Team members suggest the following titles for continuing education and contemplation.
Classic
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., 2000.
"A must read for any educator (anyone) working toward social change." -Deitrah
Organizational
brown, adrienne maree. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. United Kingdom: AK Press, 2017.
"adrienne maree brown’s work is part self -help and part organizational help. Observing nature and giving solutions patterned from nature, brown gives a blue print for organizations and people to thrive. The core of the work is in its principles which warrant discussion in any organization centering social justice. Side note: brown does not capitalize her name i.e. bell hooks. (LGBTQ+ author)" -Dietrah
Bunch III, Lonnie G. A Fool’s Errand: Creating The National Museum of African American History and Culture In the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump. Washington D. C.: Smithsonian Books, 2019.
"Secretary Bunch chronicles the efforts to build the NMAAHC working with fundraisers, politicians, and the American people." -Deitrah
Bunch III, Lonnie G. “Flies in the Buttermilk: Museums Diversity and the Will to Change” https://www.aam-us.org/2019/05/29/flies-in-the-buttermilk-museums-diversity-and-the-will-to-change/
Education & Social Change
Khan-Cullors, Patrisse and Asha Bandele. When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. New York: St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2018.
"A memoir of activism at the intersections of race, LGBTQ+, and ability. Patrisse Khan-Cullors is one of the founders of Black Lives Matter and looks at the way we frame society particularly in education." -Deitrah
Love, Bettina L. We Want To Do More that Survive: Abolitionist Teaching And The Pursuit of Educational Freedom. Boston: Beacon Press, 2019.
"Bettina L. Love gives us a work that contains all of the things. A critic of grit and character education Love seeks education that empowers and liberates people. Education reform movements focusing on grit and character support systemic racism and profits from the oppressed. Love argues educators should center narratives that reflect the “sociopolitical landscape of their students’ communities through a historical, intersectional justice lens,” and allow students space to dream. Educators should focus on figures/narratives that reflect resistance, joy, justice, love and mattering moving from surviving to thriving. (LGBTQ+ author)" -Deitrah
Acuff, Joni Boyd and Laura Evans, eds. Multiculturalism in Art Museums Today. Rowman & Littlefield: London, United Kingdom, 2014.
"This is a collection was authored by a variety of museum educators. They discuss intersectional teaching and audience engagement through real examples and experience. I keep it on my desk and turn to it periodically when I need a fresh perspective." -Katy
Curatorial/Collections
Reilly, Maura. Curatorial Activism: Towards An Ethics of Curating. New York: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2018.
"Maura Rielly’s work centers art exhibitions and an effort to decolonize and challenge heterocentrism and homophobia the exhibit and collections spaces. Although geared to art museums can be applied throughout the field in terms of how we display and interpret content." -Deitrah
Self Improvement
Diangelo, Robin. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Boston: Beacon Press, 2018.
"Antiracist educator Robin Diangelo explains white fragility and the defensive postures that can enter conversations with white people around the topic of race, disrupting meaningful dialogue and ceasing change. Diangelo gives suggestions on how to engage white people for a productive conversation." -Deitrah
Oluo, Ijeoma. So You Want To Talk About Race. New York: Seal Press, 2019.
"Ijeoma Oluo takes readers through important terms and how white supremacy shows up structurally in personal and professional lives of people. Oluo (who is biracial) includes intersectional lenses of race, queer, and feminist identities. (LGBTQ+ author)" -Deitrah
Peacock, Jardana. Practice Showing Up: A Guidebook For White People Working for Racial Justice. Mountain View: Creative Commons, 2018.
"A great place to start working on yourself in order to create larger change. Jardana has several practices for self-reflection and moving forward. Includes a resource list and syllabus. A great book for discussion. (LGBTQ+ author)" -Deitrah
Self-Care
Obama, Michelle. Becoming. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2018.
"Change is a part of all our lives. Michelle Obama shares how she weathered her changes and gives a blueprint so that others may also embrace change." -Deitrah
Literary Inspiration
Butler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003.
"A tale of a time traveling black writer with ancestral ties to a Maryland plantation. How do the living (today) relate to American enslavement? Great work for discussion." -Deitrah
Duffy, Damian, John Jennings, and Octavia Butler. Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. New York: Abrams Comicarts, 2017.
"A graphic adaptation of a tale of a time traveling black writer with ancestral ties to a Maryland plantation. How do the living (today) relate to American enslavement? Great work for discussion." -Deitrah
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishing, 2010.
"This biography of Henrietta Lacks may be familiar as it was a pretty popular book. It highlights the inequities in science, medicine, education, communication--while telling the story of Henrietta and her family. It is important history. I also liked how the author also openly contends with and works through her whiteness as she approaches Henrietta's community and seeks to tell the story of an African-American women. Her personal lessons were useful food for thought for me." -Katy