Black History Month Week 2 Recommended Reading List

Posted on Oct 16, 2023 in Uncategorized |

1. Essential Writings of the American Black Church -Edited By: John Hunt

BLACK CHURCH HISTORY is a big part of African-American history. The Essential Writings of the Black American Church is not just a history of the African American church. It highlights their perseverance and faith in the one true God who would rescue them, just as he had done for Moses in the Exodus.

The Essential Writings of the American Black Church reveals the tireless faith of African American believers in the one true God, whose justice reigns supreme, and to whom all men are ultimately accountable. This book will challenge us wherever we are: in our classrooms, places of study, with our colleagues at work, among our families, and in our Christian fellowships. For the whole volume shrieks out at us, at the top of its voice, “How we treat one another is of paramount importance. We are all equal in the sight of God.” Following God’s agenda will transform us.

2. The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

In The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby takes readers back to the roots of sustained racism and injustice in the American church. Filled with powerful stories and examples of American Christianity’s racial past, Tisby’s historical narrative highlights the obvious ways people of faith have actively worked against racial justice, as well as the complicit silence of racial moderates. Identifying the cultural and institutional tables that must be flipped to bring about progress, Tisby provides an in-depth diagnosis for a racially divided American church and suggests ways to foster a more equitable and inclusive environment among God’s people.

3. Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women’s Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century by William L. Andrews

Jarena Lee, Zilpha Elaw, and Julia Foote underwent a revolution in their own sense of self that helped to launch a feminist revolution in American religious life and in American society as a whole.

Sisters of the Spirit… should interest a wider audience…. These fascinating accounts can stand on their own…. Mr. Andrews has made them even more accessible by providing a comprehensive introduction and helpful footnotes… but he does not intrude on the text itself.” ―New York Times Book Review

… informative and inspiring reading.” ―The Journal of American History

4. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and re-energizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

YOUTH BOOKS:

1. How to Be a (Young) Antiracist

How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice.
 

2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds (Author), Ibram X. Kendi

This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race.

The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.

Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas–and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.

KIDS BOOK:

1. Who Was? (Series)

Books about important figures in history for kids, including Harriet Tubman, Louis Armstorng, Martin Lurther King Jr., Barack Obama, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, and many more.)

2. God’s Very Good Idea Storybook: A True Story of God’s Delightfully Different Family by Trillia J. Newbell

Beautifully illustrated hardback book celebrating diversity and explaining how we can be part of God’s family through the saving work of Christ.
God’s very good idea is to have lots of different people enjoying loving him and loving each other. This stunningly illustrated journey from the garden of Eden to God’s heavenly throne room shows how despite our sinfulness, everyone can be a part of God’s very good idea through the saving work of Christ.

This book celebrates diversity and will help children see how people from all ethnic and social backgrounds are valuable to God and how Jesus came to rescue all kinds of people. It will also excite them about being part of church – God’s delightfully different family.