The Marin County Free Library’s Mission is to provide welcoming, equitable and inclusive opportunities for all to connect, learn and explore. A core strategy to achieve our Mission is providing resources and information that will help our community learn about and more deeply engage in racial equity.
The resources contained in this post tackle subjects focused on making progress toward racial equity and inclusion while moving away from anti-Blackness and white supremacy. The following books and films are available for free with your library card. Many of the articles, podcasts, and other online resources are also free, on the Internet. These racial equity resources can help us all, as individuals and collectively as community members, to educate ourselves and take action for equity.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed ideas about how we can all help make a positive difference to combat racism and inequity in our multiple communities, our institutions, and ourselves. Feel free to contact us continue to share ideas about racial equity resources.
Films
All are available on Kanopy. All are free with your library card. No library card? No Problem. Learn how to get one here.
Answering the Call: The American Struggle for the Right to Vote
Race: The Power of An Illusion
Whose Streets: An Unflinching Look at the Ferguson Uprising
Books, E-books and E-audiobooks
Hoopla: E-books and e-audiobooks are available instantly, without a wait! *Restrictions to using Hoopla apply based on your home address.
Black History for Beginners by Denise Dennis (e-book)
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (e-book & e-audiobook)
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad (e-book & e-audiobook)
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (e-book)
So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (e-audiobook)
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi (e-audiobook)
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele (audiobook)
Check the library catalog for a great selection of books and audiobooks available to check out from the library and pick up at curbside.
E-books and e-audiobooks can be downloaded using Overdrive, or their mobile app, Libby. Items not currently available may be placed on hold for use when available.
Here's a list of titles to get you started:
An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz (book & e-book)
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (book, e-book, audiobook & e-audiobook)
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Eberhardt, Jennifer L. (book, e-book, audiobook & e-audiobook)
Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler (book & ebook)
Citizen: An American Lyric by Rankine, Claudia (book & e-audiobook)
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Rothstein, Richard (book, e-book & audiobook)
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper (book, e-book & e-audiobook)
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (book, e-book, audiobook & e-audiobook)
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta (book, e-book & e-audiobook)
The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist (book, e-book, audiobook & e-audiobook)
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (book, e-book & e-audiobook)
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (book, e-book & audiobook)
March (books one, two & three) by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin (graphic novel & e-book)
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad (book, e-book, e-audiobook)
Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King (book & e-book)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (book, e-book, audiobook, & e-audiobook)
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris (book, e-book & e-audiobook)
Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (book & e-book)
The Racial Healing Handbook by Anneliese A. Singh (e-book)
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (book, e-book, audiobook & e-audiobook)
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi (book, e-book &e-audiobook)
Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates (book & e-book)
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (book, e-book & audiobook)
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele (book, e-book, audiobook, e-audiobook)
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson (book & e-book)
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (book & e-book)
Reading with Children
Check out a Conscious Kids Book Kit. Each kit includes a selection of titles and a discussion guide. Topics include: Arts & Culture, Belonging, Biographies, Celebrating & Centering Kids of Color, Gender Expressions, Immigration, Let’s Talk About Race, and Social Justice.
2021 Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.
Actions for Equity
10 Ways to Start a Conversation About Race on the Race Forward website.
Beyond the Hashtag: How to Take Anti-Racist Action by Zyahna Bryant published in Teen Vogue, June 8, 2020
Black Lives Matter: 5 Ways to Help Others This Week by Macaire Douglas published in Marin Magazine, June 2, 2020.
Black People Need Stronger Allies--Here's How You Can Be One by Stephanie Long published in Refinery29, May 27, 2020.
From Donating to Volunteering: Here’s How to Support Black Lives Matter, Protesters and Equality Initiatives by Sanya Mansoor published in Time, June 9, 2020
How to Support Marin’s Black-Owned Businesses by Vicki Larsen published in the Marin Independent Journal, June 10, 2020.
What it Means to Be Anti-Racist by Anna North published in Vox, June 3, 2020.
Online Resources
Articles, Workbooks & More
Anti-Racism Resources for all Ages by Dr. Nicole A. Cooke, A project of the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair at the University of South Carolina, May 30, 2020.
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates published in The Atlantic in 2014.
Dismantling Racism Works Web Workbook was originally designed to support the Dismantling Racism Works 2-day basic workshop. The web-based workbook is now offered as a free resource.
Booklists
12 Must-Read Authors According to Toni Morrison by Katisha Smith, published in Bookriot, February 18, 2020
13 Books to Educate Yourself on Antiracism, According to Black Women by Erin Parker, published in Glamour on June 5, 2020
An Antiracist Reading List by Ibram X. Kendi published in The New York Times on May, 29, 2020
Black Stories Matter by Aminah Mae Safi on Bookshop
BLM Recommended Reading List, Summer 2020, CJCL Newsletter—Special Edition, The California Judicial Center Library
Don’t Just Read About Racism—Read Stories About Black People Living by Nic Stone published in Cosmopolitan on June 8, 2020.
Hopeful Reading List on Well-Read Black Girl
Looking for Books About Racism? Experts Suggest These Must-Read Titles for Adults and Kids by Anika Reed and Hannah Yasharoff published in USA Today, June 12, 2020
Schomburg Center Black Liberation Reading List by Schomburg Center Staff, New York Public Library June 9, 2020
Several Antiracist Books Are Selling Out. Here's What Else Black Booksellers and Publishers Say You Should Read by Suyin Haynes, published in Time on June 2, 2020.
Podcasts
Content contributors: April, Chantel, Linda, Natalie, Shereen & Tom
