The world has struggled with racism throughout history, but it was only when people first recognized it as a phenomenon in the past few centuries. The question of something can be done about it and if we should do something about it came much later. Today, racism has met its nemesis – antiracism.
The acceptance that racism is real and it impacts the lives of millions of people daily was a paradigm shift. Antiracism has become a guideline for recruitment policy and employee conduct in organizations worldwide. People in their daily lives have also changed their attitudes towards people of color and consciously avoided offensive words considered normal in the past. This change could not have been possible without the activists using literature to communicate their message. Books about antiracism have been the foundation of the new paradigm in which people see past color and reduce disparities. While there are many books on the topic that are noteworthy, here is an assorted list of the top five books on antiracism recommended by activists:
What's troubling is that the girl's murder was covered as suicide, as the news title reads. The way it was presented to the media shows how untrustworthy the news from mainstream sources can be. It also puts all the outcomes of cases in doubt when the story in the news is tweaked to change the victim and free the culprits. The author has addressed many aspects of human suffering. The racist cop who killed the girl caused pain and suffering to all the Native American fraternity. But the mother who lost a child to such monstrosity went through hell, and only a fraction of that can be experienced as the reader of this novel. The book was published by Gatekeeper Press in March 2021 and is available on amazon.com in hardback, paperback and kindle.
The perfect book for that would be this one by Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi has dived into the practical aspects of antiracism by discussing its logic and how the systems of power have been creating hierarchies of human values to exploit and manipulate people in history. The intersections of racism with class, culture, ethnicity and geography reveal the basis of discrimination that has been a part of societies everywhere in the world. The author goes the extra mile to discuss how to be an antiracist in the modern world. From the core concept to visionary possibilities in the future, the writer has unearthed all imaginable ways to fight racism and has made it simpler and easier to adopt for the reader. Kendi makes a strong case with his knowledge of ethics, law, history and science combined.
The book was selected for the New York Times Bestseller list, the reason being its invitation for personal transformation and collective social change that the world needs now more than ever. With the imminent climate change and the pandemic's lasting impact on the world, the only way for humanity to survive would be to unite against all evils. The first step would be to combat racism, and Layla has set the pace for that. Her book has received positive reviews on amazon.com, while her Instagram campaign has also become popular with over 16,000 posts made so far with the campaign hashtag and counting.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man is also a book about such conversations. Emmanuel first highlights that it is impossible to solve a problem until you consider it a problem. He indicates that most Americans to date do not consider racism a problem because they have not been a victim of it. The problem can only be seen when you empathize with the victims of everyday racism. Emmanuel has discussed many concepts like white privilege, reverse racism and cultural appropriation in detail to make an antiracist person out of the reader. His book's reviews show that he has been quite successful in this challenge. However, the movement still has a long way to go.
When a book reaches the limelight of New York Times Bestseller, Pulitzer Prize Finals, and National Book Critics Circle Awards, you know there is something special in it. Cathy Park Hong has taken courage to write a criticism of the racialized consciousness prevalent in America that is pretty hostile to Asians, to say the least. Using the double entendre, Cathy shares the story of her youth coming to America from Korea and facing people's 'normal' racist attitudes. How she spent her days in America in suspicion, shame and melancholy, tells the story of every Asian immigrant who dreams of a great America but finds another in reality. With her classical humor and eloquent writing of her anecdotes in the new country, Cathy has shown that there is still hope for people to learn and become antiracists for a better country and a better world. Cathy was also part of the 100 most influential people of the year by Times Magazine. She is a poet and essayist as well.
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