deconstructing y/our white fragility: a reading list

clavmag is run by gab and freya, two white people. we want to use our privilege – and now the platform afforded us by clavmag – to uplift and amplify black voices and narratives. this reading list is an attempt at a resource for undoing white fragility, and as such is mainly aimed at white people. (however, the books on the list can & should be read by all!) this list focuses predominantly on the british experience, because that is what we know, and because british racism is so often painted as ‘subtle’ when in fact it is overt and damaging.

we are in the process of learning & addressing the ways in which we are and have been complicit in upholding racism. this is a learning curve for everyone. we urge our white readers to join us in the process! we are attempting to collectively read every book on this list, so please contact us if you’d like first-hand info. this list is ongoing and subject to change, so keep checking this page.

self-educating aside, donating is the most useful thing we can do as white people. start here.

how to use: we recommend using this reading list in the order stated, however, it is designed to be dipped in and out of, so use it as flexibly as you’d like. we highly recommend organising to read some of these books with a group of friends in order to create space for discussion afterwards. where possible, books have been chosen for their accessibility to a wider audience. to the best of our knowledge, where audio versions are available, links have been provided. each book on this list is accompanied by a short description, loosely listing geographic area, time period, and genre, for ease of browsing.

feel free to contact us in order to add to the reading list. 

note: support independent booksellers and don’t put your money in Bezos’ pocket. in general, we recommend buying from the following booksellers (most of which are London-based or online unless otherwise stated): 

before we begin, a note on Jane Elliott: in the wake of the BLM movement of the last few months, Jane Elliott’s work was frequently shared on social media. until recently, we included a link to her Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes experiment on this reading list, but we have since removed it after being alerted to this article which details her transphobia, ableism and the harmful effects of her universalising human experience to the detriment of people of colour and black people. we recommend you read it before consuming anything she has produced.

FIRST: 

watch Robin DiAngelo discuss White Fragility (80 minutes). this is great grounding for the further reading. (fyi: the idea for including this video came directly from the participation prerequisites expected of volunteers for Akwaaba, the Hackney-based social centre for refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants).

SECOND, read all of the following:

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad 

  • takes lengths to help readers understand white privilege in order to equip them with the knowledge necessary to avoid taking part in white supremacy, necessarily stand against it, and protect black and indigenous people and people of colour. “an indispensable resource for white people who want to challenge white supremacy but don’t know where to begin” - Robin DiAngelo. the audiobook can be purchased here.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge 

  • contemporary, british, this book details the state of race relations in britain today. written in accessible language, this book provides insight into the black british perspective. a brilliant podcast accompanying this book is also available. you can also follow renni on twitter here.

Brit-ish by Afua Hirsch 

  • an examination of the particularities of racism in britain. essential reading for everyone interested in the idiosyncratic and noxious ways in which britain’s legacies of colonialism continue to cause harm. the audiobook is available here.

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

  • “if nobody is racist, then why is racism one of America’s biggest problems?” this book grabs the white liberal ‘ally’ by the shoulders and gives them a good shake. DiAngelo breaks down white fragility as “the inability of white people to tolerate racial stress”. this leads to white people weaponising their hurt feelings to the point at which calling someone a racist is deemed more shocking than actual racism. while situated in the US, the lessons of this book are universally applicable. you can also read a PDF article by DiAngelo here, available to download. the audiobook is available here.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi

  • a textbook to making an effort. everyone is racist - but where do we go from there? anti-racism provides a much-needed slap in the face, and a call to action in our everyday lives. audiobook is available here. watch a lecture by Ibram X Kendi here (50 mins).

NOW, QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

  • when are the moments you have to consider your own race as a white person? do they happen often, or is it easy to feel like your race has no effect on your daily life?

  • can you remember any moments in the past when you acted in a way that you now recognise was racist? confront these moments.

  • do you feel defensive or upset when considering these questions? why do you feel this way?

watch Carol Anderson discuss White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation's Divide (51 minutes).

THIRD, read any of the following as per your own interests (an ongoing list):

Non-Fiction: 

  • Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala (british, contemporary) you can also watch Akala at the Oxford Union (76 minutes).

