Anti-Racism Reading Group

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The Anti-Racism Reading group unofficially began with reading Rev. William Barber’s book, “The Third Reconstruction” which was the UUA “Common Read” for 2016-2017. In January 2017, we began with three study groups which were of mixed races including community members as well as our congregants who met over four sessions. After the positive response, Rev. Sally White organized more study groups and by the Fall of 2017, we had about 110 people who had participated in one of the study groups. The initial positive response led to the commitment to more deeply explore anti-racism, which involved reading Rev. Barber’s book, other articles exploring racism, movies, and information on the historical and current state of racism in our state and nation.

In 2019, many of the participants continued as the Anti-Racism Reading Group (ARRG), which meets monthly and has read a wide variety of books.  All books are listed below. If you are interested in ordering, consider purchasing from an independent or BIPOC-owned bookstore. If you have a book you would like to suggest for future AARG meetings or you would like to participate, email Sally Davis ([email protected]).  You are welcome to join the group for just one book if there is one that interests you.

  • The Third Reconstruction –Rev. William Barber II
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race – Robin Diangelo
  • Justice on Earth: Working at the Intersection of Race, Class, and Environmental Justice-Editors Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Nordstrom
  • Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race – Debby Irving
  • Tears we Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America- Michael Dyson
  • My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies – Resma Menakem
  • How To Be an Antiracist- Ibram X Kendi
  • Stamped From the Beginning- Ibram X Kendi
  • Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents – Isabel Wilkerson
  • Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – Bryan Stephenson
  • How to Make a Slave – Jerald Walker
  • Strangers in Their Own Land –Arlie Russell Hochschild
  • The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation: Anna Malaika Tubbs
  • The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper – Heather McGhee
  • The Hidden Wound – Wendell Berry