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History and Current Events February 2021
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Titles you may have missed |
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Tell me who you are : sharing our stories of race, culture, and identity
by Winona Guo
"An eye-opening exploration of race in America In this deeply inspiring book, Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi recount their experiences talking to people from all walks of life about race and identity on a cross-country tour of America. Spurred by the realization that they had nearly completed high school without hearing any substantive discussion about racism in school, the two young women deferred college admission for a year to collect first-person accounts of how racism plays out in this country every day--and often in unexpected ways. In Tell Me Who You Are, Guo and Vulchi reveal the lines that separate us based on race or other perceived differences and how telling our stories--and listening deeply to the stories of others--are the first and most crucial steps we can take towards negating racial inequity in our culture. Featuring interviews with over 150 Americans accompanied by their photographs, this intimate toolkit also offers a deep examination of the seeds of racism and strategies for effecting change. This groundbreaking book will inspire readers to join Guo and Vulchi in imagining an America in which we can fully understand and appreciate who we are"
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An indigenous peoples' history of the United States
by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A three-century history of the United States from the perspectives of its indigenous people challenges popular beliefs to argue that government practices were genocidal in nature and that Native Americans actively resisted expansion of a U.S. empire.
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Me and white supremacy : combat racism, change the world, and become a good ancestor
by Layla F Saad
"When Layla Saad began an Instagram challenge called #meandwhitesupremacy, she never predicted it would become a cultural movement. She encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviors, big and small. She was looking for truth, and she got it... Thousands of people participated in the challenge, and over 80,000 people downloaded the supporting work Me and White Supremacy. Updated and expanded from the original edition, Me and White Supremacy teaches readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too"
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| Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma OluoWhat it's about: how white male identity in America preserves a status quo that harms women and people of color.
Food for thought: "If white men are finding that the overwhelmingly white-male-controlled system isn’t meeting their needs, how did we end up being the problem?”
Author alert: Ijeoma Oluo is the New York Times bestselling author of So You Want to Talk About Race. |
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| Unsinkable: Five Men and the Indomitable Run of the USS Plunkett by James SullivanWhat it's about: the USS Plunkett, the United States Navy destroyer that played a crucial role in the Allied war effort.
Why you might like it: This richly detailed history chronicles daily crew life as much as it does the ship's more dramatic wartime exploits.
Featuring: well-researched accounts of five crew members' experiences, including those of John Gallagher, the author's great-uncle. |
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| A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole GrossWhat it is: a sweeping yet concise history prioritizing the experiences of Black women whose "everyday heroism" shaped America.
What's inside: profiles of 11 lesser known Black women whose stories provide illuminating context for the Atlantic slave trade, the Great Migration, Jim Crow laws, protest movements, and more.
Try this next: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall. |
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| Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong DunbarHow it began: In 1796, on the eve of being "gifted" to one of George and Martha Washington's granddaughters, lifelong Washington family slave and seamstress Ona Judge made a daring escape to freedom.
What happened next: Pursued by Washington for years, Judge settled in New Hampshire, where she lived freely for the next half century.
Book buzz: This thought-provoking National Book Award Finalist offers an eye-opening perspective on the legacy of America's first president. |
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| What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished... by Michael Eric DysonWhat it's about: the fateful May 1963 meeting organized by attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and James Baldwin to discuss race relations.
In attendance: Lorraine Hansberry, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, psychologist Kenneth Clark, and Freedom Rider Jerome Smith.
Why it matters: This "watershed moment in American politics" jump-started difficult conversations that continue to resonate today. |
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| Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.What it is: a sobering history of America's Reconstruction era and Jim Crow legislation that offers striking parallels to contemporary white supremacy movements.
Topics include: eugenics and scientific racism; mass produced stereotypes and blackface; the emergence of the "New Negro."
Reviewers say: "indispensable for understanding American history" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Busted in New York and other essays
by Darryl Pinckney
A collection of 25 essays from the celebrated literary critic and novelist provides a view of our recent racial history that blends the social and personal and wonders how we arrived at our current moment.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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