Donald Trump has wasted no time trying to make America great again after being sworn in as the 47th president on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In less than a week, Trump has dropped brazen executive orders, a reminder that a second Trump presidency will be no different than the first. Trump has a way of influencing his loyal followers to exhibit bold, racist, and discriminatory actions and practices against people of color, turning back the hands of history.
Now is an ideal time to sharpen our minds and sink our heads into these five books on racist systems to give us hope and wisdom over the next four years of uncertainty.
On A Move: Philadelphia’s Notorious Bombing And A Native Son’s Lifelong Battle For Justice
By Mike Africa Jr. and D. Watkins
Published Aug. 6, 2024, On a Move tells a story about how the government can exercise its racist power over Black civilians in such a heinous way: “I still remember the black cloud of smoke from the fire above my West Philly block as it stretched to New Jersey on one side and Delaware on the other.”
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America
By Ijeoma Olou
Mediocre dropped Dec. 1, 2020. The text is a significant read due to its subject matter and how it outlines the challenges Black Americans face while dealing with the reality of a racist and sexist culture that is passed down from one generation to the next.
“Even the most virulent American racist has to wrestle with the fact that the United States would not exist were it not for people of color,” Oluo writes.
Women, Race, & Class
By Angela Y. Davis
Published in January 1981, Woman, Race, & Class is a remarkable read because it makes connections between the United States’ history of slavery and modern-day oppression and examines the history of women’s freedoms, which is in alignment with today’s legislation around women’s reproductive rights.
“Birth Control—individual choice, safe contraceptive methods, as well as abortions when necessary— is a fundamental prerequisite for the emancipation of women,” Davis writes.
The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions For A Broken System
Edited by Anna Gifty-Agyeman
Released February 2022, The Black Agenda is notable because it holds transformative intel on healthcare, wellness, education, economy, public policy, and criminal justice that can be life changing for Black lives:
“No matter where you show up on the spectrum of Blackness, the United States owes you something.”
Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Lives
By Tricia Rose
Tricia Rose’s book, released in 2024, broadcasts the unseen implementation of racist policies and actions. The acclaimed scholar offers ways to maneuver through and around systemic racism that floats beneath the radar:
“As painful as it can be to be exposed to the staggering evidence of a network of policies and practices written and/or enforced in ways that maximizes one’s disadvantage, I have also witnessed how bringing it to light carries with it the healing power of recognition and validation,” Rose writes.
Rose sat down with BLACK ENTERPRISE to deconstruct the tenets of Metaracism.
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