History of Racism
Books
“A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“A People’s History of the United States”, Howard Zinn
“Assata: An Autobiography”, Assata Shakur
“Invisible Man”, Ralph Ellison
“The Fire Next Time”, James Baldwin
“The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, Malcolm X, Alex Haley
“The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.”, Clayborne Carson
“The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors”, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
“The Negro Family In the United States”, Edward F. Frazier
“The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study”, W.E.B. Du Bois
“The Races of Europe”, William Zebina Ripley
“Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Film
“12 Years a Slave” – Period drama film based on the memoir by Solomon Northup, a free African American captured and sold into slavery
“500 Nations” – History of Native Americans from the 1600s to the late 19th century
“A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom” – PBS documentary on civil and labor rights activist A. Philip Randolph
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs” – Documentary on Chinese American civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs
“For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots” – Documentary on the history of black soldiers in the United States
“Freedom Riders” – Documentary on the civil rights activists called Freedom Riders directed by Stanley Nelson
“Malcolm X” – Spike Lee directed biopic on civil rights activist Malcolm X
“Reel Injun” – Documentary by Cree director Neil Diamond on Native American history in Hollywood and the cowboy-and-Indian trope
“Ruben Salazar: Man In the Middle” – Documentary on Mexican American journalist Ruben Salazar
“Selma” – Historical drama film by Ava DuVernay on the civil rights struggles in Selma in 1965
“Slavery by Another Name” – Documentary on Reconstruction and the 60 years following the Civil War
“Soundtrack for a Revolution” – Documentary describing the story of the Civil Rights Movement through music
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” – Documentary on the history of the Black Panther Party
“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” – Documentary describing the Black Power movement from the movement’s most famous activists
“We Shall Remain – PBS documentary on the history of Native American struggle for land
“Who Killed Vincent Chin?” – Documentary on the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin
Websites/Articles
Civil Rights Are Green An article highlighting the intersection of race and environmentalism and offering a brief timeline of their historical intersection
From Ferguson to Baltimore An article published in the Economic Policy Institute on the connection of historical segregation to modern-day race relations
Living Apart A publication by ProPublica highlighting how government policy undermined de-segregation attempts
Lynching in America Website documenting the history and impact of lynching in the United States
Refusing to Forget An online resource around preserving the history of anti-Mexican violence around the Texas-Mexico border
The True Story of The “Free State of Jones” An article detailing the history of a southern multiracial rebellion against the Confederacy by the Smithsonian magazine (written as a film on the topic was being developed)