Throughout the history of Mechanics’ Institute Library, intellectual growth and cultural advancement has always been promoted and encouraged. MI is widely known for its distinguished library of recreational, educational, and cultural materials. What began as an organization for vocational instruction and recreation during the Gold Rush era in San Francisco has evolved into a diverse community of literary-minded members in 2020. Improvement through education and information is, and always has been, a hallmark at MI.
In the past few weeks, our country has witnessed appalling acts of racism and violence. Anger is rampant now, not only in those who are perpetrating criminal acts but in peaceful, law-abiding citizens as well. It is disturbing to hear the news updates on racial injustices, looting, and excessive use of police and military force without becoming outraged.
But to give in to the rage is to be lost. It is only through education that we can improve the current situation. Now is an opportune time to consider carefully how our words, actions, and thoughts can help heal rather than divide. In true MI fashion, we turn to books and information to broaden our minds and open our hearts. We invite our members to peruse our digital title list highlighting racial issues and race relations in America.
The following eAudiobook and eBook titles are a small sampling of MI LIbrary’s holdings on race and race relations.
Nonfiction:
Becoming by Michelle Obama
The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Martin Luther King, Jr., on Leadership: Inspiration & Wisdom for Challenging Times by Donald Phillips (eAudiobook)
Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump by Asad Haider
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (eAudiobook)
On the Shoulders of Giants: How Harlem Became the Center of the Universe by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (eAudiobook)
Pride of Family: Four Generations of American Women of Color by Carole Ione (eAudiobook)
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup, also available as an eAudiobook
We Matter: Athletes and Activism by Etan Thomas (eAudiobook)
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Fiction:
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke
Home by Toni Morrison
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (eAudiobook)
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Safe From the Neighbors by Steve Yarbrough
Such a Fun Age: A Novel by Kiley Reid
That Kind of Mother: A Novel by Rumaan Alam
The Underground Railroad: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
