Booklists

Click here for Books celebrating diversity for children and young adults

The following are recommended resources for adults:

A collection of recommended books for those who want to further educate themselves about the refugee crisis and black lives matter, in an accessible way.

We recommend that if you source any of the books recommended below, you do so second hand or from responsible sites if you can, such as Hive Books (which supports independent bookshops across the UK through your purchase, found at Hive.co.uk).

‘The Lightless Sky: My Journey as a Child Refugee’ – Gulwali Passarlay

A 12-month odyssey across Europe at the age of 12, spending time in prisons, suffering hunger, making a terrifying journey across the Mediterranean in a tiny boat and enduring a desolate month in Calais

‘We Are Displaced’ – Malala Yousafzai

Yousafzai introduces some of the people behind the statistics and news stories we read or hear every day about the millions of people displaced worldwide

‘The Good Immigrant’ – Nikesh Shukla

Explores why immigrants come to the UK, why they stay and what it means to be ‘other’ in a country that doesn’t seem to want you, doesn’t truly accept you- however many generations you’ve been here- but still needs you for its diversity monitoring forms

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‘Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats’ – Maya Goodfellow

How migrants became the scapegoats of contemporary mainstream politics

‘The New Odyssey: The Story of Europe’s Refugee Crisis’ – Patrick Kingsley

An unparalleled account of who these voyagers are, why they keep coming and how they do it. It is about the smugglers and coastguards, volunteers, hoteliers that house them and border guards trying to keep them out. And the politicians looking the other way

‘Voices from the “Jungle”: Stories from the Calais Refugee Camp’ – Calais Writers

Going beyond superficial media reports, this book gives voice to the unique individuals living in the camp- people who have made the difficult journey from devastated countries simply looking for peace

‘The Ungrateful Refugee’ – Dina Nayeri

Nayeri weaves together her own vivid story with the stories of other refugees and asylum seekers in recent years, bringing us inside their daily lives and taking us through the different stages of their journeys, from escape, to asylum, to resettlement

‘Hope Not Fear’ – Hassan Akkad

Hassan describes both his perilous journey to the UK- the subject of his BAFTA award-winning film ‘Exodus’- and his life in Syria before the war

‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ – Christy Lefteri

The unforgettable love story of a mother blinded by loss and her husband who insists on their survival as they undertake the Syrian refugee trail to Europe

‘Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor’ – Layla F. Saad

Teaches readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of colour and, in turn, help other white people do better, too

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

A timely and essential framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism

‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’ – David Olusoga

A rich and revealing exploration of the extraordinarily long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa

‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ – Akala

Covering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, Natives speaks directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class

‘The Story of the Windrush’ – K. N. Chimbiri

Combining historical fact with voices from the Windrush generation, this book sensitively tells the inspiring story of the Windrush generation

‘When the World was Black, Part One: The Untold History of the World’s Civilisations Prehistoric Culture’ – Supreme Understanding

Learn about the history of black people, covering over 200,000 years of Black history

‘My History is More Than Slavery’ – Nego True

For years we have been taught that our history began with Slavery and ended with the civil rights movement. Yes, those events were important to our history, but there was more

‘Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?’ – Beverly Daniel Tatum

Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of race in America

‘So You Want to Talk about Race’ – Ijeoma Oluo

Explores the complex reality of today’s racial landscape, from white privilege and police brutality to systemic discrimination and the Black Lives Matter movement

‘Brit(ish): On Race Identity and Belonging’ – Afua Hirsch

Blending history, memoir and individual experiences, Hirsch reveals the identity crisis at the heart of Britain today

‘The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire’ – John Newsinger

Challenges the claim that the British Empire was a kinder, gentler empire and suggests that the description of ‘Rogue State’ is more fitting

‘The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution’ – C. L. R. James

Chronicles the only successful slave revolt in history and provides a critical portrait of their leader, Toussaint L’Ouverture, ‘one of the most remarkable men of a period rich in remarkable men’

‘Say it Loud: Marxism and the Fight Against Racism’ – Brian Richardson

Seeks to challenge the idea that racism is inevitable by taking a critical look at the origins and history of racism in Britain and abroad

‘A Rebel’s Guide to Martin Luther King’ – Yuri Prasad

Explains why the real Martin Luther King challenged the elite and their privileges, and fought for an end to poverty, racism and war

‘A Rebel’s Guide to Malcolm X’ – Antony Hamilton

Follows Malcolm X’s political journey and the movements and ideas that influenced it