These Books About Racism Are A Good Way To Start Educating Yourself

The killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade at the hands of the police have sparked a nationwide outcry for change. In the wake, many are reckoning with the ways in which racism has long seeped into and rooted itself in American society. While the Black community is, yet again, mourning the deaths of unarmed Black people killed by police and demanding justice, white and other non-Black people who benefit from systemic racism are examining the ways in which they can commit to allyship.

Supporting Black businesses, amplifying Black voices, donating to the cause, voting, and protesting are essential, but allyship requires education, too. Showing up for the Black community and dedicating yourself to being antiracist means having to face hard truths about yourself. It calls for continuous introspective work and asking others to do the same.

There’s no official way to start, but a good place is with books. There are a number of fiction and non-fiction titles you can put at the top of your reading list written by activists, leaders in the Black community, allies, journalists, and countless others. In illuminating the Black experience, these books will help readers see the many ways they fit into this country’s racial history, what’s happening now, and the progress that’s so desperately needed.

Ahead, 11 of the many essential books about racial injustice to read now and many times over.