The best 30 Black Lives Matter books

The New Jim Crow (2010) unveils an appalling system of discrimination in the United States that has led to the unprecedented mass incarceration of African-Americans. The so-called War on Drugs, under the jurisdiction of an ostensibly colorblind justice system, has only perpetuated the problem through unconscious racial bias in judgments and sentencing.

• Anyone who cares about racial justice
• Anyone interested in sociology
• Anyone who wants to learn about systematic oppression in the United States

Just Mercy (2014) is a walk through the American criminal justice system of the 1980s. These blinks explain how a system that is supposed to safeguard the rights of the nation’s citizens became an unjust tool to mistreat and abuse the most vulnerable members of society through mass incarceration and excessive sentencing.

• Lawyers, judges and legal scholars
• Anybody interested in the legal history of America
• People wanting to understand the unjust nature of America’s criminal justice system

Between the World and Me (2015) is an open letter to the author’s 15-year-old son about the realities that Black men face in America. Filled with personal anecdotes about the author’s personal development and experiences with racism, his letter tries to prepare young Black people for the world that awaits them.

• Anyone interested in race and racism in the United States
• Anyone interested in social issues
• Anyone interested in US history

How To Be Black (2012) is the funny, revealing and insightful autobiography of Baratunde Thurston. Thurston attended private schools and Harvard University, and the experience of being black in a predominantly white milieu taught him a great deal about what white and black people have come to expect from one another. These blinks tackle a difficult subject with humor and empathy.

• Black people who get nervous around white people
• White people who get nervous around black people
• Curious readers interested in a fresh perspective

Ghetto (2016) traces the socio-ideological development of the word “ghetto” – particularly how it’s been applied to black neighborhoods in America – and takes an unflinching look at the complex ways in which race, prejudice, policy and sociology interact. When it comes to fighting for racial equality, there are no easy answers.

• Activists and policy makers
• Sociology and political science students
• People interested in American studies

When They Call You a Terrorist (2017) is the memoir of Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Khan-Cullors. Full of shocking anecdotes and statistics concerning systemic racism and police brutality against Black Americans, the book details Khan-Cullors’ childhood deprivations, her family’s struggles and the events that led to the formation of the world’s most prolific modern-day civil-rights groups.  

• Activists curious about civil-rights movements
• Mindful citizens concerned about current affairs
• Anyone interested in shocking true-life stories

This Will Be My Undoing (2018) delves into the author’s experiences as a Black woman living in modern-day America. By examining race, culture and feminism, the book demonstrates why and how Black women have been marginalized and offers suggestions on how this serious situation can be improved.

• People interested in the marginalization of Black women
• Feminist studies students
• Those who want to learn about contemporary Black culture in the United States

Slay in Your Lane (2018) is a powerful broadside against the discrimination faced by black women in today’s Britain. But Elizabeth Uviebinené and Yomi Adegoke aren’t just interested in criticizing the way things are – they also want to help improve the lives of black girls and women in the UK. Packed full of insightful advice and helpful strategies, this a blueprint for rising above prejudice and achieving great things.

• Black women and girls
• Young women starting their careers
• Anyone interested in what life is like for black women and girls

Locking Up Our Own (2017) takes a look at the US war on drugs in Washington, DC, and its impact on Black Americans. It draws on significant drug and gun legislation from the 1970s through to the late 1990s, which shaped policing methods and influenced the targeting of crime in Black communities.

• People who want to learn about America’s war on drugs
• Those interested in the relationship between the police and Black Americans
• Anyone who wants to know about crime and judiciary procedures in Washington, DC, from 1970 to the 1990s

Ain’t I a Woman (1981) is a work of feminist scholarship that explores the complexities of living in the United States as a Black woman. Hooks examines the convergence of racism and sexism in major political and social movements throughout American history.

