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Revised
May 26, 2021
Resources can help with the long-overdue conversation about race relations in America
We, as a library staff and board of trustees, recognize this is a painful time for our community and country. As we continue to wrestle with our country's long history of racial injustice, horrific incidences of police brutality and hate crimes, we feel a responsibility to help bring about positive and lasting change. Today, like too many other days, the trauma that Black, Brown, Indigenous and multiracial children and families are experiencing is a national crisis that requires action. This can begin with examining our own biases and learning more about the history of race relations in America and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Recent events have saddened and troubled each of us and it is clear that, as a society, we have much work to do. The mission of Worthington Libraries—connecting people to a world of ideas and each other—is so crucial in this moment in history. We believe our library must be a resource to encourage civil discourse that will allow our community to have the difficult, but necessary conversations to finally face the legacy of racial inequality, bias and a system that has left far too many behind for far too long.
We have put together the following list of resources to help you get started and will look for additional ways to engage with our community around this issue. It is our hope that this is just the beginning of this important and long overdue conversation.
Children
Fiction
Count Me In
2019
Told from two viewpoints, sixth-graders Karina and Chris use social media to stand up to racism in Houston, Texas, after an attack puts Karina's Indian American grandfather in the hospital.
Lexile level
680
Two White Rabbits
2015
Traveling with her migrant worker father on the roof of a train known as The Beast, a little girl watches the passing scenery, from animals to soldiers, while making regular stops for her father to earn money as they move toward the U.S. border in search of a better life.
Lexile level
490
The Name Jar
2001
After Unhei moves from Korea to the United States, her new classmates help her decide what her name should be.
Lexile level
590AD
Sylvia and Aki
2011
At the start of World War II, Japanese-American Aki and her family are sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, while Mexican-American Sylvia's family leases their Orange County, California, farm and begins a fight to stop school segregation.
Lexile level
760
Blended
2018
Piano-prodigy Isabella, 11, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.
Heather W loved this! Find out why »
I Am Not a Number
2016
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened and homesick. When she goes home for the summer, her parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But what will happen when they disobey the law?
Lexile level
640
When Stars Are Scattered
2020
Omar and his younger brother Hassan live in a refugee camp, and when an opportunity for Omar to get an education comes along, he must decide between going to school every day or caring for his nonverbal brother.
Lexile level
530
Amina's Voice
2017
Amina, a Pakistani-American Muslim girl, struggles to stay true to her family's culture while dealing with the vandalism of the local Islamic Center and mosque and her best friend Soojin's new friendship with their former nemesis.
Lexile level
800
Where Are You From?
2019
When other children and their parents keep asking a young girl where she is from, she puts the same question to her grandfather who describes the land and people from which her family originated.
We Are Water Protectors
2020
When a black snake threatens to destroy Earth and poison her people's water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource.
Marisa W loved this! Find out why »
A Good Kind of Trouble
2019
After attending a powerful protest, Shayla starts wearing an armband to school to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but when the school gives her an ultimatum, she is forced to choose between her education and her identity.
The Breaking News
2018
When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, she tries her hardest to respond to it as compassionately and positively as possible.
Ghost Boys
2018
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.
Other Words for Home
2019
Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises.
Lexile level
930
Kate F loved this! Find out why »
Nonfiction
The Undefeated
2019
This love letter to black life in the United States highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes.
Ellie K loved this! Find out why »
Denied, Detained, Deported
2019
J 325.73 BAU
Examines the history of American immigration, particularly those lesser-known stories of immigrants denied entrance into the United States or detained for security reasons, including the story of a ship of Jewish refugees.
Lexile level
1170
Something Happened in Our Town
2018
Following a police shooting, two families-- one White and one Black-- discuss the event, its aftermath and what they can do to help.
What Is a Refugee?
2019
J 325.21 GRA
Combining bold artwork with comprehensive text, this picture book explains who refugees are, why they had to leave their homes and why they are not always welcomed elsewhere.
Lexile level
680
From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry
2021
An account of the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin shares insights into how a miscarriage of justice in the wake of a hate crime rallied the Asian-American community throughout a groundbreaking civil rights trial.
Podcasts
Movies for families
Separate Is Never Equal
2014
After Sylvia Mendez was denied enrollment in a Whites-only school in the 1940s, her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.
Websites for families
Teens
Fiction
Firekeeper's Daughter
2021
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Don't Ask Me Where I'm From
2020
Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new, nearly all-White school, but when family secrets come out and racism at school gets worse than ever, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.
Born Confused
2002
Seventeen-year-old Dimple, whose family is from India, discovers that she is not Indian enough for the Indians and not American enough for the Americans, as she sees her best friend taking possession of both her heritage and the boy she likes.
Lexile level
890
All American Boys
2015
When 16-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend.
Patron Saints of Nothing
2019
Setting aside his college ambitions when he learns his cousin has been murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, a high school senior travels to the Philippines to uncover the truth, and the part he may have played in it.
Lexile level
840
Hearts Unbroken
2018
Breaking up with her first real boyfriend when he makes racist remarks about her Native American heritage, high school senior Louise Wolfe teams up with a fellow school newspaper editor to cover a multicultural casting of the school play and the racial hostilities it has exposed.
Lexile level
760
Dear Martin
2017
Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 17-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.
The Hate U Give
2017
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends.
Meredith R loved this! Find out why »
We Are Not from Here
2020
When the dangers that surround them become all too real, three teens know they have no choice but to flee from their country, their families, from their beloved home.
