Books White People Need to Read

1.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 4.52 avg rating — 115,030 ratings
2.
Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me 4.40 avg rating — 357,352 ratings
3.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by: Malcolm X
4.37 avg rating — 285,149 ratings
4.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
by: Dee Brown
4.26 avg rating — 99,671 ratings
5.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 4.13 avg rating — 786,974 ratings
6.
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1) 4.46 avg rating — 986,266 ratings
7.
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next Time 4.55 avg rating — 115,123 ratings
8.
Just Mercy
Just Mercy 4.63 avg rating — 254,462 ratings
9.
Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism 4.50 avg rating — 18,478 ratings
10.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration 4.48 avg rating — 113,272 ratings
11.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1) 4.30 avg rating — 568,889 ratings
12.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 4.12 avg rating — 131,984 ratings
13.
The Souls of Black Folk
The Souls of Black Folk 4.31 avg rating — 44,281 ratings
14.
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism 4.16 avg rating — 170,202 ratings
15.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 4.06 avg rating — 281,409 ratings
16.
Women, Race & Class
Women, Race & Class 4.59 avg rating — 33,011 ratings
17.
Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1)
Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) 3.74 avg rating — 403,040 ratings
18.
Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? 4.34 avg rating — 26,838 ratings
19.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong 3.97 avg rating — 72,714 ratings
20.
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present 4.08 avg rating — 259,666 ratings
21.
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches 4.53 avg rating — 39,721 ratings
22.
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America 4.53 avg rating — 37,879 ratings
23.
So You Want to Talk About Race
So You Want to Talk About Race 4.49 avg rating — 107,270 ratings
24.
Americanah
Americanah 4.31 avg rating — 401,443 ratings
25.
Black Like Me
Black Like Me 4.11 avg rating — 69,178 ratings
26.
Twelve Years a Slave
Twelve Years a Slave 4.22 avg rating — 123,125 ratings
27.
Invisible Man
Invisible Man 3.92 avg rating — 198,717 ratings
28.
Race Matters
Race Matters 4.15 avg rating — 11,892 ratings
29.
The Wretched of the Earth
The Wretched of the Earth 4.34 avg rating — 30,593 ratings
30.
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools 4.26 avg rating — 18,904 ratings
31.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family 4.45 avg rating — 163,541 ratings
32.
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance 3.94 avg rating — 229,603 ratings
33.
The Color of Water
The Color of Water 4.15 avg rating — 131,547 ratings
34.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 4.04 avg rating — 445,002 ratings
35.
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color 4.52 avg rating — 9,682 ratings
36.
Becoming
Becoming 4.44 avg rating — 1,160,424 ratings
37.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa 4.42 avg rating — 7,734 ratings
38.
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood 4.49 avg rating — 778,648 ratings
39.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures 4.20 avg rating — 87,592 ratings
40.
March: Book One (March, #1)
March: Book One (March, #1) 4.35 avg rating — 56,869 ratings
41.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus 4.05 avg rating — 93,169 ratings
42.
Black Skin, White Masks
Black Skin, White Masks 4.26 avg rating — 18,200 ratings
43.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI 4.14 avg rating — 425,888 ratings
44.
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race 4.38 avg rating — 99,859 ratings
45.
Native Son
Native Son 4.04 avg rating — 103,279 ratings
46.
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II 4.38 avg rating — 7,034 ratings
47.
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II 4.24 avg rating — 50,729 ratings
48.
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide 4.47 avg rating — 14,603 ratings
49.
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa 4.19 avg rating — 66,201 ratings
50.
Orientalism
Orientalism 4.13 avg rating — 28,507 ratings
51.
Assata: An Autobiography
Assata: An Autobiography 4.59 avg rating — 29,684 ratings
52.
How to Be an Antiracist
How to Be an Antiracist 4.37 avg rating — 118,326 ratings
53.
Homegoing
Homegoing
by: Yaa Gyasi
4.47 avg rating — 386,188 ratings
54.
