As we enter Black History Month, discussions centered around racial equality and underrepresented stories are at the forefront of all our minds. If you happen to be looking for a new read this month, check out our Race and Society Special Topic Collection. Here are some featured titles from that collection:
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family's journey from war-torn Vietnam, from debut author Thi Bui. This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy
One doctor's passionate and profound memoir of his experience grappling with race, bias, and the unique health problems of black Americans. Black Man in a White Coat examines the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine. As Tweedy transforms from student to practicing physician, he discovers how often race influences his encounters with patients.
Refuge in Hell by Daniel B. Silver
In 1945, when the Red Army liberated Berlin, they found in the Nazi capital a functioning Jewish hospital. In Refuge in Hell, Daniel B. Silver explores the many quirks of fortune and history that made the hospital's survival possible. Not since Schindler's List has there been such a wrenching story of personal sacrifice and triumph. Silver's narrative centers on the intricate machinations of the hospital's director, Dr. Lustig, a German-born Jew who managed to keep the Gestapo at bay throughout the war, in part because of his power over his staff and patients and his finely honed relationship with the infamous Adolf Eichmann.
Seeing White by Amy Eshleman; Jean Halley; Ramya Mahadevan Vijaya
This interdisciplinary textbook challenges students to see race as everyone's issue. Drawing on sociology, psychology, history, and economics, Seeing White introduces students to the concepts of white privilege and social power. The website www.seeingwhite.org includes multidisciplinary demonstrations, activities, examples, and images for researchers and instructors who seek to explain racism and reveal white privilege.
War Against All Puerto Ricans by Nelson A. Denis
Through oral histories, personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files,War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico's history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination. Denis provides an unflinching account of the gunfights, prison riots, political intrigue, FBI and CIA covert activity, and mass hysteria that accompanied this tumultuous period in Puerto Rican history.