Books I've Read and Books I am Reading

The biggest way in my opinion to start on the path of equitability is to inform yourself. Fortunately social justice is getting a lot of attention and so there are some good sources of info. I'd like to discuss a couple of books I have read as well as some I am working on.

White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son by Tim Wise- Tim Wise is the guru of White Privilege. He has written tons of articles on the subject as well as this book. If you want an inside look as well as an extremely eye opening book on the subject of white privilege, look no further. I found many fantastic examples that I hadn't thought about in this book. His book is approachable, and easy to read. I barely put it down as each page seemed to have a new revalation for me to think about. If you are serious about change than you have to read this book.

Race Manners for the 21st Century: Navigating the Minefield Between Black and White Americans in an Age of Fear by Bruce A. Jacobs- If you have been doing reading already, some of this book may seem repetitous. However, if you want a first good book on the subject of race relations this is a great one. Not that the book offers nothing to a more seasoned reader of social justice issues. I found many fantastic examples, and Jacob's offers excellent summaries at the end of each chapter to help get the ideas across

Working Toward Whiteness, How Americas Immigrants Became White: The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs by David Roediger- You know we haven't always been classified as white, who knew? Well Roediger does and that is what his book is all about. Now this one reads like a textbook. Lots of facts, figures, and relevant dates make it for slower reading. What I like about it is the amount of info in here. I am still working on it, and it sheds light on the history of white people in America and how it took awhile until we came to this melting pot that became the white race and how we lost a lot of ourselves in the process.

Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American History by James W. Loewen- Oh my what a proud tradition we white folks have, and Loewen brings up yet another one. Sundown Towns are those lovely little towns and cities that had the "Don't let the sun set on your black ass in _______" signs outside of them. Think they're a thing of the past, think again. Loewen is adept at bringing out into the open a rarely talked about part of American History. I just started this one, but it is quite good. For those who want to take the road that things have gotten better and why are we dragging all this ugliness up again, I would say read this book and answer your own question.


So there you have it. On later posts I will give some links to excellent sites for educators as a well as anyone interested in furthuring the cause of Social Justice. Happy Reading.