An Introductory List of Noteworthy Books, Videos, and Podcasts
This growing list features several noteworthy books and films, many of which may be requested through the Joanne Waxman Library catalog. The podcasts may be streamed online or are available through the Apple or Android stores. Check back for frequently updated content. To suggest a resource, email diversity@meca.edu.
Books
Whitewalling: Art, Race, & Protest in 3 Acts
“Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts is a gripping account of three incidents in the long and troubled history of art and race in America. It lays bare how the art world—no less than the country at large—has persistently struggled with the politics of race, and the ways this struggle has influenced how museums, curators and artists wrestle with notions of free speech and the specter of censorship.”
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
“Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America–more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.”
The Beautiful Struggle: A Memoir
“A memoir of growing up in the tough world of Baltimore in the 1980s. Chronicles the relationship between the author and his father, a Vietnam vet and Black Panther affiliate, and his campaign to keep his sons from falling victim to the temptations of the streets.”
Women, Race, & Class
“A powerful study of the women’s liberation movement in the U.S., from abolitionist days to the present, that demonstrates how it has always been hampered by the racist and classist biases of its leaders.”
Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
“bell hooks speaks to the heart of education today: how can we rethink teaching practices in the age of multiculturalism? What do we do about teachers who do not want to teach, and students who do not want to learn? How should we deal with racism and sexism in the classroom?”
The Black Notebooks: An Interior Journey
“”An intimate record of the author’s encounters with family, neighbors, friends, students, and colleagues where she is forced to question what it means to be a black woman living in a racially divided world.”
Videos
Race: The Power of an Illusion
This documentary film series challenges one of our most fundamental beliefs that human beings come divided into a few distinct groups and looks at why race is not biologically meaningful yet nonetheless very real. There is also an online component to the series with background readings and additional resources.
#RaceAnd
#RaceAnd is a special 8-part video series produced by Race Forward’s Video Production Specialist Kat Lazo, exploring the many ways that race compounds and intersects with all the other issues faced by people of color. Each video features a different artist, activist, or thinker, sharing their lived experience how race intertwines with their other identities, and how that mix impacts their lives both personally and systemically.
Malaga Island: A Story Best Left Untold
“In 1912, a mixed-race community of about forty-five people was evicted by the state of Maine from Malaga Island, just off the coast of Phippsburg. It was an act motivated by economics, racism, eugenics, and political retribution.”
13th
The title of Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.
Podcasts
Code Switch
“Ever find yourself in a conversation about race and identity where you just get…stuck? Code Switch can help. We’re all journalists of color, and this isn’t just the work we do. It’s the lives we lead. Sometimes, we’ll make you laugh. Other times, you’ll get uncomfortable. But we’ll always be unflinchingly honest and empathetic. Come mix it up with us.
Otherhood
“What would the news sound like if media were diverse? Listen to what you’re missing — with Otherhood, a PRI podcast created and hosted by Rupa Shenoy.”
Still Processing
A culture conversation with Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham.
Diversity + Inclusion in Higher Education
The Diversity and Inclusion crossover series brings together This Anthro Life with Brandeis University to explore diversity and inclusion in higher education.