Here are 100 books that The Hidden Cost of Being African American fans have personally recommended if you like
The Hidden Cost of Being African American.
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I grew up in New York City listening to my parents’ stories of extreme hardship and suffering during the Nazi occupation of their native Greece—and the courageous resistance they and many Greeks mounted. I’m outraged by the unfairness of extreme poverty in the midst of plenty and motivated to fight for economic justice. In the early 1980s, as homelessness was first becoming a crisis, I got involved in legal advocacy to address it, first as a volunteer lawyer and then as a full-time advocate. I believe housing is a human right and that no one should be homeless in a country as rich as the US.
This was an eye-opening book for me. It makes clear that the US government has pursued a deliberate policy of racism in housing: it’s no accident that housing insecurity generally—and homelessness specifically—so disproportionately affects Black Americans.
It showed me that the deliberate policy choices I had witnessed first-hand that caused and exacerbated homelessness were part of larger systemic problems not just of poverty and inequality but also racial discrimination. As a lawyer, the focus on legal stories appealed to me, but it’s written in a way that I think will engage anyone interested in basic questions of social justice.
Widely heralded as a "masterful" (The Washington Post) and "essential" (Slate) history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law offers "the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation" (William Julius Wilson). Exploding the myth of de facto segregation arising from private prejudice or the unintended consequences of economic forces, Rothstein describes how the American government systematically imposed residential segregation: with undisguised racial zoning; public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities; subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs; tax exemptions for institutions that enforced…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
I’m an entrepreneur and investor. I’ve been obsessed with financial independence and wealth creation for the Black community for 30 years. I wrote my book, below, to invite Black and white Americans alike onto the playing field of what I believe to be an existential crisis—closing America’s racial wealth gap. I wanted to share my story of living through the gap. I also elevate the work of Black leaders who are tackling the problem in different ways. I’ve created an easy way for readers to understand the depth and nature of the problem…and know how they could take small and big steps to help solve it.
I found this work to be a fun, irreverent version of American history from a Black perspective. I think Harriot is a top-notch journalist, who is as funny as he is smart; I’m often fascinated by his articles in TheGrio and The Atlantic.
This one gave me a master history lesson covering the period from 1619 to the present day. While reading it, I often wondered, “What would happen if more Americans knew these stories?” I walked away informed, inspired…and a little saucy.
From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.
America's backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington's cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln's log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story.
I’m an entrepreneur and investor. I’ve been obsessed with financial independence and wealth creation for the Black community for 30 years. I wrote my book, below, to invite Black and white Americans alike onto the playing field of what I believe to be an existential crisis—closing America’s racial wealth gap. I wanted to share my story of living through the gap. I also elevate the work of Black leaders who are tackling the problem in different ways. I’ve created an easy way for readers to understand the depth and nature of the problem…and know how they could take small and big steps to help solve it.
Everyone loves taxes, right? Before reading this, I hadn’t realized the outsized role disproportionate allocation of state and local tax revenues plays in perpetuating the gap. One often-repeated untruth is “black people don’t pay taxes.”
I loved how Kahrl debunked that concept and thoroughly explained the role of tax policy (and individual acts) in re-appropriating land and property over multiple generations. I hadn’t made this connection to the problem before taking this deep dive. I was deeply troubled by this one; instance upon instance of plunder across the States.
Revealing a history that is deep, broad, and infuriating, The Black Tax casts a bold light on the racist practices long hidden in the shadows of America's tax regimes.
American taxation is unfair, and it is most unfair to the very people who critically need its support. Not only do taxpayers with fewer resources-less wealth, power, and land-pay more than the well-off, but they are forced to fight for their rights within an unjust system that undermines any attempts to improve their position or economic standing. In The Black Tax, Andrew W. Kahrl reveals the shocking history and ruinous consequences…
At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…
I’m an entrepreneur and investor. I’ve been obsessed with financial independence and wealth creation for the Black community for 30 years. I wrote my book, below, to invite Black and white Americans alike onto the playing field of what I believe to be an existential crisis—closing America’s racial wealth gap. I wanted to share my story of living through the gap. I also elevate the work of Black leaders who are tackling the problem in different ways. I’ve created an easy way for readers to understand the depth and nature of the problem…and know how they could take small and big steps to help solve it.
I thought it was super cool that a Black woman and a white woman came together to tackle this topic. I loved that they used a cross-section of economic situations and demographics centered on one of my favorite cities—Atlanta—to tell the story.
I learned a lot about rapper Killer Mike and was moved by the story of Tandreia Dixon, who worked her way to being a six-figure earner by her early thirties, in the face of challenging circumstances, yet struggled and struggled to get into the homeownership game. Reading about her was like watching a movie when you know something bad is going to eventually happen.
