32 Books to Read If Your School Won&039t Teach Critical Race Theory

YOU ARE READING: 32 Books to Read If Your School Won&039t Teach Critical Race Theory AT PhebinhvanhocEN

We’re sure you’ve heard a lot of discussion of critical race theory in the last few weeks and months, some accurate, some not. some sensationalized, demonized, weaponized. some rational, logical and, again, precise.

You are reading: Critical race theory books in school

At a basic level, critical race theory is the critical examination of the intersection of race and law in the United States. it is a school of thought that seeks to examine and challenge white supremacy. Focusing primarily on the African American experience, there are also subfields devoted to tribal, Latinx, and Asian racial theory.

that’s it. that’s all.

some schools, often under pressure from parents, politicians, and pundits, have banned the teaching of crt, without even fully understanding what they are banning. These bans often claim to protect white students from feeling “targeted” while ignoring the needs and realities of bipoc students, particularly black students.

Much of America loves to pretend that we are all truly equal, with liberty and justice for all. however, as most bipoc Americans know, this is simply not the case.

if you are interested in learning more about race in america, about the intersection of blackness and the law, about the experience of indigenous peoples and latin americans and asians, and your school refuses to teach you or even recognize the unequal treatment, these books are a great place to start. A mix of fiction and nonfiction and from various perspectives, these books should be on your list if your school doesn’t teach critical race theory.

32 books to help you understand race in america

if your school doesn’t teach you

1. black birds in the sky by brandy colbert

4. monster by walter dean myers

This New York Times bestselling novel from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial.

Presented as a script from Steve’s own imagination and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how a single decision can change our entire lives.

monster is a provocative, multi-award winning coming-of-age story that was michael l’s first. winner of the printz award, best book ala, honorary selection by coretta scott king and finalist for the national book award.

monster is now a big movie called all rise and starring jennifer hudson, kelvin harrison, jr., nas, and a$ap rocky.

The late Walter Dean Myers was a national ambassador for children’s literature, known for his commitment to realistically depicting the children of his hometown of Harlem.

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5. piercing the air by ibi zoboi & yusef salam

The story I thought was my life didn’t start the day I was born

amal shahid has always been an artist and a poet. but even in a diverse art school, due to a biased system, he is seen as disruptive and unmotivated. then, one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood turns into tragedy. “kids are just kids” turns out to be true only when those kids are white.

the story that I think will be my life begins today

Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. despair and rage nearly sink him until he turns to the shelter of his words, his art. this should never have been his story. but can you change it?

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6. queer, there and everywhere by sarah prager

World history has been made by countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—and you’ve never heard of many of them.

Author and queer activist sarah prager delves into the lives of 23 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms. From high-profile figures like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to the trailblazing gender-ambiguous Queen of Sweden and a bisexual blues singer who didn’t make it into your history books, these amazing true stories uncover a rich queer heritage that spans all cultures. . at all times.

Both hilarious and inspiring, the beautifully illustrated Queer, There and Everywhere is for anyone who wants to know the true story of the queer rights movement.

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7. the silence that unites us by joanna ho

Joanna Ho, New York Times bestselling author of Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, has written an exquisite, heart-rending debut young adult novel that will inspire all to speak truth to power.

Maybelline Chen is not the Chinese-Taiwanese-American daughter her mother expects her to be. she may prefer hoodies to dresses and she wants to become a writer. when she is asked, her mother cannot think of a specific reason why she is proud of her only daughter. May’s beloved brother Danny, on the other hand, has just been admitted to Princeton. But Danny secretly battles depression, and when he kills himself, May’s world is shattered.

later, racist accusations are leveled at may’s parents for putting too much “pressure” on him. May’s father tells her to keep her head down. Instead, May challenges these ugly stereotypes through his writing. however, the consequences of speaking out are much deeper than anyone could foresee. who can tell our stories and who is silenced? It’s up to May to get the narrative back.

joanna ho masterfully explores current issues of mental health, racism and classism.

