National Read-a-Book Day
Goodness, there’s a lot of stuff out there to read when it comes to doing anti-racist work. You can (and I recommend that you do) spend your life expanding your library to involve more BIPOC authors, but let me give you some guidelines on how to do this, which I have picked up over the course of my life.
Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!
Listen, if you have the funds, you ABSOLUTELY should be buying books by Black authors from Black-owned bookshops. More on that in a minute. But if you don’t have the money, you aren’t left bereft. Google to find out what your local library is, go to their website, and learn their process for applying for a library card during COVID-19. Do that, then do some research to figure out what their online borrowing process is. Regardless of what they offer online, you can always download the Overdrive app. Then, you can borrow these books FOR FREE, and many of them come as audio books.
Enjoy free stuff while it lasts.
Again, if you’ve got the money, you should absolutely buy things. But if you don’t, plenty of resources are out there for free. Right now, Stamped from the Beginning is available for free on Spotify, for example. NPR’s Throughline does fantastic work to give you an overview of things and many episodes come with reading lists. Keep your eye out for resources when they come out for free, if free is something that helps you.
Buy from BIPOC-owned bookstores.
Listen, I’m not going to mess around here. Amazon is evil and should only be used as a last resort. So if you’re looking to buy books, prioritize buying them from stores owned by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Oprah’s got a list of 125 Black-owned stores here. If for some reason you can’t do that, at least buy from independent book stores. Or head back over to your favorite search engine and find a local bookstore and buy from them. If they don’t have a book in stock, they can order it for you.
Do you know why we do this? Why we support local book stores, independent book stores, and BIPOC-owned stores? Because money absolutely matters and it matters who we give our money to. Rich white families are doing fine. If we can spend our money elsewhere, we’re helping. Now, don’t think of this as reparations. That’s a different thing, but you can read the case for reparations here.
Buy books written and recommended by BIPOC authors.
Buy books by BIPOC authors. Buy them all. Buy children’s books, buy YA books, buy fiction books, buy fantasy books, buy non-fiction books. Buy books that tackle difficult things and books that celebrate BIPOC joy and books that just show BIPOC characters doing BIPOC things and living their lives as normal humans, because THEY ARE.
But when it comes to anti-racist resources in particular, buy from BIPOC authors. There are plenty of anti-racism resources out there. You don’t need to buy something by a white person. Yes, I hear you, White Fragility speaks to you, and there’s a lot of good reflecting that comes out of reading that book in groups. But friends, you have one precious life. Live boldly. Read books by BIPOC authors. Here’s a list of anti-racist resources from Ibram X. Kendi and here are 44 books by Black authors from Oprah magazine.
Have questions? Ask!
Well, really, ask the internet first. There is an amazing amount of knowledge out there about how to do anti-racist work. Prioritize takes from BIPOC writes, but listen, so many people have given their time and energy to educating white people. Use the information they’ve put out there for free before you ask anyone else.
Then, if you’re still lost, ask that white friend of yours who’s always posting anti-racist stuff on their social media. This might or might not help, depending on whether they walk the talk, but if they’re doing good work, they’ll be able to point you to good resources from BIPOC authors.
Whatever you do, my white friends, DON’T ASK YOUR BLACK FRIENDS FOR HELP HERE. Why not? Because they are dealing with a whole host of other things. Don’t ask them to do extra emotional labor for you in the midst of a time of racial crisis. Do the best to do the labor for yourself. I promise, once you start digging in, it’s easier than you think it is.
When you’re in learning mode, it’s okay to just listen and lurk. Follow BIPOC authors and thinkers on facebook, twitter, instagram, wherever you go to on a daily basis, and when they shout out other authors and thinkers, follow them too. Listen. Watch. Pay attention. These people are offering you a labor of love, for free, on the internet. Listen to them and follow their suggestions. You don’t need to comment, you don’t need to ask them questions, just be a sponge. Absorb. Say thank you, if you have to say anything at all.
Now. If you don’t think that you need to do all this work, if you think that you don’t have a racist bone in your body, if you think that discrimination is a part of your life, I invite you to read something different. (And even if this isn’t you, I invite you to read this work of short fiction.) It’s called The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. You can read it for free by clicking here.
Sit with this story, please. Think about what you would do if you lived in Omelas. And if you decide that things are not okay in Omelas, go back up to the beginning of this post. Start this journey again.