Recommendations for growing in diversity, equity, and inclusion

A curated collection of books and podcasts designed to provide valuable insights, foster understanding, and promote action towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society. These resources cover a range of topics, including leadership, introversion, inclusivity, diversity, and systemic racism. Dive into these recommendations to deepen your knowledge and equip yourself with the tools needed for meaningful change in our churches.

Books Podcasts

Books

Alphabetical by author last name

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander

Michelle Alexander exposes the systemic injustices of the American criminal justice system, shedding light on the mass incarceration of Black individuals and its implications for society.

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of our Racial Divide
Carol Anderson

Carol Anderson provides an award-winning history of a powerful force that has oppressed Black people in the United States.

The Fire Next Time
James Baldwin

James Baldwin reflects on race relations in America, offering powerful essays that remain relevant in addressing contemporary racial issues.

Forgiveness and Restorative Justice: Perspectives from Christian Theology
Myra Blyth, Matthew J Mills, and Michael H Taylor

Blyth, Mills, and Taylor examine forgiveness and restorative justice from practical and academic perspectives, and how they relate to other topics such as victimhood, sin, love, and vulnerability.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking.
Susan Cain

Susan Cain explores the strength and value of introversion in a society that often prizes extroversion, offering insights on how introverts can thrive in various environments.

Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces
Karen Catlin

Karen Catlin provides practical strategies for fostering inclusivity and diversity in professional settings through everyday actions and behaviors.

Mutuality publication, summer 2024 issue - "Lost in Translation"

Mutuality: Lost in Translation
CBE International

This summer 2024 issue of Mutuality, a publication of CBE International, focuses on how understanding translation helps us understand the Bible, particularly as it relates to presumption, bias, and gender accuracy.

“They Take Our Jobs!”: and 20 Other Myths about Immigration
Aviva Chomsky

“Aviva Chomsky dismantles twenty-one of the most widespread and pernicious myths and beliefs about immigrants and immigration in this incisive book.”

Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us vs. Them
Shakil Choudhury

Shakil Choudhury delves into the complexities of racial dynamics, emphasizing the need for a deep understanding of the human mind to foster inclusivity and overcome divisions.

Reconciliation: Restoring Justice
John W. de Gruchy

John de Gruchy emphasizes the need for reconciliation in a world of violence and hatred.

United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race
Curtiss Paul DeYong, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancy, and Karen Chai Kim

Multiracial sociologists and ministers make the case for multiracial congregations as the key to bridging the divides between races.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Robin DiAngelo

Robin DiAngelo dissects the concept of white fragility, shedding light on how it perpetuates racial inequality and offering insights into engaging in constructive conversations about race.

Academic Ableism
Jay Timothy Dolmage

Jay Timothy Dolmage critically examines the ways in which academia can perpetuate ableism, advocating for more inclusive educational environments that benefit all students.

The Souls of Black Folk
W.E.B. Du Bois

A collection of Du Bois’s essays combine history, personal experience, and critique to emphasize “the struggle of being both Black and American in a society that denies full belonging.”

Tell Me Who You Are: Sharing Our Stories of Race, Culture, & Identity
Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi

Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi collect and share diverse stories of race, culture, and identity, fostering understanding and empathy across communities.

How Ableism Fuels Racism: Dismantling the Hierarchy of Bodies in the Church
Lamar Hardwick

As a Black autistic pastor and disability scholar, Lamar Hardwick lives at the intersection of disability, race, and religion. Tied to this reality, he heeded the call to write How Ableism Fuels Racism to help Christian communities engage in critical conversations about race by addressing issues of ableism.

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
Arlie R. Hochschild

Sociologist Arlie Hochschild gets to the heart of the political divide in the United States and helps make sense of the 2016 U.S. election.

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
Cathy Park Hong

“Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America.”

