Books
Here are some reading materials.
Resources
St. Louis Public Library
Check if a book is available from the St. Louis Public Library, find out where your nearest branch is, or how to get a library card (if you live in the city, it's free!).
St. Louis County Library
All of the above, except change city to county.
WorldCat
And if you're not from St. Louis at all, WorldCat will help you locate a book nearby.
Municipal Library Consortium
St. Louis County's library network
Our Kids - The American Dream in Crisis Robert D. Putnam
Putnam examines the growing socioeconomic divide that affects our country's youth, and subsequent access to opportunities.
South Side Girls Marcia Chatelain
South Side Girls explores the impact the Great Migration had on young women and girls, and their ability to find their place in a very changing and rapidly evolving world
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Jeff Hobbs
A complex story about Robert Peace, an African American male who graduated from Yale, and was later found dead, with interviews compiled by his college roommate and author, Jeff Hobbs.
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces Radley Balko
The pre Ferguson account of how the unrest of the 60s created the SWAT unit, which led to the use of military strategies by police, and began to blur the distinction between office and soldier.
The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander
Alexander challenges the idea of a post racial America in the wake of a black president and more, examining the legal processes by which African Americans in some communities have been relegated to second class citizens.
A People’s History of Poverty in America Stephen Pimpare
Pimpare describes what it’s like to be impoverished in the United States through the accounts of indigent Americans.
Covering Kenji Yoshino
An analysis and personal memoir from NYU law professor, Kenji Yoshino examining the challenges of societal views on diversity as they affect civil rights and culture.
The Other Wes Moore Wes Moore
Two black men with the same name and similar backgrounds face very different fates. One is an accomplished scholar, the other wound up serving a life sentence in prison. Read about their journeys, and unexpected friendship.
Beautiful Struggle Ta-Nehisi Coates
A tale of two black boys, with the guidance of their father, journeying through “inner city adolescence” within the challenging urban environment of Baltimore.
The Meaning of Freedom Angela Y. Davis
A collection of twelve speeches by Davis that explore issues of power, race, gender, class, incarceration, conservatism and the importance of social change in America.
Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Postracial America (New Directions in American History) Kimberly Jade Norwood
St. Louis based Washington University professor, Kimberly Norwood’s collection of research that examines race in society, and colorism inside different cultural communities.
Black Prophetic Fire Cornel West
Discussions regarding the contemporary relevance of notable civil rights leaders including Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X with German scholar Christa Buschendorf.
How White People Can Work for Racial Justice Paul Kivel
How the white community can work as allies in the face of institutional and societal racism.
Creative Community Organizing Si Kahn
Legendary community organizer and musician, Si Kahn, provides insights on how to creatively build a more just society.
The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson
Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the Great Migration of African Americans from the south to northern and western cities.
Black Wealth/White Wealth A New Perspective on Racial Inequality Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro
Two economists explore socieoconomic inequities that are fueled by policy and power structure.
The Bridge Over the Racial Divide William Julius Wilson
Wilson, a Harvard professor outlines the connections between race and class as it contributes to ever-growing inequities across the country, and suggest multiracial political and power structures to combat the challenges.
Race Matters Cornel West
In West's early work, he examines and challenges constructs, schemes and issues in the African American community.
A Different Mirror: History of Multicultural America Ronald T. Takaki
Takaki explores the question of what it means to be an American through the legacy of groups who have been historically marginalized yet significant in building the country.
Liberal Racism: How Fixating on Race Subverts the American Dream Jim Sleeper
Sleeper challenges the ideals and myth of a colorblind society to move beyond underlying racial resentments in America.
Losing the Race: Self-sabotage in Black America John H. McWhorter
Berkeley linguistics professor examines the areas in which he feels African Americans hold themselves back from success in America.
Parting the Waters : America in the King years, 1954-63 Taylor Branch
The first book in the Pulitzer Prize winning triology that exmines race, violence, and democracy against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.
Pillar of fire : America in the King years, 1963-65 Taylor Branch
The second work in Branch's triology.
At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 Taylor Branch
The concluding work in Branch's trilogy.
Five Smooth Stones; A Novel Anna Fairbairn
The 1996 classic about forbidden love between a white woman and a black man in the Depression -era in New Orleans.
