These books about racism aren’t a cure, but they might help broaden your mind and make you a more compassionate person.
It is impossible for white people to know how it is to live as any person of colour. I have Russian, Polish, Jewish, and Mongolian heritage, but despite the latter, I am perceived to be a white American by most people, most of the time, and I benefit from this privilege. The hate that I frequently encountered as a child, and occasionally still receive today for having “Asian eyes” (that’s the nice version), “ruining Christmas” or being “commie scum” (yes, children said this to me) makes me very aware of the white privilege that I do have.
I tell you this not so that you feel sorry for me, but so that you understand me when I say that experiencing racist, xenophobic, and anti-semitic bullying did not preclude me from being an imperfect ally. Nor did the discrimination I experience for being short, being female, being neurodivergent, or for having an invisible chronic illness. And I am still not always where I want to be.
It is an uncomfortable reality that if you are white, you most probably, even if in only a small way, have made a person of colour feel unsafe, unwelcome, or less than. This does not mean an outright racist remark or action. I’m also talking about small micro-aggressions, socially unaware remarks, and a general lack of awareness of your privilege. You may not be aware of it, you may have forgotten about it, you may not have meant it that way, but you have more than likely done it.
I know that I have done this; in particular during a time when I was hurting myself and too immature to understand that lashing out at others wasn’t a solution. But that isn’t an excuse. What we have done matters, and what we do going forward matters, as well. Read about how to be a better ally, learn correct terminology, donate to organisations that are already fighting, and educate yourself.
Because I don’t want to be the uneducated person I used to be, I’ve learned to shut up and do a lot of listening. Sometimes that doesn’t mean physically listening, but rather reading and hearing someone else’s story.
I do my best to actively read diversely and to read about racial issues, discrimination and disparity. I try to incorporate this into both fiction and non-fiction reading. That isn’t always easy, both emotionally and literally. If you look at the publication dates of a lot of these books, you’ll notice that most of them only came about in the last 5 years. That’s largely in part because many marginalised writers are only now being given a more mainstream voice. And there is still a VERY long way to go.
Please read widely
It is important to read widely from all genres. You can’t just read a bunch of racism books and call it a day. If you only read books by BIPOC writers about racism, this is merely another way of reducing them to racial stereotypes, of pigeonholing and declaring, “you don’t have a voice worth hearing outside of these topics.”
Educate yourself, but then please pick up a romance, a fantasy or whatever other genre you enjoy. We are first and foremost a travel blog, so I like to recommend diversifying your travel media with more Black travel bloggers. As a dark tourist, I do lean heavily towards macabre media and the darker side of life. I read books about survival (admittedly not my most diverse genre), ‘Comfort Women’ and different types of dark tourism.
Important: please do not think that reading diversely is enough. It’s not. You need to stand up to racism whenever and wherever you can. Even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it can have a negative outcome for you. This is not easy, and I know that I, too, can do better.
For this booklist I have chosen to focus on non-fiction stories in order to really hammer home the realities of everyday racism. These are true stories of racism; they happened to real people. For that reason I have not included any books by non-BIPOC authors, with one exception due to the lack of books available on the topic.
Books About Racism
I have included books about racism from all over the world as I think it is self-evident at this point that many non-Americans don’t believe this is their problem (or Americans, for that matter). For ease, the list is broken down by country, although all of these books transcend borders and some are only ‘about’ a country in as much as the author is from there.
I have NOT included books about genocides. While many of these were racially motivated (although certainly not all), and they are important conversations to have, I think for many people starting on this journey, jumping from everyday racism to genocide is a lot.
This is not a perfect list; I can only read so many things. Please feel free to recommend any other books about racism via email. I would be particularly interested in ones from countries not listed below, or about marginalised groups not as well-represented below.
Transparency
Please note: We are Amazon affiliates because that is the best worldwide affiliate company for books. However, we do not want to benefit monetarily off of a ‘trendy’ topic. Any money made from sales through these links we will be donating to various organisations fighting equality around the world. The affiliate sales from Amazon aren’t much, especially as we are small blog, but it’s something.
Whenever we have made enough for a significant donation, the money will be donated to For the Gworls, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and the Partnership With Native Americans. Depending on earnings, we might not get every foundation every month, and it may well be rotational.
HOWEVER: We strongly encourage you, especially for these books, to reconsider and either use your public library OR support one of these Black owned bookstores in the US and UK (sorry, we currently only have lists for the US and UK), and Indigenous owned bookstores in the US and Canada.
