| Parkland Library

Diversity Books

To join the emerging national conversation about race, civil rights, and equality. Here are some titles by age groups we recommend from our collection.

Parkland Community Library is committed to diversity and opposes racism. We strongly believe in our mission to provide resources, services, and programs that are inclusive to all members of our community. We stand in solidarity with our Black community members.

Towards that effort, we have established several initiatives, including a Diversity and Inclusion Committee, a diversity audit of our collection and programs, and an anti-racist reading list for all ages. However, we also recognize the need for growth and continued learning so that we may create a safe space for all people. 

We are listening, we are learning, and we are here for you. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Adult Fiction

Young Adult

Children’s – Fiction / Poetry

Adult Nonfiction

  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X PCL/LCLC
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Libby Audio Libby Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See by Jennifer L. Eberhardt Libby Audio Libby Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • The Color of Law: a Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein Libby Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • Death of Innocence: the Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley PCL/LCLC
  • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin PCL/LCLC
  • The Fire This Time: a New Generation Speaks About Race by Jesmyn Ward PCL/LCLC
  • The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America by Nikesh Shula PCL/LCLC
  • Good Talk: a Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob Libby Audio PCL/LCLC
  • How to Be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendo Libby Audio Libby Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson Libby Audio Libby Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • Let the People See: the Story of Emmett Till by Elliot Gorn PCL/LCLC
  • Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad Hoopla Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • Motherhood So White: Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America by Nefertiti Austin Hoopla Audio Hoopla Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander Hoopla Ebook PCL/LCLC
  • One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson PCL/LCLC
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo Hoopla Audio PCL/LCLC
  • Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi Hoopla Audio PCL/LCLC
  • Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates Jr. PCL/LCLC
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo PCL/LCLC
  • White Rage: the Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson PCL/LCLC

Children’s-Non-Fiction/Biography

  • Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine PCL/LCLC Hoopla Audio Hoopla Movie
  • Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester PCL/LCLC
  • Martin’s Big Words by Julius Lester PCL/LCLC
  • Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendex and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh PCL/LCLC Libby Ebook Hoopla Ebook Hoopla Movie
  • This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell PCL/LCLC
  • We March! by Shane Evans PCL/LCLC
  • Who We Are! All About Being the Same and Being Different, by Robie H. Harris PCL/LCLC
  • The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson PCL/LCLC