Time for Change – Action Not Words

To encourage our students and staff to engage with Black History Month, the College Librarian has curated a collection of relevant and recommended books. They are displayed in the Library window, and are all available for students and staff to borrow this October or throughout the year.

Librarian Laura Cracknell explains more about the collection and her recommended reads:

For Black History Month, we decided in particular to highlight books about Activism. The theme this year is ‘Time for Change – Action Not Words’, encouraging people to engage with what they're reading, and how they can live it out in practical ways.

There are books on different sectors such as healthcare and social work, and a couple of my highlights are on education.

The Antiracist Educator by Pranav Patel is aimed at teachers, but can help anyone interested in how the education system works to think about systemic issues and how racism can be challenged or perpetuated in the classroom. 

Dismantling Race in Higher Education is a collection of essays gathering research on racism and colonialism in universities across the country, and looking at how both individuals and policies can help to "decolonise the academy".

At a more personal level, Nova Reid's The Good Ally is for anyone wanting to do more than just read about problems, and who is looking to act as a better ally and advocate in all areas of their life. For anyone who's been reading about Black British History or about the current state of inequality in Britain, this is a great, practical book about how to turn knowledge into action.

All the books on the display can be borrowed, but they might be a bit difficult to reach! If you would like one of them, please just email library@pmb.ox.ac.uk, and someone will retrieve it for you. And if there's anything you'd like the library to add to this collection, do get in touch!
 

Click here for more Black History Month news and events and to find out how you can get involved.