Social justice literature is an integral part of the social justice movement, inspiring generations of changemakers. These books provide avenues for change, by offering suggestions and ideas for how to fix some of our most pressing problems.
Our favorite Social Justice authors
We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice.
- Cornel West
The Fire This Time
By Jesmyn Ward
An incendiary collection of some of the most brilliant Black authors grappling with the history of racism in America, along with the most modern incarnations — police brutality, disenfranchisement, media manipulation, and cultural appropriation.
A People’s History of the United States
By Howard ZinnAmerican history from the bottom up, throwing out the official narrative taught in schools—with its emphasis on great men in high places—to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace.
The Bluest Eye
By Toni MorrisonAn 11-year-old Black girl, in an America whose love for its blonde, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—prays for her eyes to turn blue. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment.
The New Jim Crow
By Michelle AlexanderThis book spawned a whole generation of criminal justice reform activists and organizations motivated by Michelle Alexander’s unforgettable argument that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.”
If I Was Your Girl
By Meredith RussoAmanda Hardy is the new girl in school. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she’s determined not to get too close to anyone.
We Need New Names
By NoViolet BulawayoDarling was only ten years old when her home was destroyed by paramilitary policemen. But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America.
Evicted
By Matthew DesmondBased on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem.
Of Women and Salt
By Gabriela GarciaA sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born.
We Too Sing America
By Deepa IyerThis compelling analysis of national insecurity, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment provides a clear focus on successful strategies for change.
The Underground Railroad
By Colson WhiteheadIn Colson Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.
Crip Theory
By Robert McRuerThis well-annotated text invites the uninitiated reader to become involved, reimagine previously held conceptions of what may be considered ‘otherness,’ welcome disabilities, and collectively access other worlds and future possibilities.
Just Us
By Claudia RankineClaudia Rankine, without telling us what to do, urges us to begin the discussions that might open pathways through this divisive and stuck moment in American history.
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