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Racial Equity Resources

Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America

Cover of Racism without Racists: Co
by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
2018

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva s acclaimed Racism without Racists documents how, beneath our contemporary conversation about race, lies a full-blown arsenal of arguments, phrases, and stories that whites use to account for and ultimately justify racial inequalities. This provocative book explodes the belief that America is now a color-blind society. [2014 edition]
Recommended by YWCA Madison

The Read

Kid Fury and Crissle West

"Join Kid Fury and Crissle for their weekly podcast covering hip-hop and pop culture's most trying stars. Throwing shade and spilling tea with a flippant and humorous attitude, no star is safe from Fury and Crissle."--from thisistheread.com

Reading While White

Collective of children's librarians and teachers

Primarily aimed at teachers and librarians who work with children, Reading While White considers the state of equity in children's literature, issues of censorship and what may be done to encourage greater representation in library collections and curriculum.  It's curated by librarians and teachers specializing in children's materials.  

Ready to fly: How Sylvia Townsend became the bookmobile ballerina

Cover of Ready to fly: How Sylvia T
by Lea Lyon
illustrated by Jessica Gibson
2021

Ready to Fly is the true story of Sylvia Townsend, an African American girl who falls in love with ballet after seeing Swan Lake on TV. Although there aren't many ballet schools that will accept a girl like Sylvia in the 1950s, her local bookmobile provides another possibility. A librarian helps Sylvia find a book about ballet and the determined seven-year-old, with the help of her new books, starts teaching herself the basics of classical ballet. Soon Sylvia learns how to fly-- how to dance--and how to dare to dream.

Red Shoes

Cover of Red Shoes
by Karen English
Illustrated by Ebony Glenn
forthcoming, 2020

Malika loves her new red shoes and wears them everywhere, but eventually she outgrows them, and her grandmother takes them to a second-hand shop--where they will become a special present for Amina (who fasted half the month of Ramadan) in Africa, who will enjoy her special red shoes every bit as much as Malika did.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Cover of The Reluctant Fundamentali
by Mohsin Hamid
2007

Changez is living an immigrant's dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. 

Rev. Dr. William Barber: the 3rd Reconstruction (from StoryofAmerica)

video by Eric Byler & Annabel Park with Dr. Barber

In this 2013 seven minute segment that is part of the StoryofAmerica series, Dr. Reverend Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, spells out the history of voting rights in America, and specifically describes the attacks across history on the voting rights of African-Americans. The '3rd Reconstruction' refers to the 'fusion politics' that fueled the election of President Obama that Barber believes can respond to recent developments in attempts to restrict voting and voting rights.

Revolution in ourtime: the Black Panther Party's promise to the people

Cover of Revolution in ourtime: the
by Kekla Magoon
2021

In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces readers to the Panthers' community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens.

Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life

Cover of Rez Life: An Indian’s Jo
by David Treuer
2012

Novelist David Treuer examines Native American reservation life--past and present--illuminating misunderstood contemporary issues of sovereignty, treaty rights, and natural-resource conservation while also exploring crime and poverty, casinos and wealth, and the preservation of native language and culture.

The Root

The Root

The Root has been providing fine journalism from a variety of black perspectives since 2008.  It covers all aspects of American life, including international and national news coverage, arts and culture reporting, opinion and politics. 

The Round House

Cover of The Round House
by Louise Erdrich
2012

When his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist living on a reservation in North Dakota, slips into an abyss of depression after being brutally attacked, 14-year-old Joe Coutz sets out with his three friends to find the person that destroyed his family.

Sabrina & Corina: Stories

Cover of Sabrina & Corina: Stories
by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
2019

Kali Fajardo-Anstine's magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West. Against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado--a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite--these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force.

Sail Away

Cover of Sail Away
by Langston Hughes and Bryan Ashley
2015

A celebration of mermaids, wildernesses of waves, and the creatures of the deep through poems by Langston Hughes and cut-paper collage illustrations by multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Ashley Bryan.

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