It’s been over a month since the death of George Floyd. In that time, we’ve seen a heightened cultural awareness of how racism impacts our society. As protests move into their second month, employees across industries demand new policies and reforms, and as COVID-19 continues to disproportionately impact Black communities, it has become clear that we have a lot of work to do in the fight for systemic change.
At LRW, we have made a commitment to addressing our implicit biases, filling the gaps in our education, and promoting positive social change. Listening to and amplifying Black voices is a critical part of that process. That’s why we’re dedicating this year’s annual summer reading list to literature that explores various aspects of the Black experience. Here are just some of the books we’re reading this summer.
Feel Free by Zadie Smith
I Don’t Want to Die Poor by Michael Arceneaux
Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, & So Much More by Janet Mock
Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett and David Zirin
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi
A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Pride by Ibi Zoboi
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
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