Social justice books

Find these and other great books at the Luther Memorial library.

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Non-fiction
Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter, author Isabel Wilkerson, interviewed more than 1,200 people to tell the story of the great migration of African-Americans from World War I to the 1970’s. The book focuses on the personal stories of three African-Americans who uprooted their lives in the South to move to other parts of the United States. This historical account of the great migration, written in a storytelling style, is captivating and well worth the read.

Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the United States by Lenny Duncan
Non-fiction
Author Pastor Lenny Duncan is a formerly incarcerated black ELCA preacher. The ELCA is the whitest denomination in the United States. Pastor Duncan sees a correlation between the church’s lack of diversity with its lack of vitality. He calls on the church to confront the forces of the world that act against God (e.g., economic injustice, racism, homophobia). He provides a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in Jesus’s revolutionary path.

Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson
Non-fiction
Attorney Bryan Stevenson tells his story, beginning in 1983 when he was a 23-year-old Harvard Law intern. At that time, he joined a pro bono defense team of a capital punishment case in Georgia, which inspired him to represent prisoners on death row. He puts a human face on statistics and trends of mass incarceration resulting from state and federal policy changes in the late 20th century. Stevenson argues that, “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.”

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Non-fiction
This powerful memoir is a letter from the author to his teenage son, telling his own story and conveying hope for his son’s life. Coates came to understand that “race” does not fully explain “the breach between the world and me,” yet race exerts a crucial force, and young blacks like his son are vulnerable and in constant danger. He desperately wants his son to be able to live “apart from fear—even apart from me.”

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
Non-fiction
Howard Thurman was an African American minister, theologian, and civil rights leader. This book was published in 1949. He interprets the teachings of Jesus through the experience of the oppressed and discusses non-violent responses to oppression. Pastor John led a two-part adult form series based on this book several years ago.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Non-fiction
The book investigates a complex plot to murder wealthy Osage people in the early 1920’s after oil deposits were discovered beneath their land in Osage County, Oklahoma. The newly formed FBI investigated the murders. The book focuses on one community, which was just the tip of this horrendous iceberg. This book is important because it sheds light on a forgotten chapter in American history.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Non-fiction
The author is a civil rights lawyer. She esplains why the American prison system is “a stunningly comprehensive and well-designed system of racialized social control.” The vast majority of the more than two million people who live in American prisons are young black men who are harshly punished for possession or sale of illegal drugs, mostly marijuana. The author argues that the “warehousing” of inner-city youth is a new form of Jim Crow.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Fiction
This book is based on real-life atrocities that occur in the Deep South during the mid-20th century. The main character is a law abiding, hard-working, poor black boy. One day as he was hitchhiking to school, was picked up by someone driving a stolen car, for which he was blamed, found guilty, and sentenced to the Nickel Academy, a horrendous juvenile “reformatory” He becomes friends with a streetwise black fellow who has a different take on how to survive in the institution. This book is a quick (and disquieting) read with a surprising twist at the conclusion.

Me & White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
Non-fiction
This book teaches readers how to recognize and dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color.

Trans Allyship Workbook: Building Skills to Support Trans People in Our Lives by Davey Shlasko
Non-fiction
This is an accessible guide for any cis-person looking to be a better ally to the trans community, and/or any trans person who is looking to be a better ally to other trans folks with differing experiences.

Caste: The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
Non-fiction
This book examines the hidden caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations. She documents how the Nazis studied American racial systems to plan their annihilation of Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Non-fiction
The book comprises two autobiograhical essays that confront racial issues and tensions that corrupt and deform American life.

Who Stole My Bible: Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resistying Tyranny by Rev. Jennifer Butler
Nonfiction
White Nationalist “Christians” abuse sacred scripture to justify racism, sexism, reactionary politics and violence. This book shows us how to reclaim scripture as a counter-argument against those who hijack the Bible to harm others.

How the Word is Passed: A Reconing with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
Nonfiction
The author visits historical sites in the American South, New York City, and Dakar, Senegal, to assess how the sites deal with the topic of slavery. As he visits each site, he gains important insights about the elements involved in reckoning with slavery, not just as a past phenomenon, but as a foundational element of the United States whose legacy has continued to manifest in contemporary society.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Young Adult Fiction
Sixteen-year-old Staff Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she leaves and the suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when she witnesses the fatal police shooting of her childhood best friend, who was unarmed. The book explores how she navigates these worlds as she struggles for justice following the death of her friend.