BIPOC Educations Resources

At The Nooks, we stand in solidarity with our BIPOC employees, our vendors and community. We are committed to creating a more inclusive, equal and educated tomorrow. If you have further resources or charities we should include in our list,  please let us know! [email protected] 

Articles to read:

Videos to watch:

Podcasts to subscribe to:

Books to read:

  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    A letter from a father to his son about living as a black man in America.
  • Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
    An exploration of words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academia
  • Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
    Poetry, essays and vignettes on being a person of colour in America. Heartbreaking and beautiful.
  • Dreams From My Father by Barak Obama
    Before the presidency, when he was in school. He grapples with his bi-racial heritage and race in America.
  • Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
    An autobiography of a black woman’s complicated dance with feminism and vulnerable story of pain and possibility
  • Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
    A son’s story about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi.
  • Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
    A memoir of an indigenous woman growing up in Canada and the USA
  • How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
    How racist policies create racist ideas and why anti-racism has to start at the institution level.
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
    A memoir of a young girl growing up in America enduring abandonment and prejudice. Poetic and powerful.
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
    A powerful true story about the Equal Justice Initiative, the people they represent, and the importance of confronting injustice.
  • Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
    Education on white privilege and participation in white supremacy, so that we can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on black, indigenous and people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.
  • Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
    A memoir of how and why five men in the author’s life were lost in the space of four years.
  • Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
    How white women can stop avoiding hard conversations
  • Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
    Janet Mock’s experience as a young, multiracial, poor, and trans in America, providing insight into the unique challenges of a marginalized and misunderstood population.
  • Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
    A series of essays and speeches by a feminist, black lesbian poet reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope.
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
    How to have difficult conversations about race. Especially as a white person.
  • Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
    An examination on how the USA was built on racist policies and institutions and why that matters.
  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
    An examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity. The novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with subtlety and grace.
  • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
    Two essays about the time of segregation between white and black Americans.
  • The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
    Canada’s racist history towards the indigenous people. Brimming with rightful anger.
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
    How the American criminal justice system evolved into a system of racial control. Watch the 13th Netflix documentary for more info on this.
  • The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
    An assessment of the current crisis—political, economical, and environmental—and how to create the radical social change we need to confront new realities.
  • The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole
    A text for anti-racist and social justice movements in Canada, and an antidote to the complacency of many white Canadians.
  • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
    Great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
    An African-American woman’s story of growing up in Southern Florida in the early 20th century.
  • When Affirmative Action Was White by Ira Katznelson
    An untold history of racial inequality in twentieth-century America.
  • Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
    A British perspective on race.
  • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
    Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism.
  • Here Wee Read - Instagram account by Charnaie Gordon
    A resource for finding diverse books and educational products for children, curated by Diversity and Inclusion Expert Charnaie Gordon

Films and TV series to watch:

  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent
  • King In The Wilderness — HBO
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

Organizations to follow on social media:

More anti-racism resources: