June 8, 2020 We encourage the NAIMUN community to support the Black Lives Matter movement by sending in donations, signing petitions, and contacting local representatives. Please find a non-exhaustive list of ways to support at blacklivesmatters.carrd.co and joincampaignzero.org. ​ ​ ​ ​ We can also all take steps to continue learning more about the Black Lives Matter movement and how to demand change in our own communities. Our Secretariat has compiled a list of books, films, TV shows, articles, and podcasts that we hope can be a starting point for further exploring themes of racism, prejudice, discrimination, and inequity. All of these resources are accessible to teens and young adults, and most are free to access. Read the full NAIMUN LVIII statement here: naimun.modelun.org/s/NAIMUN-LVIII-BLM-Statement ​ Please note that several resources below are marked with a content warning. While the best effort has been made to flag all sensitive content, please engage with the below resources at your discretion. Educational Resources: Books and Poetry Most are available for checkout at local public libraries. Those marked with an * are available for free reading at the Internet Archive library. ​ ​ Fiction Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe* ​ ● Achebe’s famous literary response to the racist depiction of colonialism and Black bodies in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the novel chronicles the young warrior Okonkwo and his ​ ​ people’s struggle during the arrival of the British colonizers. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett ​ ● Set in the late 1960s and 1970s, this novel follows the story of twin sisters growing up in Jim Crow Louisiana. Although they are raised in the Black community, one twin passes as white and distances herself from her family heritage in a tragic and insightful evaluation of race in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie* ​ ● By the acclaimed Nigerian author and thought leader Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah chronicles the journey of a Nigerian woman who moves to the United States ​ for college and grapples with the meaning of race in Nigeria and in the US. Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ​ ● Here, Adichie tackles Black womanhood directly with an exploration of how to empower young women amidst the colorist and sexist tensions in society. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin* (CW: domestic violence) ​ ● By Harlem Renaissance author James Baldwin, this novel examines the role of religion in Black communities through the story of a teenager in Harlem. Kindred by Octavia Butler* ​ ● This novel incorporates the use of time travel to illustrate plantation life in pre-Civil War Maryland, while comparing it to the present-day setting of the book in the 1970s. Selected Poems by Langston Hughes ​ ● This collection of poems by Hughes includes many of his works connected to race in America. The Color of Water by James McBride* ​ ● In this bestselling autobiography, author James McBride pays tribute to his mother. A white, Jewish woman who married a Black man, McBride recounts his experience with race through his mother’s eyes. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (CW: sexual assault)* ​ ● This novel follows the life of African-American Janie Crawford, who starts her journey as a voiceless teenage girl and grows into a strong woman in charge of her own destiny. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid* ​ ● Here the Antiguan author and noted theorist Jamaica Kincaid provides a window into Antigua’s relationship with Britain, the tourism industry, and the ultimate impact and legacy of British colonialism on the island. Beloved by Toni Morrison* ● Based on a true story, the novel follows a Black mother’s love and hope for a better world for her children during slavery. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel looks at the effects of slavery on families and manhood. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison* ​ ● A groundbreaking work of American literature, the Song of Solomon examines race in ​ ​ America and the deep, suppressed pain experienced by oppressed Black Americans through the lens of its protagonist, Milkman Dead. Sula by Toni Morrison* ​ ● This novel by Toni Morrison follows the lives of two friends, starting as kids and growing into adults, who must work to maintain their friendship through the racial hardships that they face. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison* (CW: violence, rape) ​ ● The first novel by Toni Morrison, a foundational Black author and American literary icon, The Bluest Eye spares no detail in detailing the harrowing experience of Black Americans ​ in the twentieth century. Its protagonist, Pecola, strives for whiteness and the bluest eyes. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine ​ ● Citizen: An American Lyric is a 2014 book-length poem by American poet Claudia Rankine. The book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred Taylor* ​ ● This novel by Award-winning Black author Mildred Taylor describes growing up in the South during the Jim Crow era. The Newbery Medal winning novel delves into the effects of both racial injustice and the Great Depression on the child narrator. She by Saul Williams ​ ● An up-and-coming Black American poet, Saul Williams has received critical acclaim for his written poetry, slam poetry performances, and acting. In poetry anthology She, ​ ​ Williams reflects on his coming of age and parenthood. Theory/Nonfiction The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin* ​ ● This pair of essays by celebrated Harlem Renaissance author James Baldwin expands on the ideas explored in his novel Go Tell It on the Mountain. Here, Baldwin calls for civil ​ ​ rights for Black Americans through the lens of historical race relations and religion in America. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander* ​ ● By civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander, this account of the criminal justice system in the United States exposes how mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex have become “the new Jim Crow” for Black Americans. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (CW: Sexual Assault)* ​ ● This autobiography highlights the writer and poet Maya Angelou’s early years, exploring themes of racism and trauma, and how the author’s love for literature helped her overcome this. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates ​ ● In this New York Times Bestseller novel, Coates analyzes the history of racial injustice and the current state of affairs through a letter to his son. If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance by Angela Y Davis* ​ ● This novel analyzes the prison system in the United States. Written by political activist Angela Davis, the novel describes Davis’s trial and imprisonment and the larger implications of political prisoners. Evicted by Matthew Desmond ​ ● Evicted tells the true stories of poor Milwaukee families and their struggles to pay rent and ​ find affordable housing during the housing crisis of 2007-08 and the Great Recession. A heartbreaking examination of exploitation and limited housing access, and a compelling call for universal housing. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo ​ ● This New York Bestselling book investigates the phenomenon white fragility in the United States and the behaviors that white people follow which perpetuate racial inequality. Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson* ​ ● This book analyzes race relations in the United States, specifically social constructs the exist in our socio-political systems. The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B DuBois* ​ ● This piece of African American literature considers the veil of race and the experiences of being Black in the United States. This work is known for the analysis of “double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others.” Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison* ​ ● Invisible Man won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction in 1953. The book follows a young, nameless black protagonist and touches upon themes of black nationalism, the relationship between black identity and Marxism, and the reformist racial policies of Booker T. Washington, as well as issues of individuality and personal identity. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon* ​ ● Psychiatrist Frantz Fanon provides a psychiatric and psychological analysis of the dehumanizing effects of colonization upon the individual and the nation, and discusses the broader social, cultural, and political implications inherent to establishing a social movement for the decolonization of a person and of a people. Nobody by Marc Lamont Hill ​ ● In this thought-provoking analysis of state-sanctioned violence, Hill carefully examines a string of high-profile deaths in America—Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and others—and attempts to uncover patterns and policies of authority that allow some citizens become disempowered, disenfranchised, poor, uneducated, exploited, vulnerable, and disposable. Killing Rage, Ending Racism by bell hooks [sic]* ​ ● By American author and outspoken feminist bell hooks, Killing Rage, Ending Racism is a ​ ​ collection of essays on the intersectionality of feminist issues and racial tension in America. hooks reflects on how Black Americans can leverage their rage at centuries of systematic oppression to advocate for a more equitable future. How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi ​ ● Most people will tell you that racism is all about hatred and ignorance. In How to Be an ​ Antiracist, Kendi explains that racism is ultimately structural and employs history, science, ​ and ethics to describe different forms of racism. Kendi's title encompasses his main thesis: simply not being racist isn't enough. We must actively choose to be "antiracist," working to undo racism and its component policies in order to build an equitable society.