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8. this place is still beautiful by xixi tian

A sweeping debut novel about first love, complicated family dynamics, and the pernicious legacy of racism. Perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi, Jandy Nelson, and Emily X.R. Pan, with crossover appeal for readers of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half and Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You.

the flanagan sisters are as different as they come. Seventeen-year-old Annalie is bubbly, sweet, and shy, while nineteen-year-old Margaret is sharp and assertive. Margaret looks like her mother, while Annalie poses as white and looks like her father who abandoned them years ago, leaving their Chinese immigrant mother alone to raise the girls in their small predominantly white middle town. west.

When her home is vandalized with a shocking racial slur, Margaret rushes home from her summer internship in New York City. she expects outrage. instead, her sister and her mother would prefer to move on. Especially once Margaret’s own research begins to make her community members uncomfortable.

For annalie, this was to be a summer of new possibilities, and she resents her sister’s sudden presence and her insistence on drawing negative attention to her family. Meanwhile, Margaret bristles at Annalie’s passive acceptance of what happened. For Margaret, summer couldn’t get any worse, until she crosses paths with someone she swore she’d never see again: her first love, Rajiv Agarwal.

As the sisters navigate this unexpected summer, an explosive secret threatens to tear their relationship apart once and for all.

This Place Is Still Beautiful is a luminous and captivating story about identity, brotherhood, and how our hometowns are an inextricable part of who we are, even when we outgrow them.

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9. when you look like us by pamela n. harris

When you look like us (brown skin, brown eyes, black or faded braids), people think you’re a problem. nobody looks twice at a missing black girl from the projects because she must have caused what happened to her. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister, Nicole, was too caught up with her boyfriend, a drug dealer, and her friends.

but she’s been gone too long now.

If I hadn’t hung up on him that night, I’d be spending time with our grandma. If I were a better brother, she’d be finishing her senior year instead of being another name on a missing persons list. It’s time to step up and do what the newport news police department won’t do.

nic, I’ll take you home.

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10. christina hammonds reed’s black children

Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.

Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four Los Angeles police officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King to death. Suddenly Ashley isn’t just one of the girls. she is one of the black children.

As violent protests engulf Los Angeles and the city burns, Ashley tries to carry on as if life is normal. even when her self-destructive sister becomes dangerously involved in the riots. even as the model black family facade that her rich and prominent parents have built begins to crumble. even when her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her black classmate and partner, Lashawn Johnson.

with her world splintering around her, ashley, along with the rest of the, must wonder who we is. And who are the they?

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11. yellow butterfly by thanhhà lại

In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country.

six years later, hằng has made the brutal journey from việt nam and is now in texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she’ll find the little brother that was taken from her until she meets Leeroy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.

hằng is overjoyed when he is reunited with linh. but when she realizes that he doesn’t remember her, her family or her việt nam, her heart breaks. Although the distance between them feels greater than ever, Ella Hằng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.

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12. dear martin by nic stone

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can’t escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day that justyce is out driving with his best friend, manny, with the windows rolled down and the music blaring, very loud, to the fury of an off-duty white cop standing next to them. . words fly. shots are fired. justyce and manny are caught in the crosshairs. in the media fallout, it is justyce who is under attack.

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13. dear justice by nic stone

In the stunning and hard-hitting sequel to the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin, incarcerated teenager Quan writes letters to Justyce about his experiences in the American prison system.

Shortly after teenager Quan pleads not guilty to the shooting death of a police officer, he is placed in a holding cell awaiting trial. Through a series of flashbacks and letters to Justyce, the protagonist of Dear Martin, Quan’s story is revealed.

From a troubled childhood and rough patch to a forced confession and prejudiced police work, nic stone’s latest novel offers an unflinching look at the flawed practices and ideologies that discriminate against black and minority children in the American justice system.

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14. last night at malinda lo’s telegraph club

“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question came up, but the answer blossomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially in Chinatown. Red Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father despite his hard-earned citizenship, Lily and Kath risk everything to see their love see the light of day.

