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Last month, I did a ton of reading at the beginning of the month, and then life got in the way (I moved, more on that soon), and I finished up a few books this month. Here’s what I read:
Evicted: This is a book recommendation I got from my boyfriend Dan, all about housing and poverty. It follows eight families of difference races and a handful of different landlords as everyone struggles to make ends meet during the 2007/2008 housing crisis. If you’re studying systemic racism, you can get a clear picture as to how intertwined racism is. While this book doesn’t focus on racism, but rather poverty and housing, you can see the intersectionality of racism and housing, and racism and class throughout. It’s a really educational, eye opening read.
The Vanishing Half: This is a book I read as part of the book club I belong to, and let me tell you - I was hooked from the first few pages. It’s an excellent read about two sisters, one who is dark Black, and one who passes for white. They run away from their tiny town one night, in search of a bigger life. One day, the white passing sister is mistaken as white, and she decides to trade everything she’s ever known to assimilate into a life she’s dreamed of. She marries a white man and starts a family, and lives in a white part of town, all the while harboring this secret of her racial identity. The other sister returns home after leaving an abusive relationship. The book follows the sisters, their white passing and Black daughters and all that they’re struggling with given their skin color. The books, spanning decades, is a story of family secrets, and racial identity. It’s fantastic.
The Proposal: This is a quick beach read about this woman Nik, who is proposed to at a baseball game by this guy she’s not even really all that into. The proposal is a colossal fail, but luckily a pair of siblings seated near Nik help her out. Carlos, the brother, and Nik hit it off, and they both figure it’ll be a casual few dates, but it turns into something neither of them are expecting. It was a cute, quick read if you need a break from heaviness.
So You Want to Talk About Race: This is an excellent read for your anti-racism education. If you’ve been having questions about cultural appropriation, micro-aggressions, the school to prison pipeline and more, this is definitely the book to read. I learned so much from the book and appreciate the way the author presented the book, each chapter dealing with something different on racism.
For July, my book club is reading Big Friendship: How we keep each other close. Two friends, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, share their friendship - the good, the bad, the ugly. Through interviews with experts, they learn that their friendship with all its highs and lows, is not that unique. Given how many people I know who feel maintaining friendships as adults is so difficult, and given the friendships in my life that have ended in the last few years, I’m really curious to read this book and learn more.
I’m also in the middle of reading Me and White Supremacy. Ashley, our Editorial Director, and I have been Zooming each week for business related meetings, and have decided to dedicate time each week to go over the reflections in Me and White Supremacy. Talking about racism and our own self-reflections has been such an interesting experience because I grew up being told that we shouldn’t talk about race. Now that I’ve begun to educate myself, I see how important it is to talk about it, recognize and celebrate our differences and individual uniqueness. Having a friend like Ashley, who grew up in the south, and being able to share stories from my own upbringing in the north east, has made for some really interesting discussion. Ultimately, I’m grateful to work through this book individually and then have a friend to discuss with. If you’re looking to continue your anti-racism education, this book is definitely one to put on your list.
I’d love to hear what you’re reading this month!