A sweeping, narrative history of Black wealth and the economic discrimination embedded in America's financial system.
The early 2020s will long be known as a period of racial reflection. In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, Americans of all backgrounds joined together in historic demonstrations in the streets, discussions in the workplace, and conversations at home about the financial gaps that remain between white and Black Americans. This deeply investigated book shows the scores of setbacks that have held the Black-white wealth gap in place—from enslavement to redlining to banking discrimination—and, ultimately, the reversals that occurred in…
I was born and raised in Nyack, New York, and all of my degrees are from colleges and universities in New York. I have always been interested in race relations in America and understanding their causes and consequences. Hope and despair are two themes that run through the experiences of people of African ancestry in America. The books I selected include fiction and nonfiction works that highlight promises made and promises unfulfilled.
I found this book to be life-changing. No good books have explained racial wealth inequality in America for years. This book changed that oversight. I love how the book calls upon its readers to think beyond income as a measure of economic equality and consider wealth. It plainly shows the causes and consequences of racial wealth inequality in America. I am glad that the book offers some recommendations for narrowing the gap but is also realistic about the related challenges.
The award-winning Black Wealth / White Wealth offers a powerful portrait of racial inequality based on an analysis of private wealth. Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro's groundbreaking research analyzes wealth - total assets and debts rather than income alone - to uncover deep and persistent racial inequality in America, and they show how public policies have failed to redress the problem.
First published in 1995, Black Wealth / White Wealth is considered a classic exploration of race and inequality. It provided, for the first time, systematic empirical evidence that explained the racial inequality gap between blacks and whites. The Tenth…
Mothering a child with special needs was a journey I didn’t expect to be taking and one that has been immensely challenging. I am always seeking ways to become my best self and the best mother I can be, helping my children be their best selves. I want my children to feel supported, loved, and like they can be their truest, fullest selves. These books helped me connect with my children in the ways that were the most helpful, impactful, and loving. They guided me in running a Son-Rise Program, which was by far the most influential thing I ever did to help my daughter with autism and developmental delays.
I was so deeply moved and inspired by reading this book that, even as a young student in college, I almost hoped I would have a child with autism so that I could have the experience of running a Son-Rise Program. I loved how Bears and Samahria charted their own course when there were no mapped parenting paths that appealed to them. I loved their optimism, love, joy, and determination.
They decided not to stop Raun’s repetitive behaviors but used those behaviors as the bridge to connection, whereas the professionals seeing Raun at the time wanted to stop the behaviors so that they could force Raun to connect. The forcing didn’t work, but joining the behaviors brought miraculous changes.
What moved me the most was how much Raun changed and grew in response to the internal work Bears and Samahria did to be clear and present. They invited Raun to…
In 1979, the classic best-seller Son-Rise was made into an award-winning NBC television special, which has been viewed by 300 million people worldwide. Now, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues presents an expanded and updated journal of Barry and Samahria Kaufman's successful effort to reach their once "unreachable" autistic child. Part one documents Raun Kaufman's astonishing development from a lifeless, autistic, retarded child into a highly verbal, lovable youngster with no traces of his former condition. Part two details Raun's extraordinary progress from the age of four into young adulthood. Part three shares moving accounts of five families that successfully used the…
Resonant Blue and Other Stories
by
Mary Vensel White,
The first collection of award-winning short fiction from the author of Bellflower and Things to See in Arizona, whose writing reflects “how we can endure and overcome our personal histories, better understand our ancestral ones, and accept the unknown future ahead.”
As a longtime outdoors editor of a Mississippi newspaper, I actually got paid to paddle local rivers. Over the decades, I expanded my territory to adjacent states, the South, the continent, and other countries. I parlayed my experiences into several books on rivers. As a paddler and writer, I naturally love to read about adventures on the water–not only classics like Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi River and Paul Theroux's Happy Isles of Oceania but also the many less-known but highly praiseworthy books like those listed here.
I grew up near the Mississippi River, and my father and older brother worked on it for many years, so I was thrilled to run across this in-depth look at the world they inhabited. As the wife of a riverboat pilot, Melody Golding had unparalleled access to the inner workings of river life.
Over the course of a decade, she interviewed more than 100 men and women and let them tell their own stories. An acclaimed photographer, she illustrated this project with fabulous color photos. Thanks to her, I got to ride along the vessels that ply the Mississippi and other waterways, just like my dad and brother once did.
Life Between the Levees is a chronicle of first-person reflections and folklore from pilots who have dedicated their lives to the river. The stories are as diverse as the storytellers themselves, and the volume is full of drama, suspense, and a way of life a "landlubber" could never imagine. Although waterways and ports in the Mississippi corridor move billions of dollars of products throughout the US and foreign markets, in today's world those who live and work on land have little knowledge of the river and the people who work there.
