Racism
The long historical trail of inhumanity based on colour and race still it goes on as it has done for millennia.
When will we learn that a person's character and actions matter - not their appearance?
As Dr Martin Luther King famously said before his murder,
"I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions...a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed...a dream of a land where men will not argue that the color of a man's skin determines the content of his character; a dream of a nation where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality."
Read about his life and death, of Nelson Mandela, Alice Walker and many more who too a stand.
Our collection includes many books that help to challenge the prejudices and ignorance that causes racism and the often heroic actions of those who fought against it including:
American civil rights movement:
Parting the waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil rights movement, 1954-63 by Taylor Branch. Macmillan, 1988
“Although Mr.. Branch makes few harsh judgments, this is not a book about saints. It is a set of compelling portraits, placed in the excitement of a period when oppressed and powerless people moving together changed themselves and their country profoundly and permanently. Small steps by timid leaders had proved unavailing for a century. Finally, the people did it themselves with the brilliant combination of strategy and philosophy that became the Southern non violent civil rights movement.” Review
My life with Martin Luther King Jr by Coretta Scott King. Hodder & Stoughton, 1970
“Focuses on their relationship with their family, civil rights, and activism. This book is a detailed story of the life they shared until the assassination of her husband. The years following Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, King focused on the raising of her children and continued her and her husband's dream of equality for all.” Review
South African Apartheid:
Goodbye Bafana : Nelson Mandela, my prisoner, my friend by James Gregory with Bob Graham. Headline, 1996
"James Gregory's friendship with Nelson Mandela grew from the usual white antagonism to respect for a man of strength, courage and wisdom. This book reveals how the foe became a friend, and the friend became a President. Without doubt this is one of the most painfully poignant and powerful stories I have ever read." Review
The color purple by Alice Walker
The Color Purple, a novel by Alice Walker, is a description of the life of a black female in racist rural Georgia during the mid 1900's. Review
African history:
The graves are not yet full : race, tribe and power in the heart of Africa by Bill Berkeley. Basic Books, 2001
In his book he has launched into a gripping exploration of some of the worst African atrocities of the past twenty years and addresses universal and timeless questions, such as: How do evil people operate; what accounts for their power; and why do people follow?
Focusing on several flashpoints, he visits Liberia and Charles Taylor, then on to the apartheid era in South Africa, to the post-genocide times in Rwanda, and the political violence in the former Zaïre and Sudan. Along the way, Mr. Berkeley portrays ethnic conflict as a form of organized crime, a rebuttal to the argument that it is in the blood of Africans to murder. Mr. Berkeley believes that these catastrophes are not as senseless as they seem, that they are not inevitable products of primordial, immutable hatreds; but, he alleges , there is method to the madness. Review
British History:
Black England by Gretchen Gerzina. Allison & Busby, 1999.
“Black England is an important book that documents a chapter in British history which should not be overlooked. Tracing the historical path of Black people in Britain as far back as the 16th century, Black England details the lives of both prosperous black citizens and newly freed slaves. Their dramatic and often moving story is told in this absorbing book”. Review
Windrush : the irresistible rise of multi-racial Britain by Mike Phillips and Trevor Phillips. HarperCollins, 1998
"Fifty years ago, five hundred West Indians made a thirty day journey across the Atlantic in an ageing merchant ship, the 'Empire Windrush'. They became the catalyst of far-reaching and significant changes in British society. One of the most important books ever to have been published on the black British experience’
Independent" Review
Equalities:
Promoting equality : challenging discrimination and oppression by Neil Thompson. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003
"This important book will be of value to students, practitioners, managers and educators in a variety of professions and settings concerned with people and their problems, and will play a major part in promoting equality and valuing diversity." Review
Fascism
Nazi anti-semitism: from prejudice to the Holocaust by Phillippe Burrin. New Press, 2005
"The development of Nazi policy regarding the Jews is one of the most disturbing and puzzling aspects of 20th century history. Burrin follows the intellectual trail, from prejudice to the gas chambers, seeking answers to the most perplexing of questions"
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