This, from one of the most influential Black activists of all time, is something you will not forget.

If you haven’t heard of this one…well, we have a lot more work to do than I thought. the Autobiography of Malcolm X by malcolm x and alex haley This a masterful work, and important more than 30 years later. She discusses her life growing up on the Mexico/Texas border as Chicana (or Mexican woman or girl), and how colonialism, homophobia, and patriarchy influenced her. Anzaldúa also writes in many variations of English and Spanish, deliberately invoking her common theme of hybridization. Which brings me to Borderlands/La Frontera, a semi-autobiographical work from Anzaldúa. Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa It also includes well-known names like Audre Lorde and Gloria Anzaldúa. These writings, which explores queer, gender, race, and class theory, are the backbone of much modern discussion. Why? Because they exist at the intersection of racism and sexism. For example, a black woman’s oppression is much different from a black man’s, or a white woman’s. That is, they exist at intersections with each other. What is it doing here, you might ask? Well, on your journey to wokeness you will soon come to know that all struggles are intersectional. the fundamental texts This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color For example: “75% of people in state prison for drug conviction are people of color, although blacks and whites see and use drugs at roughly the same rate. In New York State, 94% of those imprisoned for a drug offense are people of color.” Yikes. The statistics in this book will make you furious, and passionate about prison reform (or abolition). While to some it may seem melodramatic, Alexander quickly offers foolproof evidence, testimony, and data to support her thesis.

Michelle Alexander’s book revolves around her central claim: the prison industrial complex is the new Jim Crow. I get it now.” So, explore this portrait of Black America. I’ve had non-black people read this and literally say, “Oh. Critics fawned over Coates’s beautiful writing, a literary style that brings eloquence to a subject many have trouble writing about. Ta-Nehisi Coates (pronounced Ta-Na-Ha-See) blew the world away with this memoir. If you haven’t heard of this one, you must have been living under a rock. between the world and me by ta-nehisi coates Her essay on The Help, a much beloved book but an unfortunately ignorant one, will have you seeing everything differently. Roxane Gay’s collection of essays offers a simple introduction to this concept. Race, class, and gender intersect in various forms, creating various affects. As you’ll soon learn, oppression is always intersectional.

Author of white rage