A considerable part of this blog’s content is about race, race history, racism, colorism, institutional racism, discrimination. You name it; this blog has covered these topics in some way, shape, or form.

Yet, despite my various posts and various conversations about race with people, many people have simply seen such discussions and blog posts as rants, or simply ‘too difficult to discuss.’

It is painful to know that for the many people who were shouting ‘All lives Matter’ and ‘Racism is not Real’ are the people that are now suddenly realizing that race really does matter.

Do not get me wrong; I am happy people have come to understand the truth, but honestly, I AM SAD! It has taken the brutal killing of a black man for them to come to this conclusion.

Can I be honest…
Can I be really honest?

Let me just keep it 100%. I do not want to post any more blacklivesmatter posts, I do not want to ask for your solidarity, I do not want to argue with you about race…I just don’t

I do not and will not carry your ignorance (black or white) on my back, while simultaneously dealing with my internalised pain, seeing my black brothers and sisters bloodshed daily in these streets. 

What I will do, however, is provide you an opportunity to firstly EDUCATE yourself and secondly DISCOVER SOLUTIONS!

Here is a list of books about race, I have personally read, I will aim to update this list continuously, Amazon links will be provided too! Please, read these books and support the lives of black men and women! 

We deserve to FLOURISH…not simply survive…

1.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race

Renni Edo-Lodge

“Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will”
(Lodge 2008, p. 101)

This book! For more details check out my full review of this book, but honestly, it is the best beginner’s guide to racism from a British perspective. If you ignore everything else on this list GET THIS! It is amazing at unpacking key terms while exploring context and history!  

LINK: https://amzn.to/3dj2J1P

2.

White Privilege: The Myth of a Post-Racial Society

Kalwant Bhopal

For my white readers, this is amazing at helping you navigate your whiteness and  helps break down what white privilege is. Expanding into neoliberal politics the authors message highlights the structural advantages of whiteness and the future of dismantling such advantages. 

LINK: https://amzn.to/2ZTQzJ4

3

Black and British: A Forgotten History

David Olusoga 

‘Go Back To Where You Came From’ …where I came from, you mean Britain?! For my black and white readers who are lovers of history this book, while very thick! Will expose the multicultural roots of this nation. Black people have and continue to be part of the fabric of this nation, it is important we change how we see ‘minority populations’.

LINK:https://amzn.to/2XgJU9Y

4.

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

Afua Hirsch 

Afua Hirsch explores a very British crisis of identity. We are a nation in denial about our past and our present. We believe we are the nation of abolition, but forget we are the nation of slavery. We are convinced that fairness is one of our values, but that immigration is one of our problems. Brit(ish) is the story of how and why this came to be, and an urgent call for change.

LINK:https://amzn.to/3cpudSx

5.

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

For my fictional lovers! Written by a Nigerian feminist novelist, this book explores two characters Ifemelu and Obinze, both Nigerian, end up in the American and the UK. The story is something I can not explain but explores from and Nigerian perspective what the concept of ‘race’ means. I do not want to spill any beans…but just read it!!!

LINK: https://amzn.to/2TUbOXq 

This is an add on, I could not help myself 

This is a difficult read but if you are looking to get into academic writing about race, Fanon to me, is the most poetic but fluent writer in race theory, his work is beyond words, and within any race-based essay, his work will really extract unique nuances!

LINK:https://amzn.to/3eAeZvf