In ten years of interviewing, Melody Golding collected over…
I’ve always been curious about people and the way they interact. When I was a small child, all our neighbors had their back doors wide open to catch the summertime breeze; they’d get the sense they were being watched… by my small face pressed against the screen door, listening and learning. My parents would get called..” She’s doing it again.” As an introvert, a performing artist, and a coach, I’ve learned to tune my ears to the messaging beneath the words—the unspoken truth in the interaction. And I truly believe that if we can learn to be more effective and compassionate listeners—our world will change for the better.
This book is a celebration of experiences, told not by Hollywood, not by “the rich and famous,” but by people who might live next door to you and me. Pulled together from the massive archives of the highly esteemed StoryCorps project and edited by its Founder—Dave Isay, this bookis dedicated to the power of true stories told by ordinary Americans.
I love the sheer variety offered in this collection. I did not expect this book to be a page-turner, but each story held such unpredictability and emotional range that I simply could not put it down! The book is a rich reminder that once we establish the time and space to listen deeply, people will offer stories that unfold like stunning flowers on a time-lapse video.
“As heartwarming as a holiday pumpkin pie and every bit as homey . . . what emerges in these compelling pages is hard-won wisdom and boundless humanity.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer
As heard on NPR, a wondrous nationwide celebration of our shared humanity
StoryCorps founder and legendary radio producer Dave Isay selects the most memorable stories from StoryCorps' collection, creating a moving portrait of American life.
The voices here connect us to real people and their lives—to their experiences of profound joy, sadness, courage, and despair, to good times and…
I’ve had a passion for poetry since my early childhood, when I fondly remember listening to my elders recite—specifically, my teachers reading rhymes by Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. As I grew into my adolescence and adulthood, my interest in literature only amplified with my introduction to works by Maya Angelou, R.H. Sin, and Rupi Kaur. Now, as a self-published poet and self-proclaimed enthusiast of the genre, I continue to spend my time browsing shelves, attending readings, and supporting writers/artists debuting work into the world. I hope you enjoy the books on my list.
As an independent author and creative, at times I lose sight of my personal “why” and motivation for creation.
I love Black Women Writers at Work by Claudia Tate, because it served as a reminder of the importance of diversity, the range writers can have, and the longevity creative output can maintain with the support of their audience. I appreciated that Claudia asked each author specific questions related to their work and not just generic questions related to the topic and technique of writing.
This book was not only entertaining for me, but extremely informative. I loved it so much that I started with the audiobook and was gifted a physical copy!
"Black women writers and critics are acting on the old adage that one must speak for oneself if one wishes to be heard." -Claudia Tate, from the introduction
Long out-of-print, Black Women Writers At Work is a vital contribution to Black literature in the 20th century. Through candid interviews with Maya Angelou, Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks. Alexis Deveaux, Nikki Giovanni, Kristin Hunter, Gayl Jones, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Tillie Olson, Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Margret Walker, and Shirley Anne Williams, the book highlights the practices and critical linkages between the work and lived experiences of Black women…
After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through young adulthood. Miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are displaced from their land by multinational energy companies. They are taken…
I’ve been on a lifelong quest to understand the deeper layers of consciousness and identity. A déjà vu moment in my thirties changed everything—setting me on a path to rediscover forgotten wisdom and question the surface of reality. I write from this place of remembering: to help others navigate their path back to truth, wholeness, and self-trust. These books were milestones for me, each helping to flip the coin from fear to sovereignty.
I love Joseph Campbell’s work because he reveals the deeper archetypal patterns beneath daily life. By following this book, as he envisioned it, I’ve found that challenges that once felt like mountains became stepping stones, each revealing deeper wisdom.
His work helped me see that transformation isn’t about striving harder—it’s about facing the ordeal and returning to ourselves, whole. I’ve always loved mythology and believe in the magic of the human spirit. Campbell’s vision gave me a mythological method for seeing my own life through the eyes of the timeless story.
Joseph Campbell, arguably the greatest mythologist of the twentieth century, was certainly one of our greatest storytellers. This masterfully crafted book interweaves conversations between Campbell and some of the people he inspired, including poet Robert Bly, anthropologist Angeles Arrien, filmmaker David Kennard, Doors drummer John Densmore, psychiatric pioneer Stanislov Grof, Nobel laureate Roger Guillemen, and others. Campbell reflects on subjects ranging from the origins and functions of myth, the role of the artist, and the need for ritual to the ordeals of love and romance. With poetry and humor, Campbell recounts his own quest and conveys the excitement of his…
