10 Books to Read If You Want to Be Antiracist

Now that you've flooded Instagram with photos of black squares, it's time to hunker down for some real activism.


If you're a white person, you're sitting on top of about four centuries of institutionalized racism. In the wake of George Floyd's murder by police and countless Black Lives Matter protests across the nation, it's time to show up—with your body, with your voice, and with your brain.

It's no longer OK to just be "not racist." You have to be actively anti-racist, and there's a growing list of resources available to help you do just that. And what better way to learn than by sticking your nose into a book?

Below, we've compiled a list of 10 books—many of which are bestsellers—by Black authors that will give you a much more thorough understanding of how deeply racism runs in the United States.

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

This memoir by Kiese Laymon takes a personal look at how race affects everyday life and how our nation has failed Black people.

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