For the month of September here on Beat, we are celebrating all things diversity!
It’s an opportunity to educate ourselves about different topics surrounding diversity... and what better way to educate ourselves than reading.
Here are some books you should check out in honour of diversity month.
Slavery By Another Name - Douglas A Blackmon
A biography by American author Douglas A. Blackmon in which he argues that slavery in the USA didn’t end with the Civil War, but instead continued well into the 20th century.
Ruby Bridges Goes To School My True Story - Ruby Bridges
A biography by Ruby Bridges, an American civil rights activist. The first African-American child to attend an all-white school in New Orleans; definitely worth a read!
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation - Duncan Tonatiuh
Sylvia Mendez (an American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage) and her parents helped end school segregation in California. This book highlights the family’s hard-fought battle to desegregate California schools in the years before Brown V Board of education.
We Are Grateful - Otsaliheliga
An insight into modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
I Am Not A Number - Kay Dupuis & Kathy Kacer
When Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school, she tries to remember who she is and where she came from despite being told to do otherwise. When she returns home for summer, her parents decide never to send her away again, but what are the consequences?
A book that encourages conversation about residential schools with younger ones.
Little Leaders Bold Women In Black History - Vashti Harrison
This book showcases women who changed the world. Featuring 18 trailblazing black some in American history, you’ll find heroes, role models and every play women who did extraordinary things. These women’s actions and beliefs helped to make the world better for generations of women and girls.
Shining Star The Anna May Wong Story - Paula Yoo
Anna May Wong is the first Chinese-American movie star. Follow her on her journey to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the 1930s, as her determination in the face of discrimination is inspiring to all who must overcome obstacles to make their dreams come true.
Twice Towards Justice - Claudette Colvin
On March 2nd, 1955, a disenfranchised teenager refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Alabama. Instead of being celebrated like Rosa Parks, Colvin found herself shunned by everyone around her. This didn’t knock her down though as she contained her fight to battle segregation laws.
