The United States may be called the “land of the free and home of the brave,” but there are injustices in every facet of society. In recent years, social justice issues related to class, race, gender, sexuality, and more have become more well-known as people seek to educate themselves and others. Books are one of the best resources. Where should you start? Here are 15 books about social justice in the United States:
#1. A People’s History of the United States
#2. An Indigenious Peoples’ History of the United States
#3. A Queer History of the United States for Young People
#4. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
#5. Bad Feminist: Essays
#6. You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion
#7. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
#8. Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty
#9. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
#10. A Terrible Thing To Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind
#11. Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America
#12. One Fair Wage: Ending Subminimum Pay in America
#13. Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups
#14. Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest
#15. How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community
#1. A People’s History of the United States (1980)
Howard Zinn
Originally published in 1980, this book is now considered a classic. A People’s History looks at American history from Columbus to President Clinton’s first term through the perspective of groups overlooked in classrooms: women, African-Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, and others. Zinn rightly shows how many of America’s greatest victories such as the women’s right to vote, fair wages, and the 8-hour workday only came about because of the persistence of these communities. In light of new information and perspectives, A People’s History has been revised frequently throughout the years.
#2. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (2015)
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A recipient of the American Book Award, this is the first book to explore the history of the United States from the perspective of the continent’s indigenous peoples. Dr. Dunbar-Ortiz, a New York Times best-selling author and lifelong activist, examines how Native Americans have resisted the bloody expansion of the United States for centuries. While most American classrooms gloss over the genocidal policies of the US toward indigenous people, this book educates readers on the history many would like to forget. An Indigenous Peoples’ History is part of Beacon Press’ “ReVisioning American History” series.
#3. A Queer History of the United States For Young People (2019)
Michael Bronski & Richie Chevat
Adapted from the original A Queer History of the United States, this version written for young readers was named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 by the School Library Journal. It explores how LGBTQ+ people have shaped the United States for 400 years, covering iconic figures such as poet Emily Dickinson, Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin, and others. Readers will experience queer history through stories, letters, drawings, poems, and more. As far-right activists fight to eliminate queer history and books from American schools, this book is more important than ever.
#4. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (2007)
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde died in 1992, but her legacy has endured. This landmark collection of the Black lesbian poet and feminist’s essays and speeches covers topics like racism, homophobia, class, sexism, ageism, and more. It was originally published in 1984, but this 2007 edition contains a foreword by Cheryl Clarke, a poet and scholar of Audre Lorde. The words in this book will resonate with anyone interested in social justice. As the introduction by Nancy K. Bereano says of Lorde, “She is at the cutting edge of consciousness.”
#5. Bad Feminist: Essays (2014)
Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay’s collection of essays proves that both seriousness and humor have a place in the social justice movement. Through razor-sharp writing, Gay takes readers on a journey through womanhood, culture, and modern feminism. In a 2014 interview with Time, Gay explained “In each of these essays, I’m very much trying to show how feminism influences my life for better or worse.” Bad Feminist was on multiple best book of the year lists.
#6. You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion (2020)
Meera Shah
Dr. Meera Shah worked as the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, but for a while, she would simply tell people she was a doctor. In recent years, she became more direct and said, “I’m an abortion provider.” People started sharing their stories, often ending them with the phrase, “You’re the only one I’ve told.” In this book, Shah collects their stories to humanize abortion and push back against the many myths about it. In light of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, these types of stories are vital in the fight for reproductive rights.
#7. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2015)
Bryan Stevenson
As a young lawyer heading up the Equal Justice Initiative in 1988, Bryan Stevenson took on the case of Water McMillian, a man on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. This book chronicles Stevenson’s work to free McMillian, his perspective as a lawyer defending death row inmates, and insights into the deep racism of the criminal justice system. The book won a slew of awards including the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. It was made into a 2019 film starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.
#8. Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty (2021)
Maurice Chammah
In 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled that the federal death penalty was unconstitutional. In 1988, Congress reinstated it. For decades, Texas led the nation in its number of executions. However, criminal justice reform and cultural shifts have seen the death penalty decline, even in Texas. In this book, which won the J. Anthony Lukas Award, author Maurice Chammah follows the rise and fall of the death penalty through the stories of those it affected, such as death row prisoners, the families of victims, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and others.
