When I moved to the United States at the age of 19, I had had the usual US History lessons of how Columbus “discovered America” and the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving, blah blah blah. Very little attention was given to the native peoples who already lived here or the African peoples who were forcibly brought here to help colonize the continent for a white minority.
Once I lived here I became increasingly aware of the still unequal and inequitable regard of different groups of people, often along the lines of skin color and ethnicity. (Having grown up in post-war Germany, the word “race” was not considered a word that one could ethically apply to people, only to animals such as dogs or horses.)
This pervasive prejudice bothered me, and I tried to educate myself on the historical contexts by reading books, non-fiction historical books as well as novels and poems that helped me understand the perspective of the oppressed. Life happened, but several years ago, amidst a number of the more publicized incidents of police violence against Black people, I took up this quest again. To be an ally, I had to immerse myself a little bit more in the Black cultures. When some friends who felt similarly uneducated suggested a book club, we decided to collectively read books written by African American or African women.
Somewhat simultaneously, when working out the curriculum for the Multicultural Certificate in our department, I thought about how much some of these books I had been reading had helped expose me to different experiences and ideas and values of Black folks and other historically marginalized groups. I wanted to be able to share this opportunity with the reading groups that were to be part of the certificate’s capstone, and came up with the idea of a lending library with books that I had accumulated and read. Over time, I purchased many more books that I wanted to read and share with other staff and students in the department.
Thus the lending library was born – it is currently set up on the third floor in our department building and includes several books for adults, young adults and children by and about people with diverse cultural experiences related to facets of identity such as race, ethnicity, gender, and different abilities. There is a sign-out sheet and you are welcome to borrow a book to read. Also if you have suggestions for more books (I could think of sooo many), please let me know.
Here is a link to the list of books currently in this library. Please note that it is a work in progress:
To honor Black History month, here are some books from the lending library that I read and that I recommend:
Non-fiction – The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson tells the riveting story of the Great Migration of Black people from the south to northern states through the eyes of three people who experienced it and compares to previous historical migration stories. Well researched (Wilkerson interviewed more than 1000 people) and beautifully told.
Fiction – The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is the compelling generational history about the Vignes twin sisters, each adopting different identities of their interracial family history. “Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.” (https://britbennett.com)
Self-Help – What If I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People by Vern? Myers provides you with some tips to help move you along on your personal and professional diversity journey.
Young Adult – Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is the captivating story about the realities of family, love, and death, in which the two sisters Yahaira and Camino connect across the ocean from New York to the Dominican Republic following their father’s death. The novel is partially written in verse that “reads like a dope NYC cipher — brilliant, unorthodox, and beautiful”. (https://socialjusticebooks.org/clap-when-you-land)
Children – Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, written by Edwidge Danticat and illustrated by Leslie Staub for ages 5-8, “tells the story of a Haitian, immigrant family in the U.S. and a young girl who, amidst pain and separation, finds solace in her mother’s tales. As the protagonist overcomes some difficult challenges, she also learns to recognize the power of her own words”. (https://socialjusticebooks.org/mamas-nightingale-a-story-of-immigration-and-separation)