These are people and things I think you should know about. My hope is that you will take the time to google these people, watch some of the TV shows, movies, and documentaries, and read some of the books listed. But don’t stop there. Go learn about the people and things referred to here, as well as other people and things similar to these suggestions.
PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
Muhammad Ali
Maya Angelou
James Baldwin
Harry Belafonte
Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture)
Shirley Chisholm
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Angela Davis
Ossie Davis
Ruby Dee
Frederick Douglass
Ava DuVernay
Jane Elliott
Marcus Garvey
Langston Hughes
George M. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson
Spike Lee
Malcolm X (Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz)
Thurgood Marshall
Bree Newsome
THINGS TO READ
Anything by James Baldwin
Anything by Octavia Butler
Anything by Zora Neale Hurston
Anything by Toni Morrison
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and other books by Maya Angelou
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, adapted from Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewel, illustrated by Aurélia Durand
THINGS TO WATCH
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
The Color Purple
Do the Right Thing
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Girlfriends
Living Single
Malcolm X
Moonlight
A Raisin in the Sun
13th
Watchmen (TV series)
When They See Us
I couldn’t talk about all of that music and not give you something to listen to!
“Grandma’s Hands”—Bill Withers
“The Point of It All”—Anthony Hamilton
“The World Is Yours”—Nas
“Tired of Being Alone”—Al Green
“Let’s Stay Together”—Al Green
“Naima”—John Coltrane
“Central Park West”—John Coltrane
“Alright”—Kendrick Lamar
“XXX”—FEAT. U2. Kendrick Lamar
“F.U.B.U.”—Solange
“Don’t Touch My Hair”—Solange
“Borderline (An Ode to Self Care)”—Solange
“Complexion (A Zulu Love)”—Kendrick Lamar
“Formation”—Beyoncé
“Love Bomb” (Album Version, Edited)—N.E.R.D
“Hol’ Up”—Kendrick Lamar
“What’s Happening Brother”—Marvin Gaye
“Thinkin Bout You”—Frank Ocean
“Sweet Life”—Frank Ocean
“Nikes”—Frank Ocean
“Self Control”—Frank Ocean
“To Be Young, Gifted and Black”—Donny Hathaway
“Ms. Jackson”—OutKast
“He Say She Say”—Lupe Fiasco
“U, Black Maybe”— Common
“Before I Let Go” (Edit/Remastered)—Maze
“Joy and Pain” (Remastered)—Maze
“Sweet Love”—Anita Baker
“One Step Ahead”—Aretha Franklin
“I Say a Little Prayer”—Aretha Franklin
“Blue in Green”—Miles Davis
“When I Fall in Love”—Miles Davis Quintet
“I Do (Cherish You)”—98 Degrees
“Come Close”—Common
“You Got Me”—The Roots
“Shook Ones, Pt. II”—Mobb Deep
“The Next Movement”—The Roots
“Electric Relaxation”—A Tribe Called Quest
“Find a Way”—A Tribe Called Quest
“Renee”—Lost Boyz
“Sideline Story”—J. Cole
“4:44”—JAY-Z
“Legacy”—JAY-Z
“Umi Says”—Mos Def
Page numbers refer to the hardcover edition.
1: WE WANT YOU TO SEE RACE
pp. 17–18: Scarsdale was listed as the second-wealthiest town in America in 2019: Shelly Hagan and Wei Lu, “These Are the Wealthiest Towns in the U.S.,” Bloomberg, February 13, 2019, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-13/silicon-valley-suburb-snags-richest-spot-in-u-s-for-third-year.
2: WE CAN ENJOY ED SHEERAN, BTS, AND CARDI B
p. 39: Netflix spent $100 million to keep Friends: Edmund Lee, “Netflix Will Keep ’Friends’ Through Next Year in a $100 Million Agreement,” New York Times, December 4, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/business/media/netflix-friends.html.
p. 42: Their last album went diamond. . . . have ever gone diamond: “Top Tallies: Diamond Awards,” Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=DA&col=format&ord=asc#search_section.
p. 54: It’s also tech. . . . It’s statistically proven: See, for instance, Forbes Technology Council, “12 Ways Diversity Makes a Difference in Tech,” Forbes, July 12, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/07/12/12-ways-diversity-makes-a-difference-in-tech/#7b57541f2bc6.
3: CERTAIN THINGS ARE RACIST, EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW IT
p. 72: the persuasive power of personal interactions versus data: See, for instance, Johanne Boisjoly et al., “Empathy or Antipathy? The Impact of Diversity,” American Economic Review 96, no. 5 (December 2006), https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.96.5.1890.
4: YOU COULD AT LEAST TRY TO PRONOUNCE MY NAME CORRECTLY
pp. 86–87: proposed bills to limit Chicano, African-American, or Asian-American studies: See, for instance, Kelly McEvers, “Arizona’s Ethnic Studies Ban in Public Schools Goes to Trial,” All Things Considered, NPR, July 14, 2017, https://www.npr.org/2017/07/14/537291234/arizonas-ethnic-studies-ban-in-public-schools-goes-to-trial.
8: NO, I DIDN’T GET HERE BY AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (AND IF I DID, SO WHAT?)
p. 156: affirmative action programs benefiting white women and poor whites more than other groups: See Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, “Framing Affirmative Action,” Michigan Law Review 105, no. 123 (2206), http://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr_/vol105/iss1/4, and Victoria M. Massie, “White Women Benefit the Most from Affirmative Action—and Are Among Its Fiercest Opponents,” Vox, June 23, 2016,