Want to learn more about Black Lives Matter? 16 books to educate yourself on racism within the UK and US thestar.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thestar.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Theaters went dark in London’s West End last year, while galleries closed and concert halls stood silent. But there was one creative industry that flourished during lockdown: the reading and publishing of books.
Many in the industry, as well as parents and educators, are now hoping the habit will stick around post-Covid. My guess is it just might.
HarperCollins, one of the big five publishers dominating the Anglo-Saxon market on both sides of the Atlantic, had a “historic” final quarter of 2020. Then it posted a 45% jump in profits and a 19% increase in revenue in the quarter ending March 31, 2021, compared with the year-earlier period. Chief Executive Officer Charlie Redmayne points to profitable backlist sales: Favorite fantasy writers like J. R. R. Tolkien and George R. R. Martin provided escapist thrills, while Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries provided isolation comfort food.
While a number of Black bookstore owners said they were grateful for the increase in business, they worried that this sudden interest in certain books would only put a temporary Band-Aid on the much more pervasive problem of systemic racism in the U.S.
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Reading about the movement
One of the key precepts of the BLM movement is educating oneself. Regardless of race, age, or gender, it calls for people to learn more about both Black history and how racism currently manifests within society. Systemic racism is endemic in the UK as it is in America, hence more and more people in the UK recognising the need to learn more about Black history .
Books to help you become an ally, and understand the movement better
We’ve curated a list of excellently written and researched books, from both the UK and the US, that discuss the complexities of racism while capturing the lived experiences of people of colour.
In "The Sum of Us," Heather McGhee offers a blueprint for how the country can move together toward a better future for everyone, writes Biblioracle columnist John Warner.