Black Looks: Race and Representation
Black Looks: Race and Representation 4.36 avg rating — 2,424 ratings
55.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents 4.53 avg rating — 156,113 ratings
56.
Lakota Woman
Lakota Woman 3.97 avg rating — 8,729 ratings
57.
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye 4.13 avg rating — 288,050 ratings
58.
Killing Rage: Ending Racism
Killing Rage: Ending Racism 4.35 avg rating — 2,854 ratings
59.
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir 4.49 avg rating — 25,283 ratings
60.
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts 3.73 avg rating — 33,274 ratings
61.
Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Letter from the Birmingham Jail 4.72 avg rating — 8,436 ratings
62.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin 3.92 avg rating — 239,353 ratings
63.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (ReVisioning American History, #3)
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (ReVisioning American History, #3) 4.37 avg rating — 19,430 ratings
64.
The Quest for Cosmic Justice
The Quest for Cosmic Justice 4.39 avg rating — 3,229 ratings
65.
Race And Culture
Race And Culture 4.32 avg rating — 940 ratings
66.
Black Boy
Black Boy 4.09 avg rating — 55,302 ratings
67.
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto 4.13 avg rating — 4,029 ratings
68.
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race 4.35 avg rating — 9,412 ratings
69.
White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
by: Tim Wise
4.10 avg rating — 5,369 ratings
70.
A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles
A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles 4.32 avg rating — 4,546 ratings
71.
Nobody Knows My Name
Nobody Knows My Name 4.37 avg rating — 4,611 ratings
72.
Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States
Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States 4.26 avg rating — 3,612 ratings
73.
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America 4.30 avg rating — 10,528 ratings
74.
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America 4.24 avg rating — 17,335 ratings
75.
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America 4.44 avg rating — 44,175 ratings
76.
Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63
Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63 4.36 avg rating — 9,962 ratings
77.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI's War on the American Indian Movement
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI's War on the American Indian Movement 4.23 avg rating — 4,284 ratings
78.
Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment
Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment 3.71 avg rating — 19,529 ratings
79.
Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography
Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 4.18 avg rating — 16,375 ratings
80.
March: Book Two (March, #2)
March: Book Two (March, #2) 4.49 avg rating — 28,882 ratings
81.
The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism
The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism 4.45 avg rating — 5,504 ratings
82.
We Should All Be Feminists
We Should All Be Feminists 4.40 avg rating — 320,698 ratings
83.
Empire of the Summer Moon
Empire of the Summer Moon 4.24 avg rating — 64,195 ratings
84.
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter 4.08 avg rating — 40,816 ratings
85.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 4.17 avg rating — 56,856 ratings
86.
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1)
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1) 4.39 avg rating — 365,546 ratings
87.
The Ways of White Folks
The Ways of White Folks 4.46 avg rating — 5,397 ratings
88.
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy 4.38 avg rating — 30,598 ratings
89.
The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy
The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy 4.40 avg rating — 3,311 ratings
90.
White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era
White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era 4.30 avg rating — 2,432 ratings
91.
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 4.35 avg rating — 3,007 ratings
92.
Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars against the Black Panther Party & the American Indian Movement
Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars against the Black Panther Party & the American Indian Movement 4.34 avg rating — 355 ratings
93.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow
The Strange Career of Jim Crow 4.14 avg rating — 3,184 ratings
94.
The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics
The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics 4.22 avg rating — 858 ratings
95.
The Mismeasure of Man
The Mismeasure of Man 4.05 avg rating — 9,212 ratings
96.
How the Irish Became White
How the Irish Became White 3.73 avg rating — 1,710 ratings
97.
How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America
How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America 3.95 avg rating — 2,059 ratings
98.
Manchild in the Promised Land
Manchild in the Promised Land 4.28 avg rating — 9,114 ratings
99.
Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins
Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins
by: Onyeka
4.36 avg rating — 107 ratings
100.
Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America
Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America 4.65 avg rating — 642 ratings
Next