• Women of color
• Feminists
• Those interested in race and gender theory

Thick: And Other Essays (2019) is a collection of essays by author Tressie McMillan Cottom that centers on the experiences of African American women. Drawing on her own lived experience as well as that of others, McMillan Cottom’s smart, incisive prose provides a fresh perspective on topics as varied as race, beauty, politics, and capitalism, and sheds light on the most pressing issues of today. Part sociological tract, part polemic, the book reveals the brutal and often absurd paradoxes of modern-day America. 

• Feminists interested in deeper insight into the experiences of Black women 
• Activists who want to learn more about the current state of racial inequity 
• Social scientists and academics interested in current affairs

Me and White Supremacy (2020) is a guidebook to the white supremacist world we live in. It’s intended to help white people improve their understanding of racism and work to become allies to people of color.

• White people who want to understand anti-racism
• People who’ve benefited from white supremacy
• People interested in contemporary society and sociology

So You Want To Talk About Race (2018) examines the complex system of racism in the United States, from police brutality to cultural appropriation to the school-to-prison pipeline. It offers clarity on ways we can approach conversations about race and take action against structural injustice.

• Citizens who care about social justice
• People who want to improve their understanding of racism
• Anyone who wants to learn how to discuss race

Natives (2018) melds memoir and polemic to explore race and class in contemporary Britain. Drawing on his own experiences while growing up poor and Black in London in the 1980s and 1990s, musician and writer Akala crafts a vivid portrait of a society that systematically robs Black citizens of opportunities. Why, he asks, is Britain like this? As we’ll see in these blinks, answering that question takes us deep into the history of slavery, empire, and racism. 

• History buffs
• Radicals and reformers
• Brits and Anglophiles

Across That Bridge (2017) is a poignant account from one of America’s most powerful activists on the qualities that protestors need to embody to bring about lasting change. Activists in the US and all over the world look to the American civil rights movement of the 1960s for inspiration on how to challenge injustice. Here, Lewis uses personal recollections – from freedom rides to bus boycotts to the March on Washington – to impart lessons about nonviolent protest to the next generation of dreamers.

• Anyone who wants to speak truth to power
• People inspired by the historic victories of the civil rights movement
• Those interested in nonviolent communication

Four Hundred Souls (2021) is an innovative and insightful recounting of African American history. This collection brings together ninety different authors to reflect on four-hundred years of struggle, oppression, and hope.

• Americans curious to explore their country’s layered history
• Politically engaged thinkers wishing to understand the roots of current issues
• Anyone who wants more insight into the Black experience

The Souls of Black Folk (1903) details the conditions of African Americans in the years after the end of slavery. By examining issues such as education, economic opportunities, and the interaction between Black and White Americans, Du Bois highlights the challenging legacy of slavery and the disempowering effects of the racism and segregation that followed.

• People interested in African American history
• Those who want to better understand race relations in America
• People interested in sociology

The Warmth of Other Suns (2010) tells the story of the Great Migration – the biggest inner-border mass migration in US history. From 1915 to 1970, millions of Black Americans left the Jim Crow South in search of a better life in Northern cities. Focusing on the lives of three of those migrants, these blinks paint a vivid picture of the fears, hopes, and dreams that shaped the movement.

• Curious minds who want to learn about an underexplored chapter of US history
• Fans of biographical and eyewitness accounts of the past
• Anyone interested in the social and demographic forces that shaped America

Hood Feminism (2020) examines how feminism has often acted in the interests of white women, rather than all women. To be truly inclusive, feminism must also advocate for the most disadvantaged women in society, including women of color.

• Feminists looking to expand their horizons
• Women of color who want to see change
• Anyone hoping to learn about race and feminism

I’m Still Here (2018) is a memoir about racial justice in modern America. Racism is still all around us – even in Christian organizations that claim to champion diversity and understanding.

• People looking to understand what it’s like to be Black in America
• Christians eager to learn how to be truly progressive
• Fans of powerful memoirs

Begin Again (2020) looks back at the incomparable work of the writer James Baldwin, who spent decades dissecting America’s fundamental racism problem. His ideas may provide insights for us today, so Begin Again seeks to answer the question: What advice would Baldwin have on issues like Trumpism or Black Lives Matter?

• Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement
• People longing for a less hypocritical America
• Anyone seeking an end to Trumpism

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (1997) explores the reality of race in the American public education system and sheds light on racial-identity development in both Black and white people. Updated with a new prologue in 2017, it also explains how talking openly about racism is essential for cutting across racial and ethnic divides.

• People seeking to understand the dynamics of race in America
• Parents and educators who want to teach children about race
• Those interested in social justice, equal opportunity, and democracy

This is the Fire (2021) highlights the current moment as a turning point for the fight against racism in the United States. Touching on the Trump presidency, police brutality, and the global pandemic, it explores the racist history, structures, and ideas that have long plagued America, and proposes ways of using this moment to create positive change.

• People who want to understand racism in America
• Those interested in social justice
• White people looking to become better allies

How the Word Is Passed (2021) is a travelogue that underscores how slavery has shaped America’s collective history and its reality today. Nine locations serve as gateways to important stories that are hidden in plain sight. They exemplify how communities have reckoned, or not, with their roles in the history of slavery and invite us all to dig deeper into what we believe – and why.

• Anyone who wants to better understand America’s relationship with slavery
• Community members seeking historical context on Black Lives Matter
• Activists and history buffs interested in how the past informs the present

Nice Racism (2021) challenges everything we think we know about racism. Most racists don’t belong to the far right, and they don’t consciously support white supremacy. Instead, they’re “nice” progressive white people who commit daily microaggressions because they’ve never properly confronted their own biases. By abandoning niceness and becoming accountable instead, white people can develop into better allies in the fight for racial justice.

• White activists seeking better tools to fight racism 
• White would-be allies who are ready to confront their internal biases
• Black people and people of color interested in learning more about the workings of white supremacy

You Are Your Best Thing (2021) is an anthology of original essays that explore Black experiences of living, loving, and parenting in America today. It examines concepts like vulnerability and shame, and shows that the key to personal healing lies in confronting white supremacy and the racist systems that make Black people feel unsafe in their communities. 

• Black people looking for tools to heal from trauma
• Psychology-lovers seeking new perspectives on how the personal and political intersect
• Those who want to deepen their understanding of the impact of racism in America

The Black Agenda (2022) is a compilation of essays by Black experts reflecting the latest developments and challenges in diverse fields such as wellness, criminal justice, climate activism, and AI.

• Activists of all stripes
• Anyone who wants to know how tech perpetuates racism
• Anyone who wants to know how climate change and racial justice are linked

Forget the Alamo (2021) charts the history of the Alamo, both real and imagined. It looks at how a popular, heroic mythology sprung from the events of 1836 and came to represent both a noble version of Texas independence and a metaphor for American valor. Find out how the Alamo became a touchstone in American culture wars, and discover how the real story paints a not-so-virtuous picture of American history.

• History buffs
• People who enjoy Wild West stories 
• Anyone who thinks they’re familiar with the story of the Alamo

The Hate U Give (2017) is a critically acclaimed coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of racism and police brutality. It follows 16-year-old Starr Carter as she navigates two contrasting worlds: the poor Black neighborhood where she lives and the white prep school where she studies. Starr's attempt to strike a balance between these two worlds is shattered when she witnesses the shooting of her childhood friend, Khalil, by a police officer.

• Social justice advocates and activists
• Young adults exploring identity and inequality
• Anyone interested in compelling contemporary fiction

What Napoleon Could Not Do (2023) explores the contrasting experiences of two Ghanaians, Jacob and Belinda, and their aspirations in the United States. Jacob, an awkward computer programmer who still lives with his father, wants to join his wife in America but is foiled by visa denials. His sister, Belinda, meanwhile, has studied in the US and married an American – Wilder, a prosperous Black Texan businessman. But she, too, contends with disappointment: as she waits for her green card, her perception of America is soured by racism. Their journeys reflect the allure and letdowns of life in a foreign land, and the narrative insightfully captures how each grapples with dreams both realized and thwarted.

• Readers interested in immigrant experiences
• Fans of emotional family dramas
• Anyone who loves character-driven stories