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title: Teacher’s List of Children&#x27;s Books About Race Goes Viral
description: People across the nation and around the world are turning to books to understand racism and what they can do about it.
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author: Melissa Locker
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article:published_time: 2020-06-04T14:48:18.000Z
article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T18:08:53.000Z
og:title: Teacher’s Reading List of Antiracist Books for Kids Goes Viral
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# Teacher’s Reading List of Antiracist Books for Kids Goes Viral

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by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:08 PM UTCPublished: Jun 4, 2020 2:48 PM UTC

by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:08 PM UTCPublished: Jun 4, 2020 2:48 PM UTC

As protests against racial injustice and police brutality have spread across the U.S. and around the world in the wake of the deaths of [George Floyd](https://time.com/5845752/america-has-its-knee-on-us-george-floyds-death-was-a-breaking-point-protests/), [Breonna Taylor](https://time.com/5836310/breonna-taylor-shooting-investigation/), [Tony McDade](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/tony-mcdade-shooting-death-tallahassee-1008433/), [Ahmaud Arbery](https://time.com/5840195/ahmaud-arbery-violence-against-black-men/), and [many more](https://time.com/5847967/george-floyd-protests-trump/), people are looking for a deeper understanding about racism and what they can do about it. Many of those inquiring minds are turning to books, so when [Brittany Smith](https://twitter.com/wanderingbritt%5F/), a pre-kindergarten teacher who teaches in the Atlantic City School District in New Jersey, shared a list on Twitter of her recommended reading materials to teach children about race and racism, it went viral.

> [](https://twitter.com/wanderingbritt%5F/status/1267617830872154113)

Her tweet garnered over 400,000 likes as of Thursday morning, a response that took Smith by surprise. “While I personally thought the conversation was necessary, I had no idea it would go viral the way it did, and in such a short period of time,” she told _TIME_ in an email.

In the Twitter thread, Smith recommends books about Civil Rights leaders, including: _Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X_ by Ilyasah Shabazz; _Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement_ by Carole Boston Weatherford; and _Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters_ by Andrea Davis Pinkney.


> [](https://twitter.com/wanderingbritt%5F/status/1267617951701704705)

There were also stories about growing up black in America, like _The Day You Begin_ by Jacqueline Woodson and books to teach empathy such as _Maddi’s Fridge_ by Lois Brandt and _Chocolate Milk, Por Favor: Celebrating Diversity with Empathy_ by Maria Dismondy.

Smith’s reading list also featured portraits in bravery, including: _Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation_ by Duncan Tonatiuh; _Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom_ by Carole Boston Weatherford; and _Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock_ by Aslan Tudor and Kelly Tudor.

> [](https://twitter.com/wanderingbritt%5F/status/1267617872722964487)


Smith also included reading selections that celebrate culture, including: _Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story_ by Paula Yoo; _Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story_ by Reem Faruqi; and _My Family Divided: One Girl’s Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope_ by Diane Guerrero and Erica Moroz.

> [](https://twitter.com/wanderingbritt%5F/status/1267617879173840898)

Smith hopes that her tweet may help parents, educators, administrators, and lawmakers to recognize the importance of representation and promoting diversity in school and at home and act on it real ways. “We want to raise a conscientious generation, and to do that, we need to be mindful of what we’re teaching them as children,” Smith explains. She plans to add more books to the list and potentially even release her own children’s books.


In addition to reading, Smith suggests classrooms and parents have “diverse dolls and diverse play foods” to help promote inclusion and visiting museums to expose kids to different social environments that explore various cultures.

If you’re looking for more books for your collection, check out [TIME’s list of antiracist books](https://time.com/5846732/books-to-read-about-anti-racism/) for titles including Ta-Nehisi Coates’ memoir, _Between the World and Me_, Ibram X. Kendi’s children’s book, _AntiRacist Baby_, Paul Ortiz’s _An African American and Latinx History of the United States_, and Tiffany Jewell’s activist how-to guide, _This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work._ Smith also recommends that adults check out Michelle Alexander’s _The New Jim Crow,_ Ibram X. Kendi’s _Stamped from the Beginning_, and _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_.

In a small sign that people are hungry to learn more about race, but what activist and author Angela Davis famously called antiracist, books like[ Reni Eddo-Lodge’s](https://twitter.com/renireni/status/1266674554283401216) _Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race_ and [Ijeoma Oluo’s](https://twitter.com/IjeomaOluo/status/1267160466880512000) _So You Want to Talk About Race_ had sold out on Amazon in the U.S. as of Thursday. If you’re looking to add books to your shelves, consider purchasing from one of the [black-owned bookstores in this list](https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/) compiled by LitHub.

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