A Social Justice Reading List
If you’re determined to widen your knowledge about social justice in America, the following books are a great place to start!
Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World by Sroja Popovic
Blueprint for Revolution is a captivating and optimistic read that explores the ways marginalized people can create meaningful movements toward meaningful change, taking notes from uprisings around the world.
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Considered essential reading by many, A People’s History of the United States doesn’t cherry pick stories of the founding fathers and instead delves into the history of our country through the experiences of the marginalized, highlighting the structural struggles that have plagued our country from the day Columbus set foot in the New World.
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Evicted is an eye opening account of poverty and wealth inequality in America that highlights the dire situations people are forced into and how the housing market fails our most vulnerable people.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a letter to his 15 year old son to warn him about the harsh realities facing him as a black man in America.
Freedom is a Constant Struggle
by Angela Y. Davis
From the renowned activist, philosopher, academic, and author
From the renowned activist, philosopher, academic, and author Angela Y. Davis, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle brings a global perspective to the struggle for freedom and makes the case that the struggle is constant, but that the fight is so worth it.
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
A privileged white woman goes undercover as an unskilled worker, plunging her into the everyday realities of life on minimum wage. Nickel and Dimed illuminates some of the most dire struggles people deal with without a living wage.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In the world of The Handmaid’s Tale, a pandemic has transformed society into a dystopia fueled by oppression, fear, and war. This work of fiction questions where our world might be headed, especially as it relates to the government’s control of women’s bodies. The Handmaid’s Tale is a cautionary tale we should all read.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Michelle Alexander’s seminal work opens our eyes to mass incarceration as the latest form of legalized slavery and racism.
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An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
An African American and Latino History of the United States reexamines our collective history through the lens of Imperialism versus the working class and introduces the reader to figures left out of traditional history books.
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo
An important read for anyone who can’t handle being called out as a racist, White Fragility explains how racism is systemic, how white people inherently benefit from it, and how those same white people can help enact change by being open to feedback and decentering themselves in the conversation.
We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future by Deepa Iyer
We Too Sing America explores the racial tensions around September 11th and how South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh communities were changed by the attack and examines the actions needed to heal the racial divide.
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
The Color of Law tackles the issue of segregated metropolitan areas in America and how zoning, public housing, financial incentives for builders, and every level of government from local to federal has intentionally created segregated neighborhoods in America.
One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson
One Person, No Vote gives insight into how voting rights have been suppressed from Reconstruction America to now. Anderson discusses how voter suppression has been strategic through poll taxes, photo ID requirements, gerrymandering, and poll closures.
The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale
The End of Policing makes a riveting case for how everyone would be better served by decriminalization and non-law enforcement approaches to many of the social issues that police handle unnecessarily.
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Mixing memoir and social commentary, How to Be an Antiracist gives individuals concrete actions they can take to move America toward systemic change.
Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay
If you’ve ever felt conflicted about enjoying things that are at odds with being a “good feminist,” this collection of essays will speak to you.
