Tools & Resources 

One pillar of our work on the journey to achieve racial equity is rooted in learning about the structural systems we all exist in. This work is uncomfortable and difficult, but it is necessary to create change. These tools and resources are one way to normalize conversations about structural racism in the workplace and the spaces we occupy outside of work. 

Suggested Reading Material 

From a young age, books and other reading materials help many us of gain an understanding into experiences that are different from our own daily life experiences. This is true for also understanding the racial inequities that persist in our society. While it scratches the surface of the many helpful books on the matter, the list below is designed to help readers better understand how strutcural racism has a role in their own lives, in our country and in our county, and how we can work to disrupt and dismantle that system.   

Economic Stability

• Our Black Year: One Family's Quest to Buy Black in America's Racially Divided Economy by Maggie Anderson
• The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran
• The Case for Reparations, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic 
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
• Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America's Black Cities by Andre M. Perry 

Social & Community Context 

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J. DiAngelo 
• From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America by Elizabeth Hinton
• Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein

Neighborhood & Enviornment 

• Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty by Scott Allard
• Live and Let Live: Diversity, Conflict, and Community in an Integrated Neighborhood by Evelyn M. Perry 
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson 

Health Care & Education

• Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris 
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
• Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy, M.D.  

Books for Kids, Teens & Young Adults  

• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña 
• Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry 
• Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o  
• If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson 
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore 
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi

Videos and Other Learning Opportunities

• Vernā Myers,’ TEDx Talk (17 minutes) 
• By Every Measure, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee podcast (6 episodes) 
• Say It Loud, PBS Digital Stuidos (11 minutes)
• Location! Location! Location!, NPR's Code Switch (35 minutes)
• Racial Dispartities in Healthcare, Healthcare Triage (6 minutes), 
• Milwaukee County Federated Library System, The library system that brings together all of Milwaukee County's libraries to bring high-quality services and resources to empower communities.
• Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE), is a national network of governement bodies working to acheive racial equity. Milwaukee County is a member. 
• Rid Racism MKE, Metro Milwaukee-based coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to building allies to dismantle all forms of racism and racial inequities through education, dialogue, and action. 
• Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) MKE, A public Facebook group with over 6,000 members. This multi-racial group of people in Milwaukee are undertaking the work of challenging and dismantling racism by calling in white people to learn, organize and act against white supremacy.  
• YWCA, Unlearning Racism: Tools for Action, Offered several times a year by the YWCA, Unlearning Racism is a six-part workshop series that examines the history and impact of racism and what participants can do about it.