“The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words in the face of crisis back in 1967, but it seems like he could have spoken them five minutes ago about our present day.
As we honor the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this holiday named for him, we look to him for the inspiration we need to continue his work. Racial justice, voting rights, equality, the eradication of poverty and peace in our time: all are futures he devoted his life to and worked tirelessly towards. It had a ripple effect long past his death: think of 2020, which brought an explosion of activism with the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer, another fire that has refused to die.
King famously said, “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” These past few years have shown the truth and necessity of that call. We did some research to compile a list of activists who will not stay silent about causes that matter to them. They are so deeply called to speak, actually, that their words overflowed and became books. Experience the power of their messages through the power of the written word.
The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza
Co-creator of Black Lives Matter Alicia Garza presents a unique essential guide: how to create a movement that shakes the world upside down so things can get a little more right-side-up. Her writing, like her activism, is “Excellent and provocative . . . a gateway [to] urgent debates,” says Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor of The New Yorker. Additionally, “‘Black lives matter’ was Alicia Garza’s love letter read around the world. The Purpose of Power is another love letter that should be read around the world. It speaks to all that molded Garza, all that molds organizers, all that molds movements,” praises Ibram X. Kendi, author of the smash New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist.
Garza had one key message in the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s death. Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter. Her hashtag hit the social sphere, but she has much more to say and share in order to awaken a nation. The hardworking activist’s book shows how to bring people together rather than tear them apart and was named one of the best books of the year by Time, Marie Claire and Kirkus Reviews.
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
The subtitle, “A Black Lives Matter Memoir,” gives this book a seat at the table with the one mentioned above. Also, like the aforementioned pick, this one comes with a litany of praise: it was a New York Times Editor’s Pick, one of the Library Journal Best Books of 2019 and listed in Time Magazine’s “Best Memoirs of 2018 So Far.” The author has plenty of (and any amount is far too much) experience with stereotyping, racism and prejudice, and identifies the way Black people undergo unjustifiable racial profiling and police brutality.
With a poetic vulnerability, the book is a powerful meditation on personhood, survival and the future we aspire to … and, more importantly, the future we must work towards. Championing basic human rights is the author’s calling, which she answers with enduring spirit and courage: she is also a co-founder of Black Lives Matter with Garza and Opal Tometi.
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Journalists, historians, poets, novelists, essayists and photographers unite to tell a new origin story of our nation. A New York Times bestseller and one of the best books of the year as decided by multiple critics, this book aims to position our current moment in the larger context of what came before. It seems like it’s single-handedly reframed countless perceptions of the American story.
Why 1619? Well, that’s the year that a ship arrived bearing enslaved people from Africa and set in motion the abominable institution that we reckon with to this day. 18 essays accompany 26 poems and other pieces of fiction to create a “mosaic of a book” (Slate) “by multidisciplinary visionaries” (Esquire), “exploring every aspect of slavery and its continuing legacy” (The New York Times Book Review.) This is a volume that bookmarks our present day in the annals of history and will likely be an important piece of study for those who come after us.
Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana Burke
Tarana Burke was sexually assaulted as a young girl, and worst of all, she internalized the message that it was her fault … and her secret to take to the grave. She leaned into her intelligence instead, working hard at school and rising above her circumstance to study black literature, fight for justice and support children in the hope that they will never endure the trauma that she herself did.
Helping these children made her increasingly aware of her own horribly-wounded inner child and the painful memories she labored to forcibly keep locked away. The realization that she could only truly heal, and bring healing to others, by saying “Me Too” and sharing her story led to the writing of this searing and paradigm-shifting book.
Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools and Beyond by Glenn E. Singleton
Some topics, especially the topics addressed in this list, are hard to talk about. This book teaches you to: embrace the four agreements (stay engaged, speak your truth, experience discomfort and accept non-closure) to deepen interracial dialogue; build a foundation for advancing equity using the Six Conditions of Courageous Conversation; examine the role of race in your life using the provided Courageous Conversation Compass to understand and guide your actions; and last but not least, expand your capacity to lead others on the journey in addressing institutional racism disparities.
Yes, it’s a behemoth. Author Glenn Singleton has updated his seminal volume, originally published in 2005, in the wake of the recent racial reckoning. A leader and strategist, he has devoted over 30 years to constructing racial equity worldwide and helping developing leaders to do the same. Whether taught in schools or seminars, these lessons continue to change and challenge perspectives.
My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter by Aja Monet
Click on that link and catch a glimpse of this author’s website. Really, go ahead. Now read on, knowing you’re about to experience an unconventional and mesmerizing artist. Monet’s lilting yet wrenching poetic reflection on motherhood, sisterhood, spirituality, solidarity, displacement/gentrification, racism and sexism are unlike anything you’ve read before.
