Out of continued respect for current events, I’m dedicating this month’s Story Effect episodes to amplifying melanated voices and encouraging discussions about race. This week, I share two fiction and two nonfiction books, some of which I’ve read and others that I’m eager to read. Because I want to direct your attention to these authors, this episode’s show notes consist of a plethora of resources about these stories and interviews from the authors. I sincerely hope you take some time to check them out. 

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode and support these amazing authors and their stories If you’d like to continue the conversation on how to educate ourselves on race, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at abigailkperry [AT] gmail [DOT] COM.

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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. 

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Purchase The Hate U Give on *Amazon *IndieBound *Barnes and Noble

*Angie Thomas on the inspiration behind the novel
*NBC News on the powerful messages of The Hate U Give

WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin Diangelo

NOTE: Although not a black author, Robin Diangelo’s book White Fragility is a wonderful display of how she began to recognize her own unconscious bias–and how all white people can work towards becoming anti-racist by recognizing the same unconscious bias in themselves.

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In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

Purchase White Fragility on *Amazon *IndieBound *Barnes and Noble

*Robin Diangelo on White Fragility

THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett

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The Vignes twin sist