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15. black enough, edited by ibi zoboi

Black is…sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.

black is… three friends who come back from the community pool talking about anything and everything, in a story by jason reynolds.

black is… upper class beauty nic stone dating a guy her mom would never approve of.

black is… two girls kissing in justina ireland’s story set in maryland.

black is urban and rural, rich and poor, mestizo, immigrant and more, because there are countless ways to be black enough.

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16. print: racism, anti-racism and you by ibram x. kendi and jason reynolds

This is not a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race.

the construction of race has always been used to gain and maintain power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. this remarkable reinvention of dr. ibram x. Kendi’s national award-winning book, stamped from the start, reveals the history of racist ideas in America and inspires hope for an anti-racist future. takes you on a career journey from then to now, showing you why we feel the way we do and why the poison of racism persists. it also shows that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.

Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award winner jason reynolds, this book sheds light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas, and on the ways in which readers can identify and end them. with racist thoughts in their daily lives.

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17. all american boys by jason reynolds and brendan kiely

Rashad is absent again today.

That’s the sidewalk graffiti that started it all…

well, no, actually, a lady bumping into rashad at the store and making him drop a bag of chips is what started it all. because no matter what rashad said next, that it was an accident, that he was not stealing, the policeman continued to beat him. over and over, slamming it against the pavement. Then Rahad, a ROTC kid with insane artistic skills, was missing again… and again… trapped in a hospital room. why? because it looked like he was stealing. and he was a black boy in baggy clothes. so he must have been stealing.

And that’s how it started.

and that’s what quinn saw, a white boy. she saw the older brother of his best friend beating up a classmate. Quinn doesn’t tell anyone at first… he’s not even sure he understands. and does that matter? it was all caught on camera, anyway. But when the school, and the nation, begin to split over what’s going on, blame spreads like wildfire fueled by ugly words like “racism” and “police brutality.” Quinn realizes that he has to understand it, because whether he’s a bystander or not, he’s part of the story. he just has to figure out which side of the story that will be.

Rashad and Quinn, one black, one white, both Americans, confront the unspeakable truth that racism and prejudice did not go away after the civil rights movement. there is a future at stake, a future where no one else will have to be absent because of police brutality. they just have to risk everything to change the world.

because that’s how it can end.

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18. all in and in between by nikki barthelmess

Throughout Ri Fernández’s life, he’s been told, “We live in the United States and we speak English.” Raised by her strict Mexican grandmother, Ri has never been allowed to learn Spanish.

Furthermore, their grandmother has alienated them from the community they once belonged to. In her place, Ri has grown up trying to fit into her best friend’s world of mansions and country clubs in an attempt to live her grandmother’s version of the “American dream.”

In her heart, ri has always believed that her mother, who disappeared when ri was young, would accept her exactly as she is and not try to make her into someone she never wanted to be. so when ri finds a letter from her mother that she had hidden for a long time and begged him to visit her, he decides to reclaim what her grandmother hid from him: her inheritance and her mother. /p>

but nothing goes as planned. Her mother is not who Ri imagined she would be, and finding her doesn’t make Ri’s struggle to navigate the intertwined threads of her mixed heritage any less complicated. no one has any idea who ri really is, not even herself.

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19. lawn boy by jonathan evison

For Mike Muñoz, a young Chicano living in Washington State, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work—and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew—he knows that he’s got to be the one to shake things up if he’s ever going to change his life. But how?

In this funny, angry, moving, and ultimately deeply inspiring novel, bestselling author Jonathan Evison takes the reader into the heart and mind of a young man on a journey to discover himself, a quest to find the secret to achieve the dream of happiness and prosperity. That’s the birthright of every American, isn’t it? if so, what is mike muñoz’s problem? Although he tries again and again to get his foot on the first rung of that ladder to success, it seems that he just can’t get a break. But then things start to change for Mike, and after a raucous, jarring and challenging journey, he discovers that he can finally see the future and his place in it. and he looks great.

lawn boy is an important, entertaining, and thoroughly engaging novel about class distinctions, overcoming cultural discrimination, and standing up for oneself.

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20. the black friend: on being a better person by frederick joseph

“We don’t see color.” “I didn’t know Black people liked Star Wars!” “What hood are you from?”

