Read Yara Shahidi’s Black History Book List

Supporting Black Lives Matter, the Black-ish actress shared some of her favorite books for fans to educate themselves on the topic.

The list she posted on June 2 included From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime by Elizabeth Hinton, Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon, The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, and Slavery and Social Death by Orlando Patterson.

“While the most pertinent thing we can do is pay attention to what we can do to support our organizers, protesters, and our Black community at large,” she shared on Twitter. “It is also important to understand the history of racism, state-sanctioned violence, and rioting in the US.”

#BlackLivesMatter ! Here is a thread of books to better understand the history of racism, state-sanctioned violence, and riots in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/TgVed5iw3Z

— Yara shahidi (@YaraShahidi) June 2, 2020

Not only did people say they will read her suggestions, but many fans also shared books of their own. Unintentionally, Shahidi’s post turned into a long and inspiring book list, featuring biographies of Black activists, studies on racism and police brutality, and more.

some titles that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Critical Race Theory: An Intro – Delgado & Stefancic
Racism Without Racists – Bonilla-Silva
The Color of Law – Rothstein

my personal favorite:
We Were Eight Years In Power – Coates#BlackLivesMatter

— juicy sosa (@jrasclot) June 2, 2020

Throughout the week, Shahidi’s support for Black Lives Matter took shape in many forms, from matching donations to advocating for the movement on social media. She also did a live stream on Instagram to discuss the week’s events, talking about the history of racism in the US, the death of George Floyd, the on-going protests around the country, and more.

“What is important to acknowledge is that this is not an unprecedented moment. At this point, this is precedent,” she said. “This is how we’ve established we’re moving forward.”