Books About Racism in the United States
It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are more books about racism in the United States than any other country. This isn’t to say other countries don’t have a racism problem, as you’ll see further below, but the USA was quite literally built on the backs of slaves and while slavery may be illegal today, the scars and damage it caused have merely been plastered over – and shifted into other systems of oppression.
Medical Apartheid – Harriet A. Washington
This book is so hard to talk about without feeling a bit sick, and very angry.
I know I’m not the greatest test subject here, but it seems to me that the average American would be more likely to tell you about the medical experiments that happened during the Holocaust rather than those that happened within their own borders. Maybe they couldn’t identify Josef Mengele by name, but mention disturbed experiments on twins, dwarves, and disabled people, and you’re likely to receive some form of recognition.
Medical Apartheid brings to light many of the horrific medical crimes committed against Black people throughout the history of the United States. And if that doesn’t make your stomach churn enough, it further examines how the medical profession has continued to help oppress them through to the modern day.
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America – Thomas King
The Inconvenient Indian is an easy-entry history of indigenous life and oppression in North America (both the United States and Canada). The book examines the relationships between different Native tribes and non-Natives from first encounters to modern day. It also discusses how various foreign constructs such as capitalism and religion have contributed to the persecution of Native Americans and First Nations in Canada.
King is part-Cherokee, and so he handles the history with precision and care. Although his anger is evident, which might make it an uncomfortable read at times for some, it is laced with humour, as well.
You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain – Phoebe Robinson
Comedian Phoebe Robinson’s hilarious essay collection on race, gender and pop is definitely one of the lighter books on racism on this list. But that doesn’t make it any less hard-hitting.
Although it is sheathed in comic relief, reading about Phoebe’s experiences of just generally being considered an afterthought in a world catered to whiteness, like the time she was told “she comes off as too smart and, therefore, less likable,” is still a pretty good wake up call.
Even if you can’t relate to Phoebe’s experiences, you’ll still feel a kinship over her love of Michael Fassbender.
So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
If you’re feeling a bit lost on how to navigate this new landscape, and you just want an easily accessible, yet super comprehensible book on race politics in the USA, So You Want to Talk About Race should be one of the first books you pick up. You should pick it up regardless, really. This book is written to educate and teach white people about racial injustices, discrimination, everyday micro-aggressions, and everything else we often overlook or ignore. Ijeoma Oluo doesn’t hold your hand; she just tells it like it is.
Although in many ways this book was written as a reaction to the 2016 elections, Ijeoma Oluo makes it clear that this was only the tip of the iceberg – white people just haven’t been paying attention.
Buy So You Want to Talk About Race
The Fire Next Time – James Baldwin
100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, James Baldwin wrote two letters to his 14 year old nephew to explain all the ways in which racial prejudice and discrimination still played a very real part in the make-up on American life.
All of James Baldwin’s pain, frustration, fear and hope for America can be found within these pages. He calls to “end the racial nightmare” of the United States, and for us to come together as people. Sadly, even 58 years later, despite all of Baldwin’s work in the Civil Rights Movement, Black people are still fighting for the same thing.
The Fire Next Time is such a short and powerful book, there’s really no excuse not to read it. I’ve read it twice.
We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future – Deepa Iyer
Following 9/11, Islamaphobia became the new norm for many Americans. Targeted because of their skin colour and demonised as terrorists, many no longer felt safe in the only home they’d ever known. And what the media very often failed to portray was the severity of this abuse and harassment. Anti-Muslim violence skyrocketed. It didn’t matter that many of them weren’t even Arab or Muslim; simply looking different was enough to get you killed in America.
Activist Deepa Iyer’s book We Too Sing America looks at just what it means to be American for those of Middle Eastern and South Asian backgrounds in a post 9/11 world.
We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation – Jeff Chang
I’m always impressed this book found its way to me. I picked it up completely by accident about a month after it was published at an Oxfam in Norwich, England. It was brand new, and I have to assume the person it was intended for got nothing out of it. I had no idea what this book was going to be. If I’m being honest, while I’d read plenty on war, genocide, religious persecution and gender politics, this was probably one of the first non-fiction books on racism I picked up, certainly one of the first from the US.
So what’s it about?
A little bit of everything. It’s honestly astounding how Jeff Chang fit so much into such a compact book. We Gon’ Be Alright links together various social movements and important moments in American history to examine how we got to this point. Chang argues that the US never truly desegregated and it is merely stuck in a cycle of abuse.