The Grief Keeper
2019
Wanting to enjoy an amazing life in America like her favorite television characters, an undocumented 17-year-old bargains for her asylum by becoming a grief keeper to save someone else's life.
Lexile level
610
Black Enough
2019
This collection of short stories explores what it is like to be young and black, centering on the experiences of black teenagers and emphasizing that one person's experiences, reality and personal identity are different than someone else.
Nonfiction
#NotYourPrincess
2017
970.004 NOT
Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of indigenous women across North America resound in this book.
Lexile level
910
Dreaming in Indian
2014
TEEN 704.0397 DRE
Profiles over 50 emerging and established contemporary Native American artists and provides samples of their work.
Dark Sky Rising
2019
Real-life accounts from the age of Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era are used to explore the African American experience in post-Civil War United States.
Speaking Our Truth
2017
This title examines how we can foster reconciliation with Indigenous people at individual, family, community and national levels.
Lexile level
1050
Almost American Girl
2020
Moving abruptly from Seoul to Alabama, a Korean teen struggles in a hostile blended home and a new school where she does not speak English before forging unexpected connections in a local comic drawing class.
Stamped
2020
This book shines a light on the many forms of racist ideas and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.
Hillary K loved this! Find out why »
Americanized: Rebel without a Green Card
2018
TEEN 305.8915 SAE
Learning as a teenager that her Iranian family is undocumented, 13-year-old, straight-A student Sara Saedi juggles the challenges of trying to obtain a green card with the stressful realities of being an everyday American teen.
Lexile level
1030
They Called Us Enemy
2019
TEEN GRAPHIC NOVEL 940.5317 TAK
This book details the author's experiences as a child prisoner in the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II, reflecting on the choices his family made in the face of institutionalized racism.
Lexile level
680
Ink Knows No Borders
2019
TEEN 811.008 INK
A treasury of 65 poems by some of today's most compelling young writers explores themes ranging from homesickness and social exclusion to human rights and identity, in a volume that reflects the experiences of today's teen immigrants and refugees.
What the Eagle Sees
2019
TEEN 970.004 YEL
Tells the stories of what Indigenous people did when invaders arrived on their homelands, sharing accounts of the people, places and events that have mattered in Indigenous history from an Indigenous viewpoint.
Podcasts
Websites for families
Adults
Nonfiction
We Gon' Be Alright
2016
305.8 CHA
Takes a wide-ranging look at the recent tragedies and widespread protests regarding racial inequity in the United States, exploring the rise and fall of "diversity," changing ideas about Asian Americanness and the impact of racial segregation in housing.
Between the World and Me
2015
305.8009 COA
In a series of essays, written as letters to his son, Coates confronts the notion of race in America and how it has shaped American history.
Lexile level
1090
Eloquent Rage
2018
A leading young Black feminist illuminates how organized anger, friendship and faith can be powerful sources of positive feminist change, explaining how targeted rage has shaped the careers of such African-American notables as Serena Williams, Beyonce and Michelle Obama.
Homelands
2018
973.0468 COR
The last great Mexican migration to America is described from the perspective of four friends who met in a Philadelphia restaurant in 1987 to share in their common roots and their love of tequila.
White Fragility
2018
This book analyzes the defensive moves white people make when racially challenged, how these actions protect racial inequality, and presents strategies for engaging more constructively in these conversations.
Minor Feelings
2020
305.895 HON
A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged exploration of the psychological condition of being Asian American.
How To Be an Antiracist
2019
Ethics, history, law and science are combined with a personal narrative to describe how to move beyond the awareness of racism and contribute to making society just and equitable.
When They Call You a Terrorist
2018
A memoir by the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement explains the movement's position of love, humanity and justice, challenging perspectives that have negatively labeled the movement's activists while calling for essential political changes.
Stefanie S loved this! Find out why »
The Displaced
2018
325 DIS
A collection of personal essays by prominent international refugees shares candid reflections on the Trump administration's 2017 executive order to limit or ban Muslim refugees from America.
So You Want to Talk about Race
2018
A contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement and the "N" word.
Kate F loved this! Find out why »
How We Go Home
2020
970.004 HOW
Contemporary, Indigenous stories share the long and ongoing fight to protect Native land and life.
Yellow Peril!
2014
973.0495 YEL
Traces the history of the "yellow peril" to the Enlightenment era and considers how these ideologies persist, in the first comprehensive repository of anti-Asian images and writing, pop culture artifacts and political polemic.
The Devil's Highway: A True Story
2004
Describes the harrowing May 2001 attempt of 26 men to cross the Mexican border into the desert of southern Arizona, a region known as the Devil's Highway, detailing their harrowing ordeal and battle for survival against impossible odds on a trek that cost 14 lives.
Stephanie B loved this! Find out why »
Yellow
2002
Describes how changing concepts of racial identity will impact race relations, discussing such topics as discrimination, immigration, diversity, globalization and the mixed-race movement.
Podcasts
Movies
Resistance at Tule Lake
2018
The long-suppressed story of 12,000 Japanese Americans who dared to resist the U.S. government's program of mass incarceration during World War II.
Whose Streets?
2017
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising.
I Am Not Your Negro
2017
Master documentary filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin's original words and a flood of rich archival material.
Websites
Get involved
Rochelle Wilkerson
I served on the Worthington Libraries Board of Trustees from 2016-2020. I am the supervisor for early childhood education at Columbus City Schools.
