Because Black Lives Matter: A Collection of Intersectional Resources

When I first began really diving into Equity, Diversity and Inclusion education, I didn’t know that one of my arguably many knowledge deficits surrounded the idea of intersectionality. Intersectionality is “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” (Dictionary) What this means is that we must recognize the fact that people are shaped by more than one identity.

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term Intersectionality and you can read more about it here: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination.

Lib Guides has a collection of resources on the topic of intersectionality to help you better understand the concept if it is new to you: https://libguides.utm.edu/diversityresources/intersectionality

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw also does an excellent Ted Talk on the topic that you will want to watch:

So today I want to share with you some book lists that highlight the intersectionality of race and things like religion, disability, and gender and sexuality.

The Association of Jewish Libraries shared a list of books that highlight the Black Jewish experience: https://jewishlibraries.org/blog/id/461?fbclid=IwAR32_mo_8wX_faqN0VbQAPT-9X25osM7OJ142H43WdpCCJj7XdTHxEe1dKw {Edited to add: Please see Katherine Locke’s disappointment with this list in this Twitter thread and see her recommendation for Color Me In by Natasha Diaz}

Queer Books for Teens has a list of recommended LGBTQIA+ books featuring Black teens here: http://queerbooksforteens.com/best-of-lists/books-with-black-characters/

This Book Riot article features 2020 releases with disability representation and although it does not exclusively feature Black disability representation, there are a few titles on the list that will help us all fill that very real gap in our collections: https://bookriot.com/2020/01/13/disability-representation-on-ya-book-covers/

Here is a list that talks about and highlights the Afro-Latinx experience: https://remezcla.com/lists/culture/books-with-afro-latino-characters/

Teen Vogue has a short list of 8 books that highlight the experience of Black females written by Black authors: https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/black-female-authors-ya-books

Filed under: Uncategorized