Most UU's consider themselves introverts, thinkers, considerers, people who use their brains instead of following questionable doctrine ... So for many UU's, the way to make a difference is to learn and study and then develop a plan. One way to do this is to immerse yourself in books by black authors to learn what BLM really means.
And, one of our member's daughter came up with this wonderful list!
Below is a list of Black-owned independent bookstores that we can order from that are in Texas, woman owned, or needing support. Also, listed below, are titles by black authors, titles of books that discuss serious topics such as unlearning racism and white supremacy and more.
So by reading and learning, you may be able to make a difference.
One of the top books recommended, and the book choice of the UUWF's book club is:
"White Fragility" from Semicolon, Chicago's only Black woman-owned bookstore:
Black-owned bookstores to support:
The Dock Bookshop (Forth Worth, TX):
Link to buy "White Fragility" from The Dock Bookshop (looks like they've got an ebook!):
Frugal Bookstore (included because it's down the street from a UU co-op and needs to thrive):
Enda's Booktique (Duncanville, TX):
Don't know what to read or where to start?
This is an Education/Reading List and Action plan that breaks down the daunting task of unlearning racism and white supremacy into day by day chunks. This is an AMAZING resource that can help you get started:
Rachel Cargle (public academic and activist)-- she has many great resources:
Article: "Dear White Women"
(Free!) 30-day Do the Work Course sign up here:
It's important to pay Black women for their labor and support their work financially. Here's Rachel's page where you can sign up to be a part of The Great Unlearn Community with a monthly contribution:
A 16-minute youtube video by Rachel Cargle. Great introduction to this subject and how to approach it.
Books List
(not comprehensive)
UNDERSTANDING AND DISMANTLING RACISM: A BOOKLIST FOR WHITE READERS(From Charis Books, a feminist bookstore in Decatur, GA): https://www.charisbooksandmore.com/understanding-and-dismantling-racism-booklist-white-readers
MARGOT LEE SHETTERLY Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE We Should All Be Feminists
TA-NEHISI COATES The Water Dancer
COLSON WHITEHEAD The Nickel Boys
JESMYN WARD Salvage the Bones
ZADIE SMITH Grand Union: Stories
ZORA NEALE HURSTON Their Eyes Were Watching God
MIA SOSA The Worst Best Man
JAMES BALDWIN Notes of a Native Son
JAMES MCBRIDE Deacon King Kong
N. K. JEMISIN The City We Became
TERRY MCMILLAN It's Not All Downhill from Here
TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM Thick: And Other Essays
CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS Queenie
BRIT BENNETT The Vanishing Half
ABI DARÉ The Girl With the Louding Voice
NICOLA YOON The Sun Is Also a Star
ROXANE GAY Bad Feminist
ATONI MORRISON Beloved
ANGIE THOMAS The Hate U Give
JACQUELINE WOODSON Red at the Bone
MARLON JAMES Black Leopard, Red Wolf
RALPH ELLISON Invisible Man
KILEY REID Such a Fun Age
SAEED JONES How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir
Also -
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America By Ibram X. Kendi
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison
Beloved by TONI MORRISON
The Autobiography of Malcolm X By Malcolm X and Alex Haley
How We Get Free by Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
The Water Dancer by TA-NEHISI COATES (I'm reading this one for a book club now)
Grand Union: Stories by ZADIE SMITH
The Vanishing Half by BRIT BENNETT
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race By Debby Irving (The UU church in Montgomery was reading this book in a book club last June).
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire.