16 books on racism, discrimination and white privilege you should read, from history of oppression to everyday microaggressions

In The New Jim Crow, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that ‘we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it’

In How to Be Less Stupid About Race, Crystal Fleming provides readers with 10 concrete steps that everyone can take to help dismantle systemic racism

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In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and other black Americans in recent months, here are 16 books on race, white privilege and discrimination that you should read. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:30pm, 9 Jun 2020Updated: 1:06am, 10 Jun 2020

Now is the time to get educated on racial inequality and oppression in the United States.

Protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd last month have swept the US and around the world, and more people are talking about how to be allies of black people.

In this era, it’s not enough for allies to say they’re “not racist”, activists and leading scholars are saying. Instead, they have to actively adopt anti-racism, which is the set of beliefs and actions that oppose racism and promote the inclusion and equality of black and brown people in society.

One important way to learn about anti-racism is by reading. Here are the books that black professors and scholars recommend people read right now.

So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo

In this bestseller, writer Ijeoma Oluo, who is based in the US city of Seattle, prompts people of all races to start having honest conversations about race, giving readers handy phrases and questions to start unpacking racism within their own social networks. She tackles subjects ranging from intersectionality to microaggressions, or subtly racist remarks or actions.