I spent 2019 reading only written works by minority voices: Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, non-Christians, women, and people with disabilities. It was far more difficult than I thought it would be to avoid heterosexual able-bodied Christian white men’s voices for an entire year. But through that year, and as I have continued to elevate these voices in my reading since then, I learned an incredible amount of others’ perspectives and experiences. I am incredibly grateful to the authors whose work helped me broaden my own horizons. Below are the best and most helpful things that I have read, specifically by minority voices, about things that those of us in majority cultures should hear and understand.
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
Asim, Jabari. We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival.
Austin, Nefertiti. Motherhood So White.
Brown, Austin Channing. I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.
Burana, Lily. Grace for Amateurs: Field Notes on a Journey Back to Faith.
Butler, Octavia. Kindred.
Butler, Paul. Chokehold: Policing Black Men.
Carmon, Irin. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Clemmons, François. Officer Clemmons.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me.
Cruz, Rosayra Pablo and Julie Schwietert Collazo. The Book of Rosy.
Currie, Elliott. A Peculiar Indifference: The Neglected Toll of Violence on Black America.
Curtice, Kaitlin B. Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God.
Eger, Edith. The Choice: Embrace the Possible.
Elliott, Alicia. A Mind Spread Out On the Ground.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man.
Esther, Elizabeth. Spiritual Sobriety: Stumbling Back to Faith When Good Religion Goes Bad.
Gafney, Wilda C. Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne.
Gibney, Shannon and Kao Kalia Yang (ed.). What God Is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss by and for Native Women and Women of Color.
Gonzalez, Karen. The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong.
Hamad, Ruby. White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color.
Hammerman, Ilayna. A Small Door Set in Concrete.
Hartke, Austen. Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians.
Higashida, Naoki. The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism.
Hill, Wesley. Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian.
Hudes, Quiara Alegria. My Broken Language.
Ifueko, Jordan. Raybearer.
Johnson, Kim. This Is My America.
Kaur, Valarie. See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.
Mayfield, D.L. The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power.
McGhee, Heather. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Us and How We Can Prosper Together.
McSpadden, Lezley. Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil.
McWhorter, John. Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America’s Lingua Franca.
Miranda, Lin-Manuel. Hamilton: The Revolution.
Morrison, LaTasha. Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation.
Moulite, Maika and Maritza Moulite. One of the Good Ones.
Noah, Trevor. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood.
Norris, Michele. The Grace of Silence.
Okeowo, Alexis. A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa.
Pierce, Wendell. The Wind in the Reeds.
Ramey, Sarah. The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness.
Risher, Sharon. For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness After the Charleston Massacre.
Ruffin, Amber and Lacey Lamar. You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism.
Shahani, Aarti Namdev. Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Starr, Mirabai. Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics.
Ward, Jesmyn. Men We Reaped.
Ward, Jesmyn. The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race.
Washington, Harriet A. Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present.
Welch, Skot. Plantation Jesus: Race, Faith, and a New Way Forward.
Westlake, Courtney. A Different Beautiful: Discovering and Celebrating Beauty in Places You Never Expected.
Wilkerson, Isabel. Caste: The Origins of our Discontents.