  • The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere (mid-twentieth century, brazilian, uses marxist framework of analysis)

  • Black Skin, White Masks by Franz Fanon (mid-twentieth century, caribbean, auto-theory - read it here)

  • So, You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (american, contemporary)

  • Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde (american, feminist, twentieth century)

  • Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (american, twentieth century)

  • White Girls by Hilton Als (american, contemporary, pop culture essays)

  • If They Come In The Morning: Voices of Resistance edited by Angela Davis (american, essays)

  • Carceral Capitalism by Jackie Wang (american, contemporary, examining carceral techniques and their relationship with global capitalism - read it here)

  • How The Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev (american, contemporary, details the irish-american experience and complicity in anti-black racism in the early twentieth century)

  • Black Britain by Paul Gilroy (british, twentieth century)

  • The Black Atlantic by Paul Gilroy (british & american, twentieth century - read it here)

  • Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War by Stephen Bourne (british, historical)

  • Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzl (american, 21st century)

  • How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (american)

  • Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (american, intergenerational conversation)

  • The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla (british, 21 writers explore what it means to be Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic in Britain today)

  • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (american, history, religion)

  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (american, criminal justice system)

  • Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R Banaji (psychology) 

  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (american, white supremacy)

  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (american, intergenerational letter)

  • An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz (american, history) 


Fiction: 

  • Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (british, young adult, dystopian) 

  • Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (british, contemporary, centres on london)

  • Small Island by Andrea Levy (british, post-ww2, focused on the jamaican diaspora in london)

  • Swing Time by Zadie Smith (british/american, contemporary)

  • Some kind of black by Diran Adebayo (british, london-based)

  • The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi (british, contemporary)

  • East of Acre Lane by Alex Wheatle (british, young adult, set during the 1981 Brixton riots)

  • If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (american, mid-twentieth century)

  • Beloved by Toni Morrison (american, historical fiction/fantasy)

  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (american, coming-of-age)

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (american, harlem renaissance)

  • Kindred by Octavia Butler (american sci-fi)

  • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (american, bildungsroman)

  • The Colour Purple by Alice Walker (american, historical)

  • The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates (american)

  • Feeding the ghosts by Fred D'Aguiar (british, historical, centres on slavery)

  • The Scholar by Courttia Newland (british, young adult)

  • A Life Elsewhere by S. A. Afolabi (nigerian, short stories)

  • Dangerous Love by Ben Okri (nigerian, twentieth century)

  • A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (jamaican, twentieth century)

  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (jamaican, sci-fi/fantasy)

  • Closure: Contemporary Black British Short Stories (british, short stories)

  • An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (american, domestic fiction exploring racial profiling/the legal system)


Autobiography/Memoir: 

  • That Reminds Me by Derek Owusu (ghanian, set in London)

  • I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (american, twentieth century - read it here)

  • And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou (american, twentieth century)

  • Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates (american, contemporary)

  • Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay (american, contemporary)

  • The Atlantic Sound by Caryl Phillips (british, travel writing)

  • Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations (american, graphic memoir, family) 

  • I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown (american, religion)

  • When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors (american, contemporary)


Plays: 

  • The White Card by Claudia Rankine (american, twentieth century)

  • Slave Play by Jeremy O Harris (american, contemporary)

  • Dream on Monkey Mountain by Derek Walcott (st lucian, twentieth century)

  • Moon on a Rainbow Shawl by Errol John (trinidadian, twentieth century)

  • A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (american, twentieth century)

  • For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange (american, twentieth century)

Poetry: 

  • Seasoned by Edson Burton (british, contemporary - follow Edson on twitter)

  • Born to Slow Horses by Kamau Brathwaite (barbadian, twentieth century)

  • Omeros by Derek Walcott (st lucian, twentieth century)

  • Blakwork by Alison Whittaker (gomeroi, contemporary)

  • The Bean Eaters by Gwendolyn Brooks (american, twentieth century)

  • Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton by Lucille Clifton (american, twentieth century)

  • Olio by Tyehimba Jess (american, contemporary)

  • Love's Instruments by Melvin Dixon (american, relates to AIDs pandemic of the 1990s)

  • Images of Kin by Michael S. Harper (american, twentieth century)

  • Hemming the Water by Yona Harvey (american, contemporary)

  • Middle Passage by Robert Hayden (american, twentieth century - read it here)

  • How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes (american, contemporary)

  • This Is My Century: New and Collected Poems by Margaret Walker (american, twentieth century)

  • The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race edited by Jesmyn Ward (american, essays and poems)

  • Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (american, book-length poem, contemporary)