Reading Suggestions for Anti-Racism Work

Resources for Anti-CRT

Why use Waking Up White for the Regional Read?
In 2017, a reading and discussions of the book Waking Up White profoundly influenced a small group of white people in La Crosse, WI.  The text was a provocative call to action which eventually resulted in the formation of the La Crosse Waking Up White Collaborative and its multi-year anti-racism community work. The Collaborative is sometimes asked why they chose a book that centers on a white woman’s experience when there are so many other books by BIPOC authors who are, arguably, more well versed on the topics of race and racism. This book was selected for several reasons, the most compelling of which are outlined below:
  • The book is intended and written for white people “who are beginning their journey or don’t even know they have a journey to take” (People, Hodges, Ph.D.). Because the La Crosse community is 91% white and the surrounding communities are even “whiter”, this relatable book is a way to invite our residents to learn about how racism lives in our homes, communities, and nation. The common read across multiple areas opens accessibility and provides an energized opportunity for engagement. This book speaks to “good white people” who do not fully see or understand how they contribute to racism. “She wrote the book to address and expose explicit, implicit and all other latent biases and systemic racial practices of whites by whites who enjoyed the benefits of being white” (Ferguson, 2020).”  
  • The book contains both historical research and a compelling personal story of one white woman’s journey of discovering whiteness and understanding its impacts on people of color.  “Debby Irving comes from a [WASP] family and has a history that is the ultimate representation of white superiority.  As a white person of privilege, who can trace her heritage back as far as the first colonists, she uses these advantages in her book to appeal to her contemporaries” (Ferguson, 2020).
  • This book is just a step on the journey and needs to be followed by continued self-learning and reflection with reading, watching, and listening to the works and voices of people of color.  Importantly it is a call to action to change the systems of white dominance and privilege and in doing so make the La Crosse area a Healthier Multicultural Community.
  • The book is ideal for group reads with its short chapters and self-reflecting questions lending to engaging discussions which can be done at the grassroots level with family, friends, colleagues, at churches, places of work, and schools. 

Books that Center the Experiences of Persons of Color: 
  • “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide” by Carol Anderson
  • “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • “White by Law” by Ian Haney Lopez
  • "How to be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi
  • “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo