Topic
Civil Rights
10 reading guides and book lists curated by the Editors Reads team.
10 posts
Where to Start with Malcolm X: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Malcolm X — how to approach The Autobiography of Malcolm X, one of the most powerful American autobiographies ever written. A complete reading guide.
Where to Start with Margot Lee Shetterly: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Margot Lee Shetterly — how to approach Hidden Figures, her history of the Black female mathematicians whose calculations helped launch America into space. A complete reading guide.
Where to Start with Michelle Alexander: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Michelle Alexander — how to approach The New Jim Crow, her essential book on mass incarceration and racial caste. A complete reading guide.
Where to Start with Nelson Mandela: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Nelson Mandela — how to approach Long Walk to Freedom, his autobiography tracing a Transkei childhood through 27 years of imprisonment to liberation. A complete reading guide.
Alice Walker Books in Order: Complete Bibliography & Best Starting Points
Alice Walker's complete bibliography in order — from The Color Purple and Meridian to Possessing the Secret of Joy. Best starting points for new readers.
Best African American Literature: Essential Reading List
The best African American literature — from Beloved and Invisible Man to The Color Purple and Song of Solomon. The most essential works in the Black literary tradition.
Best Books About Civil Rights and Activism: Essential Reading
The best books about civil rights and activism — from The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Long Walk to Freedom to Between the World and Me and The New Jim Crow.
Best Books About Criminal Justice: Essential Reading on Law and Incarceration
The best books about criminal justice — from The New Jim Crow and In Cold Blood to Caste and Between the World and Me. Race, law, and the American justice system.
James Baldwin Books in Order: Complete Bibliography & Best Starting Points
James Baldwin's complete bibliography in order — from Go Tell It on the Mountain and Giovanni's Room to The Fire Next Time and If Beale Street Could Talk. Essential guide to Baldwin's work.
Best Books About Race in America: 16 Essential Reads
These 16 books — spanning history, memoir, fiction, and polemic — are the essential reading list for understanding race in America, from slavery to the present day.
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