We Gon’ Be Alright is so smart and so uncomfortable you won’t be able to stop thinking about it.
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
– The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America edited by Nikesh Shukla
– Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
– Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People by Ben Crump
Books About Racism in Canada
Very often I hear about Canada as if it were a veritable paradise. Look, Canada may be miles ahead of the USA in many ways (I’m looking at you free health care), but my god does Canada have its own set of issues. Canada is not paradise. And, very much like its Southern neighbour racism is rampant. While I haven’t read as many racism books from Canadians, but the ones I have read are excellent!
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir – Samra Habib
As a member of a minority sect in Pakistan, Samra Habib grew up being taught to hide who she was for her own safety – a lesson she would carry with her well into adulthood as she struggled to understand her own identity.
In Pakistan, she was hated for being an Ahmadi Muslim. As a refugee in Canada, she was bullied for the colour of her skin. Following this traumatic childhood, when she is old enough, Samra is forced into an arranged marriage. She does her best to live by her mother’s example, to be subservient and a Good Muslim Woman, but comes to realise this is not the life she wants.
As Samra begins to navigate her sexuality and womanhood, she must also combat a lifetime of racial and sexual oppression that has very much come to define her.
I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter – David Chariandy
Anyone who knows me, knows I have a fraught relationship with my own father, so books like I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You always hit me hard. And this was no exception.
Following a sudden and unexpected act of bigotry, writer David Chariandy finds himself trying to come to terms with how to explain to his young daughter how the world will perceive her based on her skin colour – and as a woman. The book draws on his own experiences as the son of Black and South Asian migrants from Trinidad, and also dives into the history of slavery and oppression within Trinidad and Canada.
As he shares these harsh realities with his daughter, David also talks about how proud and impressed he is with the person she is becoming. He looks to both prop her up and support her, but also prepare her in a way his parents never could.
Buy I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– Angry Queer Somali Boy by Mohamed Abdulkarim
– The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole
– Black Like Who? by Rinaldo Walcott
Books About Racism in the United Kingdom
As soon as protests broke out across the USA, people around the world started declaring their support of Black Lives Matter, and people in the UK were no different. But many [white] Brits, like many [white] Europeans, were pretty quick to confirm that while they supported BLM, while their countries might not be perfect, racism was very much a thing of the past for them. These books about racism in the United Kingdom are just the dose of reality we all need.
The Good Immigrant – edited by Nikesh Shukla
Something that I noticed pretty quickly about the UK was how casually racist it can be. When British people say they don’t have a problem with racism, it is because they are totally clueless to all of the seemingly inconsequential things white British people say, which are normal to them. But it isn’t normal – or okay – to call takeout food by racial slurs, glorify TV shows with blackface or debate if terrorism really applies to white people. These are all real life examples, by the way.
Britain has a racism problem, and The Good Immigrant exposes and examines it from every angle imaginable.
The essays in The Good Immigrant are thought-provoking, heartbreaking, eye-opening and, yes, uncomfortable. But you’ll be a better person for having read it.
Brit(ish) – Afua Hirsch
I was first made aware of Afua Hirsch at the 2018 Africa Writes festival in London. Of all the amazing authors I heard speak, hers was one of the books I was most excited to pick up ASAP. And like every book on this list, I’m so glad I did!
In Brit(ish) Afua talks about what it means to be a biracial British woman today. She’s from Britain, as are her family, friends and partner. She is British. Yet she is constantly having to prove her Britishness, and reassert her identity.
Much like in The Good Immigrant the reality presented in Brit(ish) is that not only does Britain have a racism problem, but the UK’s attempts to homogenise colour and whitewash its history has failed.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
In the wake of the George Floyd protests, white people have undoubtedly heard or seen many Black people state that they are exhausted. And they have every right to be. Black people are sick of fighting for rights and advantages they should have had since birth.
In 2014 Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote a blogpost that went viral entitled “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” because she, like so many others, was already exhausted from trying to explain it to us.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race was published in 2017 and expands upon this discussion in that blog post. It asks us to check our privilege and to, for once, just shut up and listen.
Buy Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Natives: Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire – Akala
Natives is more than a biography. Through his personal account of dealing with racism from a very young age, Akala delivers with this polemic a powerful and aggressive discussion on race and class. Discussing such events as the first time he was stopped and searched by police as a child and his crushing realisation that, as his mother was white, she would “never really ‘get it’” when it came to the racism he would encounter, Akala opens the discussion out to examine where we are as a society today.