#9. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010)
Michelle Alexander
How much has the United States changed since the days of slavery and Jim Crow Laws? This book challenges the idea that America became a colorblind society when it elected Barack Obama as president. Civil Rights lawyer and legal scholar Michelle Alexanders posits that the “racial caste” in America has not ended, but merely changed shape. The War on Drugs targeted Black men, harmed communities of color, and weaponized the American criminal justice system into a racial control system. The tenth anniversary edition from 2020 features a new preface by author Michelle Alexander. In the decade since its publication, The New Jim Crow has received many accolades and is considered one of the most important nonfiction books of the 21st century.
#10. A Terrible Thing To Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind (2019)
Harriet Washington
Re-released in 2020 with a new preface in light of COVID-19, this book examines the devastating effects of environmental racism. What is environmental racism? It’s the fact that middle-class Black Americans earning between $50,000-$60,000 live in more polluted areas than white households earning less than $10,000. Lead poisoning, atmospheric pollution, industrial waste, and disease are part of the environmental racism harming communities. Author Harriet Washington also discusses intelligence, arguing that it’s not an inherited trait, but something deeply impacted by toxic waste, pollution, and more. Washington is an acclaimed researcher whose books have won awards like the Pen/Oakland Award and the American Library Association Black Caucus Nonfiction Award.
#11. Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America (2021)
Eyal Press
What is “dirty work?” It’s work performed by drone pilots, undocumented immigrants on “kill floors” at slaughterhouses, and guards at the most brutal prisons in the country. Most Americans are protected from these types of morally troubling, but “essential” jobs. The less privileged people doing the work have to deal with occupational hazards and psychological burdens like stigma, PTSD, and moral injury. This book turns a close eye on these jobs and who society decides must fill them. Dirty Work won the 2022 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism.
#12. One Fair Wage: Ending Subminimum Pay in America (2021)
Saru Jayaraman
Before COVID-19, more than six million worked as tipped workers in the service industry. In some places, they were earning just $2.13 an hour, which is the federal tipped minimum wage that hasn’t changed since 1991. During the pandemic, these workers were among the most vulnerable as cafes, restaurants, and other service industries shut down or laid off workers. Saru Jayaraman, a restaurant activist and a 2014 White House Champion of Change, explores how tipped workers have been left out of the fair minimum wage fight. The book covers the history of subminimum wage and the stories of workers like restaurant servers, nail salon technicians, airport attendants, delivery workers, and others.
#13. Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups (2018)
Andrew Fisher
Since the recession in the 1980s and President Reagan’s federal program cuts, food charity has grown significantly. Originally intended as an emergency response to a failing economy, the “emergency” has become permanent and industrialized. Food charities rely heavily on corporate donations, which has led to a lack of accountability for those same corporations as they cut jobs, exploit workers and rural communities, and keep wages low. Big Hunger examines the business of hunger and how anti-hunger efforts need to focus on the root causes of food insecurity, like income inequality. Author Andrew Fisher presents a new vision for fighting hunger, which includes more grassroots organizations, a focus on public health, and economic justice.
#14. Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest (2017)
Zeynep Tufecki
New technologies have played a big role in mobilizing people for protests. In this book, New York Times opinion columnist Zeynep Tufecki explores how modern protests form, how they’re different from their predecessors and why it’s so hard for them to persist and create real change. Through on-the-ground interviews and analysis, Tufecki covers topics like the internet’s power for organizing, platforms and algorithms as tools, how governments have responded, and more. By the book’s end, readers will have a deeper understanding of social media’s role in modern protest and what the future could look like.
#15. How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community (2020)
Mia Birdsong
Social justice movements have become increasingly visible and powerful over the last ten years. How do people sustain these movements and turn them into genuine, thriving communities? Mia Birdsong, an activist and community organizer, presents a visionary idea of what authentic family and community look like beyond the 2-parent, 2-children household. Birdsong covers topics like safe, inclusive spaces, creativity in community, how to raise kids in community, and more.
