Social Justice Books

Critically reviewed selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.

Social Justice Books Team Attends Inaugural #ReadBlackBooks Conference

Teaching for Change associate director, Keesha Ceran, and Social Justice Books interns, Becca Townley and Lucy Sieczka, participated in the Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Inaugural #ReadBlackBooks Conference from June 26 – June 30. The #ReadBlackBooks initiative is an effort to push back against the national rise in the banning of books by Black authors in pre-K-12 schools […]

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Young Readers Edition

Review Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: Finally, a book about the real Rosa Parks — the Rosa Parks who was a lifelong activist, tireless organizer, and who did so much more than refuse to give up her seat on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama. In story after story, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert breathe […]

Carter Reads the Newspaper

Review Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: One of the most important advocates for teaching the full story of African Americans in U.S. history was Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Woodson founded Negro History Week in 1926 (which grew into Black History Month), the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), and […]

We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide

Reviewed by Edi Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: We Are Not Yet Equal is an adapted version of Anderson’s White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. Anderson, an African American woman, is the Charles Howard Candler professor of African American Studies at Emory University who researches public policy in relation to race, justice, and equity. […]

When Stars Are Scattered

Reviewed by Lidwien Kapteijns Book Source: African Access Book Author: This graphic novel for 9-12 year-old readers is a real masterpiece. It is based on the life of a Somali boy called Omar, who had to flee his rural village in Somalia in 1991 when he was four, and, together with his mentally challenged younger […]

Calvin

Interview by Audie Cornish, Jonaki Mehta, and Sarah Handel Review Source: NPR Book Author: Instead of a review, we are posting an interview with the authors of Calvin,  JR and Vanessa Ford, by Audie Cornish, Jonaki Mehta, and Sarah Handel at NPR. Calvin was always a boy — but the world did not recognize him that […]