Anti-Racism | Anti-Bias Resources

Many of us are not sure how to counter racism or hatred when we witness it and don’t know what to say when people we know downplay or trivialize the hate, prejudice and discrimination that people of color and marginalized communities experience in our country.

Being an ally in the struggle for racial and gender justice and equality goes beyond simply not being racist or prejudiced. Being anti-racist and open to learning involves having difficult conversations with our friends and family who express racist or gender-biased sentiments. It means looking inwards and addressing our own prejudices. And most importantly, it means standing beside communities of color and marginalized people and fighting against racism and gender discrimination wherever it shows up. We hope the following list of resources help to educate and motivate you to take action.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Start by picking one book, one article, one website, or one podcast. Choose a friend to talk to about it that will help to hold you accountable, and consider highlighting diverse artists, business people, and change makers to use your platform to amplify marginalized voices.

Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, civil rights activist, and political advisor to multiple US presidents.

The Education of Young Black Girls

Black History Month was established to recognize and honor African Americans’ contributions to American history and culture.

Bessie: Three Women Who Did Things Their Own Way

Here are five African American women who changed history.

Five African American Women Who Changed America

Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. She rose from poverty in the South to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time.

Madam C.J. Walker

Zora Hurston was a world-renowned writer and anthropologist.

Zora Neale Hurston

Ethel Payne is known as the First Lady of the Black Press, because of her fearlessness as a journalist and a Civil Rights activist.

Ethel L. Payne

Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar, Maya Angelou is a world-famous author. She is best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.

Maya Angelou

Janet Mock became the first transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode of television.

Janet Mock

As an activist, community organizer, and executive, Tarana Burke has made quite an impact.

Tarana Burke

Videos

Audio

Movies

13th by Ava Duvernay
Selma by Ava Duvernay
And Still I Rise: Maya Angelou by PBS
A Ballerina’s Tale by Nelson George
Harriet by Kasi Lemmons
Becoming by Nadia Hallgren
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry

Books

Where to buy them: https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/ and https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g32782756/black-owned-bookstores/

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
How to be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Ain’t I a Woman? by bell hooks
Killing Rage: Ending Racism by bell hooks
They Were Her Property by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers

For families and young readers:

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
A Kids Book about Racism by Jelani Memory

A Kids Book About Belonging by Kevin Carroll
A Kids Book About Feminism by Emma Miclroy
A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K. Roberts
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Color of Us by Karen Katz

Hair Like Mine by Latashia M Perry
I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present by Jamia Wilson

For teen readers:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on how to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson
5 Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
This Is My America by Kim Johnson