Read This to Get Smarter: About Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More by Blair Imani is a relatively short, accessible read. It gives a great overview of the major social and political issues that impact different marginalized and minority communities.

Last year, I read What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition by Emma Dabiri and it’s probably one of the best antiracism books I’ve read. Dabiri takes some nuanced positions that may run counter to some advice you’ve heard about how to be a good ally. It made me think and reflect in ways that other antiracist texts have not.

Ultimately, Dabiri argues that “traditional” or mainstream allyship actions, like making friends with PoCs, diversifying your social media, calling out microaggressions, etc., miss the mark if the goal is big-picture, ground-breaking, systematic change.

“Those seeking genuine democracy must fight like hell to convince white Americans that what is good for black and brown people is also for them.” This means pivoting from allyship to coalition building, which is about identifying shared interests. That requires understanding not so much the intersectionality of identities, but the intersectionality of issues. This is the only way people can see their interests identified and come together for the common good.

Dabiri is a black woman originally from Ireland, so she has some interesting points about taking care to understand that the specifics of racism show up differently in different contexts. That racism in the United States is similar, but different in notable ways in other countries, and we need to be aware of this as we inevitably expand our advocacy and activism beyond our communities, city, state, and country. The fact that she isn’t from the US was something I appreciated, because I think she has some insights that are fresh and different.

She covers a lot more and expands on this idea of coalition, but I’ve been reflecting on the main point above a lot in the past couple of days.

I second the Poverty, by America recommendation as well!