Month: June 2020

Show Them You’re Good

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Show Them You’re Good explores senior year of high school for several different boys in Los Angeles. They are from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, attend two different high schools, and come from different levels of privilege, but they share the common journey of applying to college and preparing for life after high school. We see not only college applications, but the real life issues these kids face – immigration, sick parents, stable and unstable home environments, parental illness, relationships with girlfriends, relationships with each other. 

What I Loved Most:

This is a beautiful, quiet work. It is a meditation on a single year in these boys’ lives. This book is not only a reflection on the American journey of collegiate education, but also asks the reader to consider the similarities and differences between the boys’ journeys. The end of high school and beginning of college is such a weird year, fraught with both so much excitement about the future and so much nostalgia for the moment before it even passes. Hobbs does a great job of both showcasing the boys’ individual stories, and looking at the larger issues that impact them, like the political system, the college system, and how one finds their identity in a culture that places expectations on them from the moment they are born.

Read this book if you like:

Learning people’s stories, appreciating both differences and commonalities, reflection

Book Details:

#JusticeforGeorge Book List

~ rachelbenzine ~ 1 Comment

My first draft of this blog post started with a narrative of my journey to recognizing my white privilege, realizing that racism is still actively working in our country, and trying to learn more about the experiences of people of color. But then I deleted all of it, because here’s what it comes down to: we have to do better, y’all.

We need to dismantle the racist systems that continue to oppress people of color, and we also need to change as individuals. I’m a huge proponent of the concept that small individual changes add up to make larger change. May our collective sadness/frustration/anger at the death of George Floyd and so many other Black people at the hands of police last beyond this moment. May we take it upon ourselves to do all that we can to change our country for the better.

I watched a powerful video yesterday of George Floyd’s brother urging people to educate themselves. When I started on this journey several years ago of trying to open my eyes to the racism that’s so prevalent in our country, I turned to books. I want to share with you a reading list of some of the best books I’ve read that have helped me become more educated on this topic.

After I finished making the list, I realized it was huge. So I’m going to divide this into a few sections: first, I’ll tell you my if-you’re-only-going-to-read-a-few-read-these-ones list. I’ll have a longer list at the bottom if you’re wanting to dig in and do some more extensive reading. If you have any good recommendations for books you loved that I should check out, leave me a comment! Let’s walk on this journey together.

The following are some of my favorites that have helped me learn more about racism, oppression, and the lives of people of color. These ones are all written for adults.

Adult Nonfiction

  • I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin
  • In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
  • Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow

Adult Fiction

  • Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
  • Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

And now, for the full list:

Adult Nonfiction

  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
  • You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson
  • Unashamed by Lecrae
  • In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
  • Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin
  • How Not to Get Shot by D. L. Hugely
  • Solito, Solita by Steven Mayers (editor)
  • Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow
  • I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
  • Free Cyntoia by Cyntoia Brown
  • Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
  • We Are Not Here to be Bystanders by Linda Sarsour
  • A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett
  • Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Virji
  • The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson

Adult Fiction

  • Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
  • American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings
  • Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

YA & Children’s Nonfiction

  • Reaching for the Stars by Katherine Johnson
  • Free Lunch by Rex Ogle
  • Proud by Ibtihaj Muhammad
  • The Real Story Behind U.S. Treaties with Native Americans by Sarah Machajewski
  • Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II by Albert Marrin

YA & Children’s Fiction

  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  • The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah
  • Devils Within by S. F. Henson
  • Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles
  • Internment by Samira Ahmed
  • You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino
  • The Inside Battle by Melanie Subrow

#justiceforgeorge #pleaseicantbreathe #blacklivesmatter