Mind Openers #NonfictionNovember
This week’s Nonfiction November topic is topic is to identify the books that have made us rethink everything. Check out the link party hosted by Rebekah at She Seeks Nonfiction.
“Why didn’t I learn this in school?” That’s a frequent comment in the meetings of the Community for Understanding and Hope Book Group. We specialize in books about race in America and other topics that help us understand the structures and systems that marginalize populations.
Here are two things we wished we learned about in school and the books that helped us understand them now.
Race Massacres
We learned about slavery in school, but we didn’t learn about the violent white mobs that attacked black communities decades later. Here are two (of many) race massacres that should be covered in history classes:
- Never Been a Time: The 1917 Race Riot that Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Harper Barnes tells the story of the race massacre in East St. Louis that happened only a thirty-minute drive away from where our book club meets.
- Fire in Beulah by Rilla Askew is a novel about the very real Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921, one of the largest acts of mass racial violence in the post-slavery era.
The Great Migration
It’s impossible to understand why Americans live in the places we live without knowing this piece of history, covering the impacts of racism in both the south and the north.
- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson tells the story of the mass movement out of the south by millions of black people through the lens of three particular people.
- Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism by James Loewen answers a question that I never thought to ask: why did these highly skilled agriculture workers from the south migrate to cities? In short, it’s because they were pushed out of small towns with violent words and actions. The longer answer is a fascinating look at American history.
Sundown Towns was very good. I’ve questioned a lot about my hometown in PA. It is a small town 10 miles due south along a main road from the only city in a 2 hour drive. There are zero nonwhite people. That seems unlikely. It had to be either a sundown town or heavily redlined.
Such thoughtful recommendations!
You always have the best recommendations, Joy.
Very good choices.
These all sound very interesting, thank you for sharing!
The attempt to eradicate the history of white racism from the US by not covering it in schools is scary. Thank you for bringing these books to our attention.
I’ve yet to read a book about the Tulsa Race Massacre. Thanks for recommending all these important books! It’s so important not to lose this history.
I still need to get to Isabel Wilkerson’s books! Perhaps 2025 will be the year. I like your picks here.
I was blown away by The Warmth of Other Suns–as you said, why didn’t I learn this in school? It was an exceptionally well-written, accessible scholarly book.
A great selection. I have The Warmth of Other Suns on my wishlist already and am looking forward to getting and reading it, as I’ve only picked up little bits about the Great Migration from novels.