I grew up around hundreds of books and so did my husband. Both of our mothers were educators and our fathers were readers. The local library knew our mothers by name. My mom acquired her vast collection by always stopping by the quarter book rack at the library but also through her many trips to the thrift stores, museums gifts shops, and every single clearance section anywhere. Because of this, we often didn’t have the latest or most popular books. But we did have an awesome variety of books, often about people and places that were different from us.
Today my family has many of my own childhood books as do my cousins’ families and probably many neighborhood kids and former students of my mom. Up until her death she was collecting books. I think she went to Darlington Holiday Warehouse three times in the last few weeks of her life, each time using a coupon to buy a new book!
In honor of #belikeBarb I’m offering up books to borrow. Libraries are closed and families have been reading their same stash for months. At the same time there are hundreds of book lists going around to teach kids and adults alike about racism, Black history and white supremacy.
I will loan out stacks of 5-10 children’s books for three weeks at a time depending on amount of interest. I am only loaning out our books about Black joy, African and African American history and folklore, or books with multicultural characters. For adults interested in Black history or anti-racism I am also loaning out some favorite books on those topics too. Full list of those below.
Families play a key role in the socialization process and the development of racial attitudes of children. Research has shown that children’s awareness of racial differences and the impact of racism begins quite early, even before preschool. Creating safe spaces for children to explore these topics is more important than ever in today’s political and cultural climate, where these issues are highly visible. Parents have an obligation to teach and learn with their children about race and racism. I talk about that and more in an episode of the podcast Showing Up. Get more resources on parenting and racism here: https://familycentralny.com/parenting-and-racism-resources/
If you are in Greater Philadelphia and interested in borrowing a stack of kids’ books or an adult book, email me or send me a facebook message. I can arrange contactless pick-up at our home or drop off at yours. My kids would be glad to read some new books too so maybe you can share yours as well!
Happy Reading!
| Adult Books on Race/Racism: | Author |
| So You Want to Talk About Race? | Ijeoma Oluo |
| Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements | Charlene A. Carruthers |
| Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America | Nefertiti Austin |
| The Racial Contract | Charles W. Mills |
| Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (2 copies) | Beverly Daniel Tatum |
| Racism: A Short History | George Fredrickson |
| Uprooting Racism (3 copies) | Paul Kivel |
| White Fragility | Robin DiAngelo |
| From #Blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation | Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor |
| Killing the Black Body: Race, Reprodction and the Meaning of Liberty | Dorothy Roberts |
| killing rage: Ending Racism | bell hooks |
| The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours | Marian Wright Edelman |
| How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America | Manning Marable |
| Black Skin White Masks | Frantz Fanon |
| Discourse of Colonialism | Aime Cesaire |
| Black Protest Thought in the Twentieth Century | August Meier & Others |
| Zami A New Spelling of My Name (2 copies) | Audre Lourde |
| Sister Outsider (2 copies) | Audre Lourde |
| The White Man’s Burden | William Easterly |
| White Like Her: A Family Story of Race and Racial Passing | Gail Lukasik |
| A People’s History of the United States | Howard Zinn |
| White-Washing Race: The Myth of the Color-Blind Society | Michael K. Brown & others |
| The Debt: What American Owes to Blacks | Randall Robinson |
| Novels, Biographies, and other books: | |
| salvation: Black People and Love | bell hooks |
| Sing Unburied Sing | Jesmyn Ward |
| The African Dream | Enesto “Che” Guevara |
| Loving Day | Mat Johnson |
| Create Dangerously | Edwidge Danticat |
| A Song Flung Up to Heaven | Maya Angelou |
| The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes | Arnold Rampersad |
| Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of An American Original | Robin D. G. Kelley |
| Homegoing | Yaa Gyasi |
| Americanah | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
| Disgruntled: A Novel | Asali Solomon |
| The Color of Water | James McBride |
| The Autobiography of My Mother | Jamaica Kincaid |
| Every Day is for the Thief | Teju Cole |
| Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | Linda Brent |
Be Like Barb 