Checkout this season’s list for 9 books & tons of ideas worth discussing!
1. Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman by Michele Wallace
This book, published in 1978, describes the many “ways in which traditional, male-identified myths of Black womanhood block the development of a separate female subjectivity” and how women continue to be marginalized by dominant patriarchal culture. According to The Roots, it’s one of the first books to “critique the systems in place, ways of thinking and being that feed the myth of black women as the ultimate heroine”.
This book chronicles the “emergence of deeply embedded notions” of Black people, men in particular, as violent and dangerous criminals compared to their working-class, white counterparts. Muhammad goes on to explain how these ideas have shaped social policies and urban development.
This book examines how the biological concept of race continues to “undermine a just society and promote inequality in a supposedly post-racial era”. According to AFRO.com, Fatal Invention “offers a timely and provocative analysis of race, science, and politics by one of the nation’s leading legal scholars and social critics”.
This book, a historical fiction published in 2016, follows the descedants of an Asante woman whose daughters are separated by circumstance. One sister marries the British governor in charge of Cape Coast Castle meanwhile the other sister is held captive in the dungeons below.
5. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
This book chronicles Bryan Stevenson’s experiences as a young attorney working the controversial Walter McMillian case. Stevenson was just 23 years old and a law student when he met his first death row client. From there he goes on to establish the Equal Justice Initiative to provide legal services to poor and defenseless inmates, and inspires hope for the incarcerated.
6. Killing Rage: Ending Racism by Bell Hooks This book is a compilation of 23 essays about the legacy of racism in this country. In the title essay, Hooks acknowledges the rage or “fierce anger of Black people stung by repeated instances of everyday racism” and how in that rage “a healing source of love and strength and a catalyst for positive change” can exist. The author is a cultural and social critic who is known for magnifying the voices of Black women in conversations surrounding race.
7. Natives Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
According to Odishonga, a reader on Goodreads, Akala touches on everything “from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification… Natives speaks directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class that are at the heart of the legacy of Britain’s racialized empire”. OdiShona concludes the book is “…a profoundly engaging read”.
8. The Power of Positive Thinking: 10 Traits for Maximum Results by Norman Vincent Peale
This book is a practical toolkit for anyone who wants to overcome defeat and cultivate an optimistic spirit. Peale offers simple & quick positive thinking techniques to boost energy, elevate one’s mood, and to improves mental & physical health. This book was published after WWII, in 1952, with the hopes of infusing optimism and faith in a post-war society.
9. White Fragility: Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo
This book explains how “white fragility” develops and reinforces racial inequality. White fragility refers to a series of “defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially”- this includes exhibiting “emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt and by behaviors including argumentation and silence”. According to Diangelo this behavior inhibits any real and meaningful discourse related to ameliorating racial inequalities.
Discussion Worthy 