Dear Fellow Reader,
I believe in the power of words. I believe words can tear down, and words can build up. I also believe that both death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
In 2017, I was convicted by the fact that the vast majority of the books I read were written by white authors. So, in 2018 I intentionally read more books by people of color. However, I’m embarrassed to admit that out of the 12 books I read in 2018, only five were authored by people of color.
I’m even more embarrassed to admit that I did not carry the same goal or intentionality into 2019. Of the 15 books I read in 2019, only two were written by people of color. Shame on me.
Of the 15 books I have finished so far in 2020 (as of June 1, 2020 at the time of publication), 13 were written by white authors.
I am determined to do better. I must do better.
As a white woman married to a black man with three mixed race children, some people have asked me for book recommendations about racial issues. While I am happy to read and recommend authors of color on the specific topics of racial diversity, healing, and reconciliation, I also firmly believe that white people (myself included) should be reading authors of color who write on other topics as well—both fiction and nonfiction, Christian and secular.
I’ve compiled the following list in hopes that each of us would commit to reading more widely for our own personal benefit and growth, to elevate, support, hear, and better understand the experiences and voices of people of color, and for the overall betterment of society as we seek to listen, learn, and live as one united human race, created in the image of God.
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list by any means. I’ve included books by people of color that I have already read, as well as a list of books that have caught my attention at this point in time that I’m still hoping to read in the future. As my list grows, I’m planning to add to my “Want to Read” virtual shelf on Goodreads. Feel free to follow along to swap recommendations!
I encourage you read these authors, buy their books, gift their books to friends, family, coworkers, and pastors, submit requests for your local public libraries and independent bookstores to buy their books, share links to their work on social media, leave reviews online, follow them on social media.
I hope and pray that you’ll join me in committing to reading and supporting more authors of color, and that you’ll be challenged, enlightened, and blessed by what you read.
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If you intend to purchase books, I encourage you to support your favorite independent bookstore.
Here are 12 Black-Owned Bookstores You Can Support Right Now.
You’ll notice that I’ve also included direct links to purchase books from Amazon, Baker Book House, and ChristianBook.com, where applicable.
If you’re desperate to start reading but don’t have the financial means to purchase books right now, you could try this free trial of Kindle Unlimited or this free trial of Audible to access some titles for a limited time.
And psst . . . you don’t need a Kindle to read ebooks! You can get the free Kindle reading app to use on any device.
Affiliate links have been used in this resource.
Please also consider leaving honest reviews on retail websites after you finish reading a book. Reviews matter!
Related resource: How to Post Amazon Book Reviews
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PIN THIS:
DOWNLOAD THE FULL LIST HERE:
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Books by People of Color that I Have Read
(updated February 2023)
Nonfiction:
All the Colors We Will See: Reflections on Barriers, Brokenness, and Finding Our Way by Patrice Gopo
{Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Becoming by Michelle Obama {Amazon}
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates {Amazon}
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Language warning) {Amazon}
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
{Amazon | Baker Book House}
Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight in God’s Very Good Gifts by Trillia Newbell {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
Every Little Thing: Making a World of Difference Right Where You Are by Deidra Riggs {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves by Trillia Newbell {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry {Amazon | Baker Book House}
Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack by Alia Joy {Amazon | Baker Book House}
His Testimonies, My Heritage: Women of Color on the Word of God edited by Kristie Anyabwile {Amazon | Baker Book House}
I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merritt {Amazon}
If God is For Us: The Everlasting Truth of Our Great Salvation by Trillia Newbell (A 6-Week Bible Study of Romans 8)
{Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography — The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mark Mathabane {Amazon}
Kaffir Boy in America by Mark Mathabane {Amazon}
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley {Amazon | Baker Book House}
Warrior in Pink: A Story of Cancer, Community, and the God Who Comforts by Vivian Mabuni
{Amazon | Baker Book House}
What They Meant for Evil: How a Lost Girl of Sudan Found Healing, Peace, and Purpose in the Midst of Suffering by Rebecca Deng
{Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Poetry:
Never Again: Poems and Pleading for Freedom by Nasreen Fynewever {Amazon}
Fiction (YA and Adult):
All that is Secret by Patricia Raybon {Amazon | Baker Book House}
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson {Amazon}
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (Language warning) {Amazon}
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga {Amazon}
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson {Amazon}
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Language warning) {Amazon}
Children’s and Picture Books:
All the Places We Call Home by Patrice Gopo, illustrated by Jenin Mohammed {Amazon | Baker Book House}
God’s Very Good Idea: A True Story of God’s Delightfully Different Family by Trillia Newbell {Amazon | Baker Book House}
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Books by People of Color that I Still Want to Read
(as of June 1, 2020)
Nonfiction:
A Sojourner’s Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson
{Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
Church Diversity: Sunday, The Most Segregated Day of the Week by Scott Williams {Amazon | ChristianBook.com (ebook only)}
Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God by Voddie Baucham
{Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Foundations for the Flock: Truths About the Church for All the Saints by Conrad Mbewe {Amazon}
Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience by Sheila Wise Rowe {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
I Bring the Voices of My People by Chanequa Walker-Barnes {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson {Amazon}
Mentor for Life by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope by Jasmine Holmes {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
One: Unity in a Divided World by Deidra Riggs {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Open Hands, Willing Heart: Discover the Joy of Saying Yes to God by Vivian Mabuni {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up by Kathy Khang {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity by Edward Gilbreath {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
Sacred Endurance: Finding Grace and Strength for a Lasting Faith by Trillia Newbell {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson {Amazon}
The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen Gonzalez {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right by Lisa Sharon Harper {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson {Amazon}
The Way Up is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself by Marlena Graves {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism by Drew Hart {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive and the Truth That Sets Us Free by Jonathan P. Walton
{Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, and Their Path to Peace by Patricia Raybon
{Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity by Trillia Newbell {Amazon | ChristianBook.com}
What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile {Amazon | Baker Book House | ChristianBook.com}
What LIES Between Us Journal and Guide: Fostering First Steps Toward Racial Healing by Lucretia Berry {Amazon}
Poetry:
Becoming Coztōtōtl by Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros {Amazon}
Fiction:
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie {Amazon}
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes {Amazon}
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia {Amazon}
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis {Amazon}
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
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DOWNLOAD THE FULL LIST OF
50 BOOKS BY PEOPLE OF COLOR
BELOW:
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RELATED ARTICLE:
Christian Women of Color: Speaker & Writer Directory
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What books would you add to this list?
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