For our Allies: A Reading List

It can be difficult to understand the drastic impact racism and systematic oppression has on Black people if you are not directly impacted by oppressive systems. So, we have compiled reading lists in an effort to assist you with grappling with these concepts. We challenge you to educate yourself, to engage in difficult conversations, and to take action.

Suggested Readings from Left Bank Books:

• The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t and Why by Jabari Asim
• Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel
• The House That Race Built edited by Wahneema Lubiano
• White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise
• Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko
• Mass Incarceration on Trial by Jonathan Simon
• Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? By Demico Boothe

Suggested Readings from National Alliance on Mental Health:

• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
• How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
• by Michelle Alexander
• The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century
• by Grace Lee Boggs
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
• When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

Suggested Readings from UT Law:

• Anti-Racism Resources & How to be a Better Ally
• Anti-Racism resources for all ages
• First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources For White People
• A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources: Books, movie recommendations, and more
• National Museum of African American History & Culture: Talking About Race
• Lonestar Justice Alliance ReImagine Justice
• Sunday Reading: Racial Injustice and the Police

Last updated: June 10, 2020