The Hummingbirds Daughter (2006) Luiz Alberto Urrea
Into the Beautiful North (2010) by Luiz Alberto Urrea
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures (2012) by Colin Woodard
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (1998) by Anne Fadiman
Turn Right at Machu Pichu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time (2011) by Mark Adams
The Vegetarian (2016) by Han Kang
The Golden Haze of Memory: The Making of Historic Charaleston (2005) by Stephany E. Yhll
Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What's right and What to do About it (2012) by Max H. Bazerman
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America (2017) by Michael Eric Dyson
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting in the Cafeteria Together? (2017) by Beverly. D. Tatum
Warmth of Other Suns (2011) by Isabel Wilkerson (African American migration out of the South from late 1900 to 1970s)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2012) by Michelle Alexander
Slavery by Another Name (2009) by Douglas A. Blackmon (also PBS documentary)
Charleston in Black and White: Race and Power in the South After the Civil Rights Movement (2018) by Steve Estes
Between the World and Me (2015) by Ta-Nehisi Coats
Negroland: A Memoir (2016) by Margo Jefferson (an African American woman raised with more than enough – this did not exempt her from experiencing racism)
Book of Negroes (2010) by Lawence Hill
Multicultural Books and Movies
This list is always growing. It is woefully incomplete and includes many works that include stereotypes and may be very unrealistic. On the other hand, it includes many works from the perspective of people in minority and/or marginalized groups. These inform the reader/watcher of the impact of different life and cultural experiences. Most are works that I have read/seen and reflect my identity as a white woman. I welcome suggestions and look forward to learning from you!
Hispanic/Latino
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Julia Alvarez
The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros
Mountains Beyond Mountains Tracy Kidder
Make Your Home Among Strangers Jennine Capo Crucet
In the Midst of Winter Isabel Allende
African American
Dreams of My Father Barack Obama
The Audacity of Hope Barack Obama
The Color of Water James McBride
Anything by Toni Morrison
Mama Day Gloria Naylor
I Been in Sorrow’s Kitchen and Licked out All the Pots Susan Straight
Their Eyes were Watching God Zora Neal Hurston
The Living is Easy Dorothy West
Native Son Richard Wright
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
Go Tell it on the Mountain James Baldwin
The Color Purple Alice Walker
I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings (+other memoirs and poetry) Maya Angelou
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou Maya Angelou
The Help Katherine Stockett
Run Ann Patchett
The Blacker the Berry Wallace Thurman
Things fall apart Chinua Achebe
Island Beneath the Sea Isabel Allende
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,
an American Slave (1845) Frederick Douglass
Iola Leroy (1892) Frances E. W. Harper
The Marrow of Tradition (1901) Charles W. Chesnutt
The Souls of Black Folk (1903) W. E. B. Du Bois
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (1912) James Weldon Johnson
Quicksand (1928) Nella Larsen
Uncle Tom’s Children (1940) Richard Wright
Corregidora (1975) Gayl Jones
Anything by this author…. Toni Morrison
Fences (1986) August Wilson
The Wedding (1995) Dorothy West
Song Yet Sung (2008) James McBride
There Is Confusion (1924) Jessie Fauset
Imperium in Imperio (1899) Sutton E. Griggs
The Ways of White Folks (1933) Langston Hughes
Passing (1929) Nella Larsen
Slavery by Another Name Douglas A. Blackmon
Panther Baby Jamal Joseph
A Hope in the Unseen Ron Suskind
Daughters of the Dust (novel about Gullah/Geechee culture) Julie Dash
The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson
Twelve Years a Slave Solomon Northrup
How to be Black Baratunde Thurston
The Invention of Wings Sue Monk Kidd
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness Michelle Alexander
Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie
Brown Girl Dreaming JacquelineWoodson
House Girl Tara Conklin
Fire Shut Up in My Bones Charles M. Blow
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky (biracial main character) Heidi W. Durrow
Negroland: A Memoir Margo Jefferson
Charleston in Black and White: Race and Power in the
South after the Civil Rights Movement Steve Estes
Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Harriet Jacobs
Go Set a Watchman Harper Lee
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the
Cafeteria? B. D. Tatum
Citizen: An American Lyric Claudia Rankine
Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to
the Streets Sudhir Venkatesh
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Bryan Stevenson
We are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emmanuel Frazier, Powers &
Wentworth
Never Caught: The Washington’s pursuit of their runaway Erica Armstrong
Slave Ona Judge Dunbar
Tears we Cannot Stop Michael Eric Dyson
The Other We Morre: One Name, Two Fates Wes Moore
Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality beyond
Black and White Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
American Indian
Winona’s Web Priscilla Cogan
Anything by this author… Sherman Alexie
Anything by this author… Louise Erdrich
The Navajo Code Talkers Bruce Watson
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko
Caleb’s Crossing Geraldine Brooks
Asian
Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson
Waiting Ha Jin
Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down Anne Fadiman
The Joyluck Club Amy Tan
The Kitchen God’s Wife Amy Tan
Always Hiding Sophia Romero
Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Jamie Ford
Anything by this author…. Jhumpa Lahiri
Without You, There is No Us: A Memoir Suki Kim
The Japanese Lover Isabel Allende
The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen
Arab
House of Sand and Fog Andre Dubus
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women Geraldine Brooks
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi
Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri
Looking for Palestine: Growing up confused in an
Arab American Family Najla Said
Culture Clashes
Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
The Submission Amy Waldman
Caleb’s Crossing Geraldine Brooks
Orange is the New Black Piper Kerman
Gender
Too many to mention but here are a few that might be of interest
Guyland Michael Kimmel
A Little F’d Up: Why Feminism is not a Dirty Word Julie Zeilinger
In Glory’s Shadow: The Citadel, Shannon Faulkner, and
a Changing America Catherine S. Maegold
Love My Rifle More than you: Young and Female in the U.S.
Army Kayla Williams
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town Jon Krakauer
Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and
at War Helen Thorpe
LGBT
She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders Jennifer Boylan
What’s Wrong with Homosexuality? John Corvino
Warrior Princess: A US Navy Seal’s Journey to Coming out
Transgender Kristin Beck
Our Time: Breaking the Silence of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Josh Seefried
I am “J” Chris Beam
For Today I am a Boy Kim Fu
Poverty
Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America Linda Tirado
Disability
Autobiography of a Face Lucy Grealy
White Identity/Privilege
What Does it Man to Be White? Robin DiAngelo
Privilege, Power, and Difference Allan G. Johnson
Displacing Whiteness: Essays in Social & Cultural Criticism Ruth Frankenburg
Hillbilly Elegy JD Vance
White Trash: The 400-year Untold History of Class in America Nancy Isenberg
General/multiple topics
Racism without Racists Eduardo Bonilla
Who are We – And Should it Matter in the 21st Century Gary Younge
Far From the Tree Andrew Solomon
Anything by this author… bell hooks
Everything I Never Told You Celeste Ng
American Nations Colin Woodard
MOVIES/RADIO/DOCUMENTARIES
LGBT
All About My Mother
Boys Don’t Cry
Brokeback Mountain
But I’m a Cheerleader
Hedwig and the Angry Itch
If These Walls Could Talk 2
Kissing Jessica Stein
Law of Desire
Lost and Delirious
Mambo Italiano
Milk
Philadelphiia
Prayers for Bobby
Shelter
Transamerica
Food Chains
African American/culture clashes
Redemption
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
To Kill a Mockingbird
Do the Right Thing (and many others by Spike Lee)
Slavery by Another Name http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/watch/
The Central Park Five – see www.pbs.org
The Butler
The Help
12 Years a Slave
Dear White People
Hispanic/Latino
Real Women Have Curves
Asian Americans
The Joy Luck Club
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Arab Culture
Not Without my Daughter
The Visitor
White Culture
Painter – The History of White People (hereandnow.org)
Roediger – Towards the Abolition of Whiteness
James Baldwin – On Being White and other lies
Others
The Wedding Banquet
La Haine