Recommended Reading
These books reaffirm our unwavering commitment to building a world where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to reach their best health and wellbeing no matter their race, class, or ethnicity. We hope they do the same for you.
Recommended Reading
Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
“Key to unlearning the habits embedded by systemic racism.”
How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
“You learn a lot, but also feel the book like poetry.”
Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora
“A gut-wrenching, beautiful memoir that brings to life the challenges of immigrants.”
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele
“Puts the impact of structural racism in clear and obvious terms.”
Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberations, Collective Care, and Safety by Cara Page and Erica Woodland
“Offers powerful justification and vision for health and healing outside the medical system.”
Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation by Linda Villarosa
“A reflection of lived experience informed by data and evidence.”
Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice by Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta Ross, and Elena R. Gutiérrez
“All can benefit from this book’s coherent, comprehensive vision for multiple health justice movements.”
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
“Illuminates how poverty impacts us all, especially those from privileged backgrounds.”
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs with Scott Kurashige
“A scholar and activist who deeply understood what it meant to practice and fight for intersectionality.”
Get to know the authors 📚
If you have extra time to spare...
- Listen to Clint Smith speak about the legacy of slavery and its lasting impact (Watch time: 50 minutes)
- Watch Javier Zamora talk about growing up undocumented and his journey to liberation (Watch time: 45 minutes)
- Join Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele’s conversation on building a world free of anti-Blackness (Watch time: 1 hour 20 minutes)
- Learn from Matthew Desmond about poverty in America and solutions for change (Watch time: 58 minutes)
If you want to learn more, but are short on time...
- Tune into Tricia Hersey’s interview on why relaxation should be a human right (Watch time: 25 minutes)
- Discover why healing justice is needed to advance health equity from Cara Page and Erica Woodland
- Read lessons from Linda Villarosa on the intersection of race, inequality, and health
- Learn more about what social activist Grace Lee Boggs accomplished in 100 years
From the Blog
Books on Health Equity Inform and Inspire
The bold voices featured on this reading list offer empowering perspectives on advancing racial justice and health equity.
The Plague Doctors: Imagining the Pandemics of the Future
An author of a story in Take Us to a Better Place: Stories reflects on the connections between her fictional short story about a pandemic & our current reality.
Necessary Conversations: Talking Frankly About Race
Engaging in honest dialogue about race sometimes means lowering our defenses and acknowledging our feelings so we can walk together toward racial equity.
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Take Us to a Better Place: Stories
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