12 books to read about racism abroad and in Australia.

As protestors continue to spread across America, and now the globe, over the killing of George Floyd, many people are wondering how they can better educate themselves on the the irrefutable and systematic injustice black citizens continue to experience at the hands of authorities. Not just overseas, but in Australia too.

Self-education is just one of the crucial ways in which people can help the cause to end racial discrimination.

So, we’ve compiled a list of those books that have been routinely recommended in the last week – trending on social media, and selling out of bookshops.

The following 12 books are a mere droplet in the sea of texts that exist on racism, anti-racism and the experiences of people of colour.

We would love for you, our readers, to add to this list by posting your suggestions in the comments section below this article.

Books on race and racism.

Me And White Supremacy – Layla Saad

This is BRILLIANT. Layla Saad author of 'Me and White Supremacy' (the book for people who think it is not for them) discussing white privilege, 'optical allyship', power and hope https://t.co/lc03Zdt5sR&

— Selina (@SelinaRStone) June 2, 2020

If you’re white, you should definitely read “Me and white supremacy”, by Layla F Saad. It’s an incredible resource for us white people who want to challenge white supremacy but don’t really know how. Highly recommended. pic.twitter.com/MOnRi7d6Hr

— ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????? (@ethicaldream) May 28, 2020

White Fragility - Robin Diangelo⁣⁣

A bunch of people I follow on Instagram have been posting about “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo lately. It really is a great book that helps white people understand how racism manifests and makes it clear what’s structural (almost all of it) vs personal. Strong recommend!

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) May 31, 2020

How To Be An Antiracist -  Ibram X. Kendi

I wrote this book for this moment, for this moment to become a movement, for the movement to transform us as we transform this country. Thank you to the folks reading + recommending #HowToBeAnAntiracist. Use it as springboard into antiracist action. Justice needs you, all of you. pic.twitter.com/u8hFEE6cIO

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) May 27, 2020

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge⁣⁣

“Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent.” ― @renireni , Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

— Farah Mismar (@Missmarized) June 3, 2020

????Want to learn more?

I strongly recommend the book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by @renireni. Here’s an extract: https://t.co/vKNQO24WOm

Also, the book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, by @afuahirsch. Extract here: https://t.co/RJS52dL4gF

— Elle Osili-Wood (@ElleOsiliWood) May 29, 2020

They Can’t Kill Us All - Wesley Lowery

I read this book last year & its been on my mind. The author reported in real time in Ferguson & Baltimore & Charleston. I learned so much about racially biased policing & its effect on communties, civil unrest riots protests, as well as current activism. https://t.co/cWVBX8rn7z

— Elisabeth Borowicz (@RangerMediaSpec) May 29, 2020

I highly recommend your book as well. https://t.co/P1XzNGQQ5u

— Maria Salinas (@mariasalinas) May 26, 2020

The Hate Race - Maxine Beneba Clarke⁣⁣

2/6) Books that tackle racism:
If Beale Street Could Talk by #JamesBaldwin
The Hate You Give by @angiecthomas
White Fragility by @RobinDiAngelo
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by @renireni
The Hate Race by #MaxineBenebaClarke
White Teeth by #ZadieSmith pic.twitter.com/MnhYCGEgWj

— BOOKED OUT (@bkdout) June 3, 2020

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
⁣⁣

MORE BOOKS:

No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear By Toni Morrison

Why I Won’t Vote by W. E. B. DuBois

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Political Prisoners, Prisons, and Black Liberation by Angela Davis

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

— Chelsie (@wvrthy) June 2, 2020

So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo

SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE by Ijeoma Oluo is an extremely straightforward, lean, direct book that assumes you are taking all this seriously and are ready to hear some unpleasant things and do better. pic.twitter.com/2tBxAHfr6h

— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) May 30, 2020

Books by Indigenous writers

Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia - edited by Anita Heiss

Reading for Reconciliation: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia by Anita Heiss. This absorbing book provides a critical insight into Aboriginal Australia from Aboriginal perspectives and is a must-read for all Australians. Place a hold here - https://t.co/eRqR5x1DIx #NRW2020 pic.twitter.com/IOC27bn48K

— Brisbane Libraries (@BNElibraries) June 3, 2020

Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe⁣⁣

#DarkEmu details the deliberate extinguishment of a 100 millennia culture.
We stole Australia from an amazing people and destroyed the evidence.
ANZACs returned from WW1 mentally-equipped to slaughter, and that's just what they did.
We destroyed, we defiled & we shamed.
Read it. https://t.co/sIu4Dqhkn2

— Tim Jones ???? (@Forthleft2) May 29, 2020

Welcome to Country - Marcia Langton⁣⁣

How much do you know about #Indigenous Australian culture?

Professor Marcia Langton is filling in the gaps in Australian #history education with her new book, Welcome To Country: An Introduction to Our First Peoples for Young Australians.https://t.co/iket8YSTdc

— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) September 23, 2019

Australia Day - Stan Grant

Streaming Episode 320 of @oshergunsberg's 'Better Than Yesterday' #podcast, with @ABCIndigenous and international affairs analyst, Stan Grant, on his book 'Australia Day': https://t.co/Qp9pGuhhvr #FirstNationsPeople #ChangeTheDate

— Dan Wilkinson (@hotndelicious) June 2, 2020

If you have the means to do so, you can actively help the Black Lives Matter cause in Australia and the United States by donating to organisations working towards racial justice, such as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance and the Justice for David Dungay fund to support the family of David Dungay Junior, an Aboriginal man who died in a Sydney jail. You can also donate to the Black Lives Matter Global Network here. If you can, consider regularly donating to Indigenous-run organisations and First Nations causes.

Other active ways to help include signing petitions, attending peaceful protests, listening to BIPOC, raising their voices, educating yourself on racism and privilege and ensuring we are all taking part in the conversation to dismantle systemic racism.

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