Summer Reading

Fiction

• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee
• Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

Nonfiction

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
• Stamped by Ibram X. Kendi & Jason Reynolds
• Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
• Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
• We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson
• When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors

13th This movie explores the criminalization of African Americans and the prison boom in America. 

American Factory  In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America. 

Crip Camp No one at Camp Jened could’ve imagined that those summers in the woods together would be the beginnings of a revolution. Just down the road from Woodstock, Camp Jened was a camp for disabled teens. A rousing film about a group of campers turned activists who shaped the future of the disability-rights movement and changed accessibility legislation for everyone. 

East Lake Meadows Learn the history of East Lake Meadows, a former public housing community in Atlanta. Stories from residents reveal hardship and resilience, and raise critical questions about race, poverty, and who is deserving of public assistance. 

The Force At a powder keg moment in American policing, The Force presents a fly-on-the-wall look deep inside the long-troubled Oakland Police Department as it struggles to confront federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson, Missouri, and an explosive sex scandal. 

Free CeCe On her way to the store with a group of friends, Chrishaun Reed “CeCe” McDonald was brutally attacked. While defending her life, a man was killed. After a coercive interrogation, CeCe was incarcerated in a men’s prison in Minnesota. An international campaign to free CeCe garnered significant support from media and activists, including actress Laverne Cox.

Hale County This Morning, This Evening  One of the year’s most critically acclaimed films, is a dreamy and intimate journey through the world of Hale County, Alabama, a richly detailed glimpse into life in America’s Black Belt.

I Am Not Your Negro  Envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Alongside a flood of rich archival material, the film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America. 

Just Mercy  Based on the bestselling book, this movie takes you inside America’s broken criminal justice system and compels you to confront inequality and injustice. It presents the unforgettable story of Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and the case of Walter McMillian (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx), who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.

Living Undocumented  The fates of undocumented families are like a roller-coaster as the United States’ immigration policies are transformed. Available on Netflix.

Saudi Women’s Driving School  For many Americans, getting a driver’s license is a mundane rite of passage. But for women in Saudi Arabia, who were only allowed to drive legally starting in June 2018, it’s a critical step along the road to independence.

Selma  Based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches initiated and directed by James Bevel, and led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams and John Lewis.

Seven Seconds by Veena Sud: When 15-year-old black cyclist Brenton Butler dies in a hit-and-run accident — with a white police officer behind the wheel of the vehicle — Jersey City explodes with racial tension. This crime drama explores the aftermath of the accident, which includes an attempted cover-up by the police department and a volatile trial.

Strong Island by Yance Ford: Strong Island chronicles the arc of a family across history, geography and tragedy — from the racial segregation of the Jim Crow South to the promise of New York City; from the presumed safety of middle-class suburbs, to the maelstrom of an unexpected, violent death. It is the story of the Ford family: Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children and how their lives were shaped by the enduring shadow of race in America.

They Call Us Monsters by Ben Lear: They Call Us Monsters goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters.  The film follows three young offenders who sign up to take a screenwriting class with producer Gabe Cowan as they await their respective trials.

When They See Us by Ava Duvernay: This movie depicts the true story of five African American teenagers falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. 

United Shades of America by W. Kamau Bell: United Shades of America follows comedian and political provocateur W. Kamau Bell as he explores communities across America to understand the unique challenges they face.

Visible: Out of Television by Ryan White: A documentary miniseries about the representation of LGBTQ+ people in television, both on-screen and behind the camera.