For frederick joseph, life as a transfer student at a majority white high school was full of cringe-worthy moments that he often simply let slip by. however, as he got older, he saw them as missed opportunities not only to stand up for himself, but also to bring awareness to white people who didn’t see the negative impact they were having.

Speaking directly to the reader, the black friend recalls anecdotes from the author’s past related to race, interweaving his thoughts on why they were hurtful and how he might handle things differently now.

each chapter features the voice of at least one artist or activist, including angie thomas, author of the hate you give; april kingdom, creator of #oscarssowhite; Jemele Hill, sportswriter and podcast host; and eleven others. Touching on everything from cultural appropriation to power dynamics, “reverse racism” to white privilege, microaggressions, and the tragic results of overt racism, this book serves as a conversation starter, toolkit, and invaluable window into the life of a former “symbolic black boy”. ” who is now presented as the friend that many readers need.

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21. out of the dark by ashley hope perez

This is East Texas, and there’s lines. Lines you cross, lines you don’t cross. That clear? New London, TX. 1937. Naomi Vargas is Mexican American. Wash Fuller is Black. These teens know the town’s divisive racism better than anyone. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.

naomi and wash dare to defy the rules, and the explosion of london’s new school serves as a ticking time bomb in the background. Can their love survive both prejudice and tragedy?

Race, romance and family converge in this riveting novel that transports Romeo and Juliet to a bitterly segregated Texas town. includes a fascinating author’s note detailing the process of researching and writing about voices that have been largely left out of historical accounts.

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22. hollow fires by samira ahmed

Safiya Mirza dreams of becoming a journalist. And one thing she’s learned as editor of her school newspaper is that a journalist’s job is to find the facts and not let personal biases affect the story. But all that changes the day she finds the body of a murdered boy.

jawad ali was fourteen years old when he built a cosplay jetpack that a teacher mistook for a bomb. a jetpack that arrested him, labeled him a terrorist, and ultimately killed him. but he is more than a corpse and more than a “bomb child”. he was a person with a life worth remembering.

Driven by Jahad’s haunting voice guiding her throughout her investigation, Safiya seeks to tell the truth about the murdered boy and those who killed him because of their hate-based beliefs.

This compelling and powerful book uses innovative formatting and lyrical prose to expose the evil that lies before us and the quiet complicity of the privileged who create alternative facts to twist the truth to their liking.

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23. ghost children of jewell parker rhodes

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.

Jerome soon meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what happened, on a journey toward recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended her life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the police officer’s daughter, who deals with her father’s actions.

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24. this is my america by kim johnson

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens.

The police arrive at night and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from a bright and up-and-coming track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl.

Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela on the pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the discovery of the skeletons of her Texas town’s racist history that she still haunts in the present?

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25. don’t ask me where i’m from by jennifer de leon

Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.

there’s the wall her mom has put up since liliana’s dad left—again.

there’s the wall that delimits liliana’s diverse inner-city boston neighborhood from westburg, the wealthy white suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.

and there’s the wall liliana creates within herself, because to survive in westburg, she can’t just relax, she has to bleach white.

So what if you change your name? So what if he changes the way he talks? So what if you’re seeing your neighborhood in a different way? but then some hard truths are shed light: it’s not that his dad doesn’t want to come home, he can’t…and his whole family is in danger. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel impassable.

but a wall is not always a barrier. it can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: use this base as a platform to tell the truth about her, or risk crumbling under her weight.

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26. you really took over for laila sabreen

In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.

Sabriya has her entire summer planned in glorious colors, but those plans go awry after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya seeks solace in her online diary. You really assumed it was never meant to be anything more than a medium, but the blog goes viral as other Muslim teens from across the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.

Soon two more teenagers, zakat and farah, join bri to execute what you really took on and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the popularity of the blog grows, so do the criticism and hate comments. when one of them is threatened, the search begins to find out who is behind it all, and their friendship is put to the test when the three must decide whether to close the blog and lose what they have worked for… or leave. stand up and risk everything to make your voice heard.

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