In a post that I put up a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I
am on the Anti-Racism Committee at my church. Yes, it is a liberal church, and
yes, we have some conservative people who attend who weren’t sorry that Trump
won the election in 2016.



It is also a church that is devoted to social issues. The
Faith in Action group makes a concerted effort to help programs in our area.
The town that the church sits in may be rich but the surrounding towns don’t
always live up to that level of economic stability.



In the two years I have sat on this committee, I have wanted
to move things faster. I wanted to find ways to slowly bring the ‘other’ into
our midst to get people to realize we are all the same. And there were times I
wanted to leave the group because all of the pondering and philosophizing
drives me crazy.



And that is when I do what I do best- I read. I read a book
a week sometimes. Many times I listen to books because there are times I simply
cannot focus to read the written word. It helps me know how to pronounce words
or get the rhythm of how people speak. It helps me learn about a character not
only by what they say but how they say it.



So the following list are books I have read mostly in the
last two years but some were longer ago. I have yet to finish Beloved because
the book is emotionally difficult. I find myself feeling terrible for our woman
who did what she felt was right at the time. But because of this story, based
on a real woman, I made the effort to learn about Medea.



While you have heard of a few of these titles, I am guessing
there are some that are unknown to you. I purposely choose mostly fiction
because I believe fiction gives us a snapshot of time. It is through stories
that we really learn about a time and the people in that time. Even historical
fiction gives us that picture so we can enjoy and learn all at the same time.



I made this list alphabetical, not in order of what I think
you should read. All of the books in the first list are there because of an
element of racial discrimination within the story, even in the vampire story
which seems innocuous at first.



The second list focuses more on women’s issues or
discrimination of other sorts. I found them worth reading in how they made me
think of how people are marginalized in various ways.



Please let me know what you think of any of these selections
in the comments. I want to start a discussion with the hope that better
knowledge can be spread. If being woke means being kinder to anyone who doesn’t
look like me, well then, call me woke. I would rather live in a world where
people didn’t reach for their guns and asked questions later.



Enjoy your reading.



 



 



The White Girl Woke Reading List



Beloved by Toni Morrison



Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi



Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms by Jamar J. Perry



The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee



Finding Me by Viola Davis



The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher
Murray



The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas



The Measure by Nikki Erlick



The Other Princess: A novel of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter
by Denny S. Bryce



Overground Railroad: the Green Book and the Roots of Black
Travel in America by Candacy A Taylor



The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson



The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria
Christopher Murray



Pet by Akwaeke Emezi



So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow



South to America by Imani Perry



The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix



The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett



When Crack was King by Donovan X Ramsey



 



Other
Good Reads to Make You Think



The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood



I heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven



The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Tara Jenkins Reid



The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore



When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Regan Barnhill