Public libraries are places of inclusion and empowerment, dedicated to breaking down barriers to access and resisting inequality. Below are some resources that illuminate systems of race, privilege and power as well as how to enact change in ourselves and our institutions. We hope these resources help you recognize and challenge biases, navigate difficult conversations and create an inclusive, respectful space for learning, engagement and improvement.
Checkout these Materials from Calvert Library
- Anti-Racism and Social Justice Reading List of Digital MaterialsOpens in a new window
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Opens in a new window - Anti-Racism and Social Justice Reading List of Physical MaterialsOpens in a new window
- Picture Books that Introduce Race and Diversity to Young ChildrenOpens in a new window
eBooks & eAudiobooks Lists
Watch & Learn: Streaming Movies & Documentary Lists
- Social and Systemic Injustice FilmsOpens in a new window
- Asian AmericansOpens in a new window – This series is a production of WETA Washington, DC and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) for PBS focused on the lives of Asian Americans and their role in shaping the United States’ history. This site includes five one-hour episodes, in addition to videos and an interactive gallery on Asian Americans’ role in U.S. history.
Explore & Learn
- Equity in History: The Southern Maryland Equity in History Coalition’s objective is to elevate the history of Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color across Southern Maryland, identify this history and make it accessible through a comprehensive easily searchable website. Without knowing this history, we cannot fully understand and address the causes of racism. If we promote an understanding of our own rich local history, it will humanize the stories and make this history more readily understood and impactful.Opens in a new window
- Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, a town hall for kids and familiesOpens in a new window – CNN commentators team with Sesame Street and bring together politicians and characters from Sesame Street for q & a and stories
- Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture Talking About Race toolkitOpens in a new window – Links to particular discussion guides based around race, privilege, antiracism, and self-care aimed at educators, parents and caregivers, or people committed to equity
- Asian American Racial Justice ToolkitOpens in a new window – A product from the Chinese Progressive AssociationOpens in a new window, this resource highlights people’s lived experiences to build structural awareness of why those experiences are happening and how they are tied to the oppression of others.
- A Different Asian American TimelineOpens in a new window – This informational and detailed timeline covers nearly 600 years of history, starting with the early Atlantic slave trade in the 15th Century, tracing the rise of modern nation-states, and covering events that have affected people across racial boundaries.
- the Big Conversation: Partners in Dismantling Racism and White PrivilegeOpens in a new window – This site is a resource for local anti-racism work in Southern Maryland
Podcasts:
- 1619Opens in a new window – From the New York Times, this narrative podcast tells the story that began in August 1619 when a ship of enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia.
- Be Antiracist with Ibram X. KendiOpens in a new window – Be Antiracist imagines what an antiracist society might look like and how we all can play an active role in building one. Dr. Kendi guides listeners on how they can identify and reject the racist systems hiding behind racial inequity and injustice.
- Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an AntiracistOpens in a new window – An episode of Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, during which she talks with Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to be an Anti-Racist.
- Brené with Emmanuel Acho on Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black ManOpens in a new window – An episode of Brene Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, during which she talks with Acho about racism and uncomfortable dialogue.
- Code SwitchOpens in a new window – From NPR, Code Switch is a podcast that takes the topic of race and discusses how it influences every part of society – from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between.
- Come Through with Rebecca CarrollOpens in a new window – During this election year, these are 15 essential conversations about race for America.
- FloodlinesOpens in a new window – An eight-part podcast that uses interviews to tell the story of the tumultuous events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its submerging of the city of New Orleans.
- GroundingsOpens in a new window – This podcast connects organizing, theory, and history with dialogue, experience, and storytelling. A form of communal education that invites listeners to sit, listen, talk, share, and learn.