Growing Together: D&I Book Club
Beta Eta has created a Diversity and Inclusion committee to provide fellow DGs with helpful resources to become educated on race, discrimination, and other current topics. The committee has created a book club focused on expanding the chapter’s understanding of racism as well as creating a space for women to come together to discuss what they have read and what we can do with that information. This encourages chapter members to come together and talk about race openly, constructively, and in an informed manner. Below, several women from our chapter recommend resources they have found helpful.
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.
In the book, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, racism and the many different forms it takes in the US and around the world are exposed and connected. Throughout the book, it is made clear that there are only two types of actions, policy, thoughts, and opinions -- racist and anti-racist. Nothing can be considered neutral, everything has implications. I learned that passive racism is just as damaging as active racism. I also learned that racism is ingrained and integral to the US, racism is not a disease, instead racism is an organ, it is essential for the US to function.
-Pia Scharfenberg, MC’18
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
This book really opened my eyes in so many different ways to how the struggle of the Black community is ever so present in today's society due to the mass incarceration rate. The statistics show how in some states, Black men are admitted to prison on drug charges up to 50 times greater than those of white men because of this "War on Drugs" which was a term coined by Nixon back in the 70s; results in a higher rate of Black men to have criminal records and now can be discriminated against for the rest of their lives. It showcases clearly how systemic racism and discrimination against the Black community is still very much alive. It's conversations we should all be having, even if it makes people uncomfortable. I think it's important for everyone to read this, and if you're in a position of privilege, to recognize it and not act like these issues don't exist just because it doesn't affect you. An inspiring read overall, I really enjoyed it.
-Eliana Murphy, MC’18
“When They See Us”, Netflix Documentary
“When They See Us” is about the Central Park Five, a group of five young Black men wrongfully convicted for the rape of a white woman in New York City in 1989. This series follows these young Black boys through their trial and portrays the negative effects of systemic racism through the lenses of family and childhood. Their story was difficult but necessary to watch in order to be a better ally.
-Taylor Williams, MC’19
Black owned book stores where these resources can be purchased along with many other great reads:
Black Pearl Books (Austin, TX): https://blackpearlbookstore.com/
Pan-African Connection (Dallas, TX): https://www.panafricanconnection.com/
Enda's Booktique (Duncanville, TX): https://endasbooktique.com/books-by-women
The Dock Bookshop (Fort Worth, TX): https://www.thedockbookshop.com/shop
