Who can resist a great book, especially books on anti-racism! Here are my latest purchases.
I recently listened to Austin Channing Brown’s podcast with Brené Brown yesterday and fell in love. It was the inspiration of this batch of books. I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness will no doubt inspire my DEI work.
Ijeoma Oluo’s work sizzles. Her So You Want to Talk about Race, is accessible and painful – the perfect combination for any book calling us to anti-racist work. Can’t wait to dive into Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America. Plus, so could not love the opening salvo to this title!
Finally, Layla F. Saad’s, Me and White Supremacy, is all about creating “the change the world needs by creating change within yourself.”
I also love supporting Black-owned business – especially bookstores.
McKenzie Jean-Philippe’s, 125 Black-Owned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature is like being in a candy store. While Condé Nast’s Black-Owned Bookstores You Can Shop Online is a great resource. Here’s a Midwest tour.
· Illinois - Semicolon, Chicago
· Indiana - Beyond Barcodes Bookstore, Kokomo
· Michigan - Source Booksellers, Detroit
· Minnesota - Black Garnet Books, Minneapolis
· Missouri - Eye See Me, St. Louis
· Nebraska - Aframerican Bookstore, Omaha
But where is Wisconsin’s Black owned bookstore? Truth it, I think Niche Book Bar, Milwaukee is waiting to be discovered. Centonia Weston-Roy is the founder of Niche and The Black Author’s Collective. She is a lover of “that new book smell.” Now, that alone makes her worthy of owning bookstore!
So, friends, when you the urge to be a co-conspirator in creating better human beings, to paraphrase Austin Channing Brown, check out of these bookstores. Then read the books!
And then if you need DEI training at work, just let me know.
Jean