Says the great Roxane Gay, this is “Interesting, powerful, at times challenging poetry.” But these times have taught us that facing what is challenging is necessary, though uncomfortable. Says The Los Angeles Review, “Aja Monet’s poetry, like her activism, is one of resistance and reimagining. It resists simplicity, instead opening up new vistas for the reader and new points of entry into perspectives that are largely ignored; she gives voices to the marginalized and forgotten and imagines worlds in which those voices can ring out.” Read it to dive into one of the most powerful ways activism can be actualized.
They Called Us Enemy: Expanded Edition by George Takei
This graphic novel was a New York Times bestseller when it first released, and now it’s reappearing as a deluxe edition. George Takei is basically a household name at this point thanks to acting in Star Trek, working as a vocal political activist for various communities and authoring multiple books. That depth of life experience and learned wisdom inform this profound pick.
In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent was “relocated.” This meant they were held for years under the watchful eye of the U.S. military force. Examining this excruciating experience with bold and vivid artistic interpretation, the co-writers ask the questions, “What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do?”
We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai is renowned for her courage, resilience and activism after the Taliban took over her hometown in Pakistan and a masked gunman shot her in the head. She not only survived, but lived to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, penned the groundbreaking and eye-opening I Am Malala, and founded the tremendously impactful Malala Fund.
In this latest book, the young (even after all that, she’s now only 24 years old) changemaker dives deeper into the statistics and news stories about the millions of people displaced worldwide. After visiting and working at many refugee camps, she has seen firsthand not only her own, and her own people’s, trauma, but that of many cultures. She adds an additional humanizing element by incorporating the personal stories of some of the girls she meets along the way.
The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World by Mason Funk
Here come the heroes proudly waving a flag of many colors! Activist Mason Funk traces the trajectory of the gay rights movement from the 1960s to the present, bringing (like The 1619 Project does) a lesser-known history to the limelight. He includes interviews with individuals who made a real difference, such as Emma Colquitt-Sayers, Jewel Thais-Williams and Bradley Picklesimer. If these names aren’t ringing any bells, well, maybe you ought to open up this book.
The author traveled across the nation to collect and curate the content, aiming to more than adequately “do justice to the long, complex journey that our community has traveled.” This is a community that has struggled through anti-gay police brutality, bold protests, AIDS and exhausting discrimination; this is a community that always finds a way to rise again, as you’ll see when familiarizing yourself with their journey from difficult beginnings to a brighter today.
Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran by Shirin Ebadi
This author was the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She made a profound impact on the lives of the people subject to the horrors of the merciless regime taking hold of her country. The New York Times Book Review lauds it as “Powerful . . . Although [Ebadi’s] memoir underscores that a slow change will have to come from within Iran, it is also proof of the stunning effects of her nonviolent struggle on behalf of those who bravely, and at a very high cost, keep pushing for the most basic rights.”
The Islamic Republic sought to silence her for years as the censorship and persecution in her home country only intensified. She gradually and eventually lost everything she had to the government’s cruel grasp, but they couldn’t take her power and powerful voice of truth. Read the haunting, revealing account of tyranny and feel inspired to do your own part to end any injustices you encounter in your own homeland.
The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life by Simran Jeet Singh
This perspective-altering, highly-anticipated book isn’t available until July 19 but is available now for preorder. As the author grew up in South Texas, he faced countless instances of prejudice for his religion and culture (turbans were an easy target). But he never let it get to him. In fact, he fought fire with faith.
In order to survive and maintain his positive perspective, the author actually embraced the foundational Sikh “lessons to seek the good in every person and situation and to find positive ways to direct his energy.” It’s both a memoir and a spiritual guidepost. Anne Lamott, acclaimed New York Times bestselling author, already admits, “I love this book: The riveting story of Simran Jeet Singh’s life growing up as a Sikh kid in San Antonio with his brown skin and turban, written so beautifully, both somehow exciting and humble. It is rich in wisdom, religious and personal, and it is absolutely charming.” It sounds like exactly what we need exactly when we need it.
The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me by Keah Brown
Author, activist, journalist and screenwriter Keah Brown unapologetically loves herself and works hard at her many talents. She also happens to have cerebral palsy. Society told her, and other disabled persons, to hide from the rest of the world in shame and weakness. This woman, through both introspection and community activism, gives a voice to so many who were taught this horribly wrong lesson.
To complicate matters, she’s also black. In her book of essays, she bravely explores what it means to be black and disabled in a mostly able-bodied white America with a sunny smile in the face of cloudy days. She proves that disabled persons still love pop culture and are themselves worthy of love. Just try investigating the awesome hashtag she created, #DisabledAndCute. I dare you not to have a better day!