As he pragmatically covers topics such as the police, education, political identity, and more personal subjects like the relationship between different generations of his family, Akala seeks to find methods to help humanity become liberated from all forms of oppression and exploitation resulting from Britain’s legacy of race and empire.
I have heard the audiobook of Natives is even better than the book, and might try and listen to it myself this year!
The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write – edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
The Things I Would Tell You focuses on the racism experienced by Muslim women in Britain. Much like in the United States, Islamaphobia is, unfortunately, alive and well in the UK.
In “Staying Alive Through Brexit” Aisha Mirza writes about the racism she endures in a post-Brexit Britain. She, too, is exhausted.
This collection is full of personal stories, essays and even poems, all written by British Muslim women. However, although the authors are all British, the stories within are not, such as the story of Farzana Parveen, a 30 year old Pakistani woman who got pregnant out of wedlock and was beaten to death by four members of her family and several other community members.
Buy The Things I Would Tell You
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– It’s Not About the Burqa edited by Mariam Khan
– Black and British by David Olusoga
– Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
Books About Racism in Germany
There’s a lot of literature on how Germany has confronted its racism problem following WWII. Germany may be further along its path to recovery than the USA and others on this list, but it’s not cured. Perhaps people believe racism in Germany is finished because there are so few books about racism in Germany, and most of those have to do with WWII (such as the books below). But perhaps this has more to do with immigrants and BIPOC citizens and residents feeling like they can’t talk about race, as addressed in this excellent article by Mithu Sanyal. Mithu actually contributed to an anthology (not currently available in English), which was a direct response to The Good Immigrant (above) entitled Eure Heimat ist Unser Albtraum (Your Homeland is our Nightmare). And if that title doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about racism in Germany…
Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany – Hans J Massaquoi (Germany)
Although I have read a lot of Holocaust literature over the years, one aspect I knew very little about was what life was like for Black Germans during WWII.
Hans J Massaquoi was a double minority – not only was he a Black kid growing up in a country with almost no other Black people, but he was biracial. He stuck out like a sore thumb.
As Hitler rose to power, Hans believed that he, like his friends and classmates, was part of the utopian Germany Hitler was talking about. Why wouldn’t he be? After all, he loved this country, too.
But while Hans was fortunate enough to never wind up in a concentration camp, the hatred and racism he experienced as a young Black boy in Nazi Germany was nonetheless heartbreaking. Destined to Witness spans Massaquoi’s childhood during WWII, his young adulthood in postwar Germany, and his life in his father’s homeland Liberia after the war, where he experienced a whole new kind of prejudice.
Despite taking place over 50 years ago, Destined to Witness is still dishearteningly relevant.
This was one of my top books last year and I want everyone to read it. The Holocaust continues to be a ‘hot topic’ which is good, it is something that should never be forgotten. But unfortunately the lives of non-Jewish minorities who suffered during WWII continue to be ignored for Jewish narratives and that is dangerous. I know A LOT about the Holocaust, I have studied it my entire life and yet it wasn’t until last year that I learned about what happened to Black people living in Germany during this time. Read this book.
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair, translated by Carolin Sommer
Books About Racism in South Africa
Not surprisingly, there is a good deal of literature from South Africa about Apartheid (and if you don’t know what that is, perhaps pick up some of these books). But, while many of South Africa’s racism books are about Apartheid, that isn’t to say racism in South Africa is dead and gone. No, unfortunately it is alive and well, as two of these books will highlight.
Zuma’s Bastard – Azad Essa (South Africa)
I first heard about this book because Azad Essa was working in Doha, Qatar where my mother was living (and I would later live) working for Al Jazeera. And as soon as I read it, I knew it was gonna be a runaway success. But it wasn’t.
Zuma’s Bastard is one of my favourite books of all time, not just about racism, but in general. The book comes from Essa’s blog, Accidental Academic, which sadly is no longer up, and covers a whole range of topics from flying post-9/11 as an Arab man, to the Israel-Palestine conflict to Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa.
Although a lot of Essa’s discussions are on politics and power, as an Arab man living in South Africa, race and religion are also central to his life and these essays. He also has some of the best commentary on Islamaphobia I’ve ever read.
If nothing else, reading this book in public is a great conversation starter. I promise.
