Books Allies Can Read, Part One: Understanding, Listening, and Learning
This is the first in a two-part reading list for allies. If you're here, chances are you're looking for ways to understand more, to do better, and to walk more closely in solidarity with Black communities. That starts with listening, deeply and honestly.
The books in this list offer a foundation. They won’t give you all the answers, but they’ll help you ask better questions. They invite reflection, challenge assumptions, and provide essential context for anyone committed to meaningful, long-term allyship.
Here’s the list:
1. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race — Reni Eddo-Lodge
ISBN: 978-1408870587
A modern classic. Eddo-Lodge explores the history of race and racism in Britain with clarity and courage, offering insight into structural inequality and the silences that maintain it.
2. Me and White Supremacy — Layla F. Saad
ISBN: 978-1728209807
This guided journal invites you into a process of self-reflection and accountability. It's honest work, sometimes uncomfortable, but deeply necessary for any ally committed to change.
3. So You Want to Talk About Race — Ijeoma Oluo
ISBN: 978-1580058827
Oluo breaks down key topics from privilege to police brutality with directness and compassion. A go-to guide for anyone navigating conversations about race, especially for the first time.
4. Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire — Akala
ISBN: 978-1473661233
British writer and artist Akala weaves memoir, politics, and history into this sharp, stirring reflection on life as a working-class Black boy in Britain. A necessary counter-narrative.
5. Between the World and Me — Ta-Nehisi Coates
ISBN: 978-0812993547
Written as a letter to his son, Coates’ book is poetic, profound, and deeply personal. It’s a meditation on history, fear, beauty, and what it means to live in a Black body in America.
6. The Good Ally — Nova Reid
ISBN: 978-0008439521
Warm, wise, and accessible, Reid offers a compassionate guide to anti-racism rooted in action, not just awareness. Her tone feels like a friend walking alongside you, not preaching, but encouraging.
7. How to Be an Antiracist — Ibram X. Kendi
ISBN: 978-1847925992
Kendi reframes the conversation: it’s not enough to be “not racist.” This book asks us to choose, and live out, antiracism through every part of our lives.
8. Your Silence Will Not Protect You — Audre Lorde
ISBN: 978-0995716223
A powerful collection of essays, speeches, and poems from the legendary Black feminist writer. Lorde’s work remains as relevant now as ever—incisive, intimate, and utterly unflinching.
9. Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging — Afua Hirsch
ISBN: 978-1784705039
A compelling exploration of identity in modern Britain, told through Hirsch’s own experience of navigating mixed heritage, social expectation, and historical amnesia.
10. They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement — Wesley Lowery
ISBN: 978-0141986142
This gripping book traces the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement and the real lives affected by police violence. It’s grounded in journalism but pulses with deep humanity.
Final Word
These books aren’t just to be read, they’re to be returned to. Marked up. Lived with. Talked about.
They’ll challenge you in different ways. Some will hold up a mirror. Others will offer new lenses. All of them ask for one thing: that you show up, not just once, but again and again.
This isn’t about guilt or shame. It’s about curiosity, courage, and care. About being willing to grow and willing to listen.
So take your time. Read slowly. Let these stories and insights stay with you. And when you're ready, move on to Part Two for a deeper look into photography, visual culture, and the power of representation.
