Diversity Awareness Educational / Reading Resources
The recent tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have left us speechless. If your spirit is with the peaceful protesters across our country and if you want to become more informed and broaden your perspective and awareness, here are some resources for you to explore.
- Understanding Racism and Bias
- Organizations to Connect With & Stay Informed
- Police Conduct, Race and the Justice System
- Talking to Kids and Teens About Racism and Justice
- Read with PRIDE
Understanding Racism and Bias
- 21-Day Racial Equity [Habit] Building Challenge
- TED Talk Playlist: Talks to Help You Understand Racism in America
- How to deconstruct racism one headline at a time
- The Equal Justice Initiative
- Welcoming Dialogue on Racial Bias
- The Aspen Institute’s Glossary for Understanding the Dismantling Structural Racism/Promoting Racial Equity Analysis
- A Path to Ending Systemic Racism
- Race, Power and Policy: Dismantling Structural Racism
- Racial Equity Tools: System of Inequity
- Everyday Democracy: Understanding Structural Racism Activity
- People’s Theater: Institutional Racism Workshop
- Race Forward: What is Systemic Racism? [Videos]
Adult Non-fiction books
- Thick and other essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom
- When they call you a terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
- Dying of whiteness by Jonathan Metzl
- How to be an antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- I can’t breathe by Matt Taibbi
- Me and white supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- White Fragility by Robin J. DiAngelo
- Raising white kids by Jennifer Harvey
- So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Stamped from the beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
- Stay woke by Justin Michael Williams
- On account of race by Lawrence Goldstone
- The Address Book by Deirdre Mask
- Driving While Black by Gretchen Sullivan Sorin
- Overground Railroad by Candacy A. Taylor
- What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young
Organizations to Connect With & Stay Informed
- Black Lives Matter
- BYP100
- The Color of Change
- Colorlines
- Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
- The Movement for Black Lives
- NAACP
- Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Police Conduct, Race and the Justice System
- Center for Policing Equity
- Charts on police violence nationwide
- Mapping Police Violence
- The Counted: People Killed by Police in the U.S.
- A Decade Of Watching Black People Die
- #8Can’tWait
Talking to Kids and Teens About Racism and Justice
Resources about George Floyd’s death and the current protests
Resources to discuss race, racism, and Black Lives Matter
- Black Lives Matter at School
- D.C. Area Educators For Social Justice
- Talking about Race
- The 1619 Project Curriculum
- Teaching Tolerance
- 2020 Curriculum Resource Guide
- Helping Kids Process Violence, Trauma, and Race in a World of Nonstop News
- 15 Classroom Resources for Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest
- Black Voices | Kidcasts
- How to talk to Kids About Race
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Child Mind Institute
- How to explain racism to kids
- Comics Plus Black History, Black Voices digital collection – login with your library card number and the pin (usually the last four digits of your phone number).
Picture Books
- Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
- Something Happened in Our Town by Ann Hazzard
- The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
- Sulwe by Lupito Nyong’o
- I Am Enough by Grace Byers
Middle Grade Books
- Black Brother Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
- The Usual Suspects by Maurice Broaddus
- Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
- A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
Books for Young Adults
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
- Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
- Breakout by Kate Messner
- The Hate you Give by Angie Thomas
- How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Uwiringiyimana, Sandra
- I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Gilly Segal
- Black Boy White School by Brian Walker
- Monster by Walter Dean Myers
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America
- Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson
- YA-Graphic Novels- recommendations for Black History month
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
- Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage
- Our stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America edited by Amy Lynn Reed
- Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
- American Street by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
Read with PRIDE
- AIDS Education Month
- Equality Forum
- LGBTQ+ Representation In Libraries
- The Attic Youth Center
- The Stonewall Riots
- Stonewall Forever
- Pride Month History
- Pride Month
- GLAAD
- It Gets Better Project
- The Trevor Project
Books for Children
- And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
- Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle
- The Flower Girl Wore Celery by Holly Clifton-Brown
- Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender
- I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel
- Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack
- Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
- Sparkle Boy by Lesléa Newman
- This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
Books for Teens
- Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
- Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
- Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
- I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
- Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
- The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
- The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
- Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert
- What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson
- The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
- The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
- The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper
Books for Adults
- Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
- Less: A Novel by Andrew Sean Greer
- Little Fish by Casey Plett
- Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen
- River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
- Speak No Evil: A Novel by Uzodinma Iweala
- Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
- Willa & Hesper by Amy Feltman
Movies and TV
- The L Word (TV)
- Orange is the New Black (TV)
- Blue is the Warmest Color (movie)
- But I’m a Cheerleader (movie)
- Carol (movie)
- How to Survive a Plague (movie)
- The Imitation Game (movie)
- Love, Simon (movie)
- Milk (movie)
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post (movie)
- Moonlight (movie)
- Pride (movie)