Born a Crime – Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah, the host of the Daily Show, was born in South Africa during Apartheid. As the son of a Black Xhosa mother and white Swiss father, he was, quite literally, born a crime. Because of his light brown skin colour, Trevor wasn’t considered Black or white, but rather a classification specific to South Africa: Coloured.
Born a Crime is the story of Trevor Noah’s childhood as a Coloured kid who does not belong anywhere in South Africa, and trying to find that belonging. But it is also the story of Trevor’s fiercely independent, ardently religious mom.
If you only read one book on this list, please make it Born a Crime. I honestly think this is one of the best books about racism for beginners. If you’ve read a lot about everyday and systemic racism, you will also love this book, but if you’re just starting out on this journey (welcome), then start here. Born a Crime will help ease you in because it isn’t always as uncomfortable, while simultaneously opening your heart – and your head – to even harsher truths.
Also, please get the audiobook! Trevor Noah is a brilliant narrator, and his accents really enhance the experience and people.
He also has a great video about racial inequality entitled George Floyd and the Dominoes of Racial Injustice.
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela (I actually read this many years ago, but don’t remember it and feel I could benefit from a reread.)
Books About Racism in Australia
When I lived in Australia I was honestly quite put off by how overtly racist a lot of Aussies are. In many ways it was one of the most racist places I’ve ever been, and given that I’m from the United States, that’s saying a lot. But, unlike the US, there really aren’t a lot of books about racism in Australia. Most of the literature that does exist addresses racism towards Aboriginals which is definitely an issue, but might lead you to believe they are totally accepting of everyone else and while it may be getting better, that just isn’t true.
The Hate Race – Maxine Beneba Clarke
Life for Maxine is just the same as anyone else’s. Growing up in the sweltering heat of suburban Australia, eating Vegemite on toast with her family in their three bedroom blonde-brick house, only one thing marks her out as different from any of the other kids on her street. Just one, immediately obvious, impossible-to-ignore thing.
Clarke’s memoir about growing up Black in white middle-class Australia is told with humour, pathos, sadness and wit. Her writing draws in the reader as she recounts events that are by turns shocking, uplifting and heartbreaking … but never unflinching. Told with a fire that never dies out, The Hate Race is a powerful account of Clarke’s life amongst everyday racism.
Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia – edited by Anita Heiss
Anita Heiss’ anthology of personal accounts aims to try and answer one simple question: What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia?
Through interviews with individuals from all levels of society – and from all corners of the country – Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia shows the impact of stigma, intolerance and ostracism on those simply trying to live their lives with respect, as all have a right to do.
The effect of colonialism is felt through multiple aspects of society, from the workplace and the education system to the community and the social scene. The diverse range of voices collected here give an inspiring series of accounts that provide invaluable insight into Aboriginal life in Australia.
Buy Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– Am I Black Enough For You? by Anita Heiss
– Talking To My Country by Stan Grant
Books About Racism in New Zealand
There aren’t really many books (that I am aware of, or have ever found – please tell me if you know of some!) that deal with racism in New Zealand, particularly non-fiction books. From my experience, Kiwis like to believe it doesn’t exist. But that is highly inaccurate.
In 2018 Taika Waititi slammed New Zealand saying he loved his country, but it was “racist as fuck” – a statement that gained him more than a few detractors.
Ghost South Road by Scott Hamilton (New Zealand)
This is the one exception I have chosen to make regarding books by BIPOC on this list. If more books about racism in New Zealand are published in the future, I might take this out and replace it. However, as New Zealand still struggles significantly with racism, yet next to nothing in the non-fiction realm has been published, I am including Ghost South Road.
This book delves into the history of the fraught relationship between Māori (indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand) and Pākehā (the Māori word for white New Zealanders), and examines why it remains strained to this day. It recounts various acts of aggression and oppression towards the Māori people. For example, the Māori were often quarantined because their dark skin was associated with disease, such as a 1913 Smallpox outbreak when the Māori communities were sealed off and they were not permitted to leave without special permission. White people, no matter the outbreak, were not subjected to the same rules.
You don’t need to despair entirely; while the focus of Ghost South Road is on racial discrimination, Scott Hamilton also highlights acts of kindness and friendship, too.
BOOKS I WANT TO PICK UP NEXT
– Island Time: New Zealand’s Pacific Futures by Damon Salesa
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
– Best Dark History Podcasts
– Best Historical TV Series for Dark Tourists
– Incredible True Stories of Adventure and Survival
Have you read any of these books about racism? What did you learn about the experiences of others? About yourself? Any recommendations for books not on this list?
