How Libraries are Addressing Anti-Racism

Please read our Director’s Statement on Anti-Racism and Current Events.

The American Library Association has written a #LibrariesRespond post with a Call to Action, which can be found here.

Dr. Nicole Cooke, a Rutgers graduate who now serves as the Augusta Baker Chair at the University of South Carolina, has begun a project of compiling Anti-Racism Resources for All Ages. She continues to add to this list as more materials become available.

Digital Resources

Middlesex residents with a Middlesex Public Library card can access elibrarynj and Hoopla Digital media for free (How to Access), both of which have a variety of resource lists available to learn more about anti-racism.

Conversations About Race – Audiobook List on Hoopla

Conversations About Race – Books for Adults on Hoopla

Talking to Kids About Race – Audiobooks on Hoopla

Audiobooks Celebrating Diversity on Hoopla

Anti-Racism Books on elibrarynj.com

Sampling of Anti-Racist Books in Our Collection

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, as we are adding to our collection all the time. If you would like additional titles, please speak to one of the reference librarians, they would be happy to assist you.

Picture Books

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

A book about finding the courage to connect even if you feel scared and alone.

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammed

Beautifully illustrated story about two sisters on their first day of school and one of them is wearing hijab for the first time.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

Winner of Newbery, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King awards, CJ and his Grandma take the bus across town every Sunday after church and CJ asks his Grandma questions about differences between people.

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

Books for Young Readers

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Newbery Medal winner, winner of Scott O’Dell Award and Coretta Scott King award about three sisters who travel to Oakland California in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them.

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

A story about two girls, one Black and one white, who live on opposite sides of a fence and go against their parents’ rules to become friends.

Books for Young Adults

Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

A book about race that helps us understand why we are where we are.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Award-winning novel about a young girl who witness the fatal shooting of her best friend by a police officer.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

A young man begins a journal about his life trying to live like Martin Luther King – but do Reverend King’s teachings hold up today?

Books for Adults

How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

A 28 day challenge for readers that include journal prompts to do the necessary and vital work toward better race relations.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo

This book explores the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. 

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Powerful story of a Black man wrongly accused of a crime he didn’t commit and sentenced to the death penalty and the attorney who fights the judicial system to prove he is innocent.

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

A hard-hitting but user-friendly exploration of race in America.