Anti-Black Racism Resources

What is Anti-Black Racism?

Anti-Black racism refers to the specific forms of discrimination, prejudice, beliefs, and practices directed against Black people and communities that have been deeply embedded in our social, economic, and political systems. Members of the dominant (white) culture need to understand that Anti-Black racism goes beyond individual acts of bias to encompass the historical and ongoing systemic oppression that specifically impacts Black lives. This includes, but is not limited to, the legacy of slavery, segregation, redlining, mass incarceration, and various forms of institutional racism and discrimination.

For progressive white churches, grappling with anti-Black racism is crucial as it helps identify and address specific barriers that our  Black brothers and sisters face and acknowledges the unique historical context of Black oppression in America.

Anti-Black Racism Resources

At First Plymouth Congregational Church, we recognize that addressing anti-Black racism is vital work that requires both deep personal commitment and sustained community engagement. We have compiled this comprehensive collection of resources to support our congregation and the wider community in this essential journey of learning, understanding, and action.  

This resource list spans various formats and entry points. We’ve included both historical perspectives and contemporary voices, theological reflections and practical guides, personal memoirs, and academic analyses. This makes it accessible for students of different ages, learning styles, and levels of familiarity with these topics.

 Articles on Anti-Black Racism

• Being Brown While Black Lives Matter by Rev. Dr. Miguel De La Torre, August 29, 2015
• Black Women’s Faith, Black Women’s Flourishing by Eboni Marshall Turman, February 28, 2019
• Blackface Is Just One Part of the Problem by Jamil Smith, February 4, 2019
• Confronting #WhiteSupremacy With #RevolutionaryLove by Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D., August 13, 2017
• DACA, Harvey, and Charlottesville: This Is An Emergency by Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D., September 8, 2017
• Freedom Day, 1963:  A Lost Interview with James Baldwin by Fern Marja Eckman, September 22, 2020
• I Am Black, and Black Lives Matter by Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D., August 10, 2015
• Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr., April 16, 1963
• Race, Money and Politics: Connecting Some Dots by Rev. John Janka, April 6, 2016
• Reckoning With Violence by Michelle Alexander, March 3, 2019
• Stop Blaming History for Your All-White, All-Male Movie by Aisha Harris, February 6, 2020
• The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones (NYT), August 2019
• The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates, June 2014
• The Day I Learned I was White by Lee Habeeb, Newsweek, November 10, 2020
• The Fight Over the 1619 Project is Not About Facts by Adam Serwer, December 23, 2019
• The Fight to Redefine Racism by Kelefa Sanneh, August 12, 2019
• The Heresy of White Christianity by Chris Hedges, December 10, 2018
• What America owes: How reparations would look and who would pay, by Samara Lynn and Catherine Thorbecke, September 27, 2020
• Why Jews Should Support Reparations for Slavery by Rabbi Sharon Brous, March 7, 2018

Biographical Works

• Becoming by Michelle Obama – An intimate and powerful memoir from the former First Lady of the United States that chronicles the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years balancing motherhood and work, to her time in the White House.
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – Stories from Trevor Noah’s South African childhood as the son of a white father and Black mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison, offering an intimate look at the country’s racial dynamics.
• Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama – A compelling memoir by the former president that explores his odyssey of self-discovery, from his early years as the son of a Black African father and white American mother through his journey to understand his place in America.
• Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin – A classic collection of essays that established Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the twentieth century, crafting an unforgettable examination of race in America.

Adult Books on Anti-Black Racism

• America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis – A compelling analysis of the devastating impact of racism in the American church and a call for Christians to pursue racial justice and reconciliation.
• Anxious to Talk about It by Carolyn B. Helsel – A practical guide helping white Christians navigate conversations about race with tools for engaging in meaningful dialogue despite anxiety or discomfort.
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley – A powerful firsthand account of Malcolm X’s journey from street criminal to international leader and icon of the Black liberation movement.
• Beloved by Toni Morrison – A haunting and masterful novel about a former slave haunted by her past, exploring the psychological trauma of slavery and its lasting impact.
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – Written as a letter to his teenage son, Coates provides a powerful exploration of what it means to be Black in America.
• Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa – A seminal work blending personal essay, criticism, and poetry to explore the intersections of race, sexuality, and identity at cultural borders.
• Can We Talk About Race? by Beverly Tatum – An essential examination of how race and racism affect America’s schools and classrooms, offering insights for meaningful dialogue and change.
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson – A masterful portrait of how America’s hidden caste system has shaped history, showing how our lives are still defined by a powerful hierarchy of human divisions.
• Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine – A genre-defying meditation on race that blends poetry, essay, and visual art to expose the realities of everyday racism in contemporary America.
• Coming Together in the 21st Century by Curtiss DeYoung – A comprehensive guide for building and sustaining multiracial, multicultural communities of faith.
• Dismantling Racism by Joseph Barndt – A practical workbook for understanding and confronting systemic racism, particularly within Christian churches and organizations.
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi – A groundbreaking approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in society through the lens of antiracism.
• I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown – A powerful account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America.
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson – A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix America’s broken system of justice.
• Race Matters by Cornel West – A searing collection of essays addressing the crisis in race relations, challenging readers to examine how we talk about race in America.
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi – A reimagining of Kendi’s “Stamped from the Beginning” for young people, revealing the history of racist ideas in America.
• Stand Your Ground by Kelly Brown Douglas – A theological examination of America’s stand-your-ground culture and its roots in slavery and racism.
• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone – A landmark examination of how the cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the Black experience in America.
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin – Two searing essays that fuse the personal with the political in a meditation on race in America.
• The Loving Story by Nancy Buirski – The definitive account of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage.
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander – A stunning account of how mass incarceration has come to replace segregation as a system of racial control in America.
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson – A masterful chronicle of the Great Migration, told through the lives of three individuals who made the journey north.
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo – An examination of why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism, and how they can engage more constructively.
• White Rage by Carol Anderson – A powerful history of white resistance to Black progress, from the Civil War to the present day.

