Updated: March 8, 2021
What to read: Recommendations for learning more about DEI issues
By Liz Greason and Deb Breiting, co-founders, Maine Intercultural Communication Consultants
As business people look for ways to talk with bosses, employees and colleagues about diversity, equity and inclusion, here are some books that are recommended:
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents / by Isabel Wilkerson
This book is our No. 1 recommendation. We love that it puts issues of race and power in a global context. The author tells her own story and infuses history of the caste system in Nazi Germany, India and the U.S., making it personal and also historical. What we also think is great about this book is that it taps into our emotions, and helps us to transform...not just intellectually.
Just Mercy / by Bryan Stevenson
Written by a Harvard educated, Black law professor and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, this book explores the injustices of our current justice system. The author also tells his story: reflecting on his experiences as a highly educated Black man and his interviews with people on death row. This book explains in detail what is corrupt and wrong in the American justice system, and the disproportionate impact seemingly neutral policies have on communities of color.
My Grandmother’s Hands / by Resmaa Menakem
This book dives into the trauma of what it means to be black and also what it means to be white, essentially exploring how trauma is racialized and what the impact of this is on our lives. We love that it’s like a workbook — encouraging us to practice and embody healing, and also not look away from the brutality that got us to this point and continues in this moment.
Waking Up White / by Debbie Irving
This is a great starting point for white people who are just beginning to think about race. Though this book has received some justifiable criticism, we love that it follows an upper middle class white woman through her journey of “waking up” to new information about the complexities of race in the United States. It’s like she takes us on her journey of beginning to see the way in which racism is “baked into” various policies that many Americans were taught were fair, objective, and treated everybody equally. And there are writing/reflection prompts at the end of each chapter.
Black Fatigue / by Mary-Frances Winters
We’ve been a fan of Mary-Frances Winters for years and use her Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) case studies in our own trainings. We love how this book marries intercultural development theory and racial justice. She talks about ‘the enduring negative impact of systemic racism on the health, economic, workplace, educational, and other social outcomes for Black people.” And we love that she “offers strategies Black people can use to protect themselves against Black fatigue and discusses how non-Black people can begin to actively dismantle the racists systems that cause it.”
Figuring Foreigners Out / by Craig Storti
Though the name is a bit out-dated, the information contained in the book stands the test of time. It has been particularly helpful to our clients who work in international contexts or with New Mainers, those moving here from other countries or regions of the United States. We love that it explores something called “cultural general frameworks” (direct vs. indirect communication; emotionally expressive vs. emotionally responses to conflict, for example). Knowing these allows us to understand the complexities of human similarities and differences, and have a language to talk about them, and bridge effectively across differences.
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