Erasing Institutional Bias: How to Create Systemic Change for Organizational Inclusion
Tiffany Jana and Ashley Diaz Mejias

Tiffany Jana and Ashley Diaz Mejias offer strategies for creating systemic change to combat institutional bias and promote organizational inclusion.

Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships across Differences
Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman

Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman provide a roadmap for building authentic relationships across differences, challenging biases, and promoting inclusivity.

Embodied Social Justice
Rae Johnson

Rae Johnson presents a case for the human body’s reaction to imbalances of social power.

The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States
Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson traces the violent history of St. Louis, revealing the deep-rooted racial injustices embedded in American society.

Dwell: Life with God for the World
Barry D. Jones

“Barry Jones shares his vision for authentic Christian spirituality focused on becoming more like Jesus [as humans dwelling] in a specific place and time in history, with unique bodies and in a world for which God has great purposes of redemption.”

How to Be an Antiracist
Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi challenges readers to actively confront and dismantle racism, offering a guide to becoming proactive agents of antiracist change.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Ibram X. Kendi

“Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.”

Letter from Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King’s letter calls for non-violent resistance to racism and focuses on love for healing and reconciliation.

Yellow Peril! An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear
John Kuo and Dylan Yeats

Two scholars provide a collection of anti-Asian images and writing to illuminate how one of the oldest forms of paranoia infiltrated Western culture.

The Other Americans
Laila Lalami

Laila Lalami weaves together the lives of characters from diverse backgrounds, offering a nuanced exploration of identity, belonging, and the complexities of American society.

The Journey Toward Reconciliation
John Paul Lederach

“John Paul Lederach shares insights gained from years of work in international mediation and deep spiritual reflection on the task of reconciliation.”

Trauma and Race: A Path to Wellbeing
Micah L. McCreary

This book is about trauma-informed counseling with racially traumatized African (Black), Latino/a/x, Asian, and Native (Indigenous) Americans (ALANAs). ALANAs face the difficulties of systemic racism and experiences of trauma.

What if I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People
Verna A. Myers

Verna A. Myers presents practical habits for navigating cultural differences and engaging in effective communication across diverse contexts.

Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Postracial America
Kimberly Jade Norwood

Kimberly Jade Norwood explores skin tone bias and challenges the myth of a postracial America, shedding light on the ongoing complexities of race relations.

So You Want to Talk About Race
Ijeoma Oluo

Ijeoma Oluo provides a guide for engaging in meaningful conversations about race, tackling complex topics with clarity and empathy.

Nobody Cries When We Die
Patrick Reyes

Patrick Reyes shares his story of reaching adulthood, thanks to the community around him that saved him from gang life, abuse, and oppression.

Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity
Robert Chao Romero

Robert Chao Romero delves into the rich history and theological contributions of Latinx Christianity in the United States, exploring its intersections with race, culture, and social justice.

Courageous Conversations about Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools
Glenn Singleton

Glenn Singleton provides a framework for engaging in courageous conversations about race, facilitating dialogue and promoting equity in educational settings.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson shares his experiences advocating for justice, highlighting the systemic injustices within the American legal system and the power of redemption.

The 5 Disciplines of Inclusive Leaders
Andres T. Tapia and Alina Polonskaia

The authors draw on data to inform which characteristics are essential for inclusive leadership at all levels of an organization.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria
Beverly Daniel Tatum

Beverly Daniel Tatum examines racial identity development, offering insights into why racial segregation persists and how to promote greater inclusivity.

The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
Jemar Tisby

Jemar Tisby explores the role of the American church in perpetuating racial injustice, offering a vision of hope and redemption for racial reconciliation and justice.

Unfractured: A Christ-Centered Action Plan for Cultural Change
Skot Welch

Skot Welch invites readers to explore the transformative power of embracing our differences, offering a roadmap for healing fractures and building bridges in a divided world.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson explores the concept of caste in America, revealing how social hierarchies based on race continue to shape society and perpetuate inequality.