Our collection of antiracist social justice books

Books That Matter is a print collection of more than 100 titles which support our commitment to social justice and antiracism. Chosen by staff and students, the collection is located on the second floor in Main Library on a "working" bookshelf. Books are rotated and cover many different identities, histories, and genres ranging from autobiographies to comic books. Stop by to browse and/or borrow.

Books That Matter categories

• African American
• Asia
• Borderlands
• Environmental Awareness
• Indigenous Peoples
• Latinx
• LGBTQ+
• Social Issues and Policies

Book spotlight: 'Belly of the Beast'

2022 Lammy Award Winner in Transgender Nonfiction

One of the many LGBTQ+ books in our Books That Matter collection is "Belly of the Beast" by Da’Shaun Harrison—"a fat, Black, disabled, and nonbinary trans writer who offers an incisive, fresh, and precise exploration of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness, laying the foundation for state-sanctioned murders of fat Black men, and trans and nonbinary masculine people in historical analysis. Fat people can be legally fired in 49 U.S. states for being fat; they’re more likely to be houseless. Fat people die at higher rates from misdiagnosis or nontreatment; fat women are more likely to be sexually assaulted. And at the intersections of fatness, Blackness, disability, and gender, these abuses are exacerbated."

Related

Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month (2023)

New book collection highlights social justice and antiracism (5/25/22)