Horace and Ron Harris (book, OverDrive eBook)

Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century by Monique W. Morris (book, Hoopla eBook – always available)

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobbook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis (book, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla eBook – always available, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga Yamahtta Taylor (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla eBook – always available, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

I am Not Your Negro (DVD,  blu-ray, Hoopla movie – always available)

I Can’t Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street by Matt Taibbi (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook)

Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman (book, OverDrive eBook)

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorbindness by Michelle Alexander (book, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla eBook – always available)

Race Matters by Cornel West (book, OverDrive eBook)

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace : A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark For the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs (book, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Slavery by Another Name: The Re-enslavement of Black People in America From the Civil War to World War ll by Douglas Blackmon (book, OverDrive eBook)

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (book, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers (book, OverDrive eBook)

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook)

How to Confront Racism as a White Person (Anti-Racist/Ally)

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (book, book on CD, large print, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook)

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine  (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (book, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook)

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad (book, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla eBook – always available)

Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue (OverDrive eBook)

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

Tears we Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook)

Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla eBook – always available)

Waking up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debbie Irving (book, OverDrive audiobook, Hoopla audiobook – always available)

White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (book, book on CD, OverDrive eBook, OverDrive audiobook)

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson (book, OverDrive eBook)

Surviving and Healing While Black

The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and US Social Transformation by Fania E. Davis (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla eBook – always available)

The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation by Thomas Norman DeWolf and Jodie Geddes (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla eBook – always available)

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Joy A DeGruy (book)

The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help you Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism & Engage in Collective Healing by Anneliese A. Singh, PhD, LPC (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla eBook – always available)

The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help... by Rheeda Walker and Na’im Akbar  (book, OverDrive eBook, Hoopla eBook – always available)