Children’s Books on Race and Diversity

Note: All age ranges are suggestions. Parents, teachers and caregivers should use their judgment about which books are appropriate for their children.

Ages 0-3

• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats – A groundbreaking Caldecott Medal winner about a young boy’s adventures in the snow.
• Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o – A beautiful story about colorism, self-esteem, and learning that true beauty comes from within.
• Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi – A board book that introduces the youngest readers to the concept and power of antiracism.

Ages 3-5

• Saturday by Oge Mora -A warm and tender story celebrating the special bond between mother and daughter.
• Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry – A heartwarming celebration of daddy-daughter time and natural hair.
• I Am Enough by Grace Byers – An empowering lyrical ode to loving who you are and respecting others.

Ages 5-8

• Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
  A powerful story about the ripple effects of our actions on others.
• The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson
  The true story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, the youngest known child to be arrested for a civil rights protest.
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
  A Newbery Medal-winning story about a boy’s journey to find his father.
• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson – A poignant story about finding the courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.

Ages 9-12

• Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice by Veronica Chambers – Inspiring stories of people who stood up for what’s right.
• Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham – A picture book about racism and racial justice, inviting white children and parents to become curious about racism.
• Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Brian Pinkney and Andrea Davis Pinkney – Presents ten revolutionary Black men in American history.
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore – A powerful story about a boy who discovers a way to survive the rough streets of his neighborhood.

Ages 12+

• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely – A powerful novel about two teens—one black, one white—who grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act.
• Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults) by Bryan Stevenson – A true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice.
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – A groundbreaking YA novel about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances.

Ted Talks

• An Interview with the Founders of Black Lives Matter
• The Symbols of Systemic Racism – and How to Take Away Their Power

YouTube

• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, YouTube series by Emmanual Acho

Podcasts

• 1619 Podcast, New York Times
• Hope and Hard Pills
• Learning How to See, with Brian McLaren, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis and Richard Rohr.
• Nice White Parents, New York Times
• Seeing White, Scene On Radio
• The Nod
• The Stoop
• Women. Talk. God.

Sermons on Anti-Black Racism

• #StayWoke by Otis Moss III
• A Conversation on Race by Traci Blackmon
• Holy Blackness: The Matrix of Creation by Wil Gafney

Organizations Working for Racial Justice

• Advancement Project – A civil rights organization that combines law, communications, policy, and technology to create workable solutions and achieve systemic change on issues of race and civil rights.
• Black Lives Matter – A global organization and movement working to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities through advocacy, space-making, and innovation.
• Color of Change – The nation’s largest online racial justice organization, helping people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us through innovative strategies and member-driven campaigns.
• Interfaith Alliance of Colorado – A Colorado-based organization that promotes justice, religious liberty, and interfaith understanding through education, dialogue, and advocacy.
• NAACP – The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, ensuring the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and eliminating race-based discrimination.
• Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) – A national network organizing white people for racial justice through community organizing, mobilizing, and education.
• Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – A legal advocacy organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.
• The Equal Justice Initiative – A non-profit organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable.
• The Second Chance Center – A Colorado-based organization dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated people transition successfully into the community through counseling, mentoring, and support services.
• Together Colorado – A nonpartisan, multi-racial and multi-faith community organization working to place human dignity at the center of public life in Colorado.

Whether you’re beginning your anti-racism journey, looking to deepen your understanding, seeking resources for family discussions, teaching, or engaging in academic research, you’ll find materials here to support your learning. We particularly encourage our members to explore the theological resources that connect our Christian faith with the vital work of racial justice.