Books by Black, Indigenous and People of Colour Authors

By Jane Churchill

1. Growing Up Aborginal in Australia, by Anita Heiss

A collection of memoirs from First-Nation Australians on what it is really like being an Indigenous person in Contemporary Australia. Where are we now, and where should we be heading?

2. This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America, by Morgan Jerkins

Jerkins’ collection of essays, written through an intersectional feminist lens, explores the challenges of being a black woman in America. Her commentary on racism, pop-culture, beauty standards, misogyny, politics and society is outstanding. 

3. Highway of Tears, by Jessica McDiarmid

In rural British Columbia, thousands of First Nation women and girls have gone missing. This book is a piece of investigative journalism that brings awareness to the lives of those who have been forgotten by the Canadian Justice System. 

4. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson

This book will completely open your eyes to the confronting realities of racism, bias and privilege within the American Justice System. Bryan is a lawyer for the Equal Justice Initiative, and has dedicated his life and career to helping those who have been wrongly convicted or not given the right legal representation. With a particular focus on African-American men on death row, this book is haunting, heartbreaking and completely unforgettable. 

5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

As a literary classic, this autobiography of Maya Angelou’s life is essential reading for anyone interested in the civil rights movement in America.

6. If They Come for Us, by Fatimah Asghar

Asghar’s poetry captures the experience of being a Pakistani-Muslim in the west. Her poetry is powerful, at times confronting, but brutally honest and real. 

7. We are Displaced, by Malala Yousafzai 

Malala Yousafzai became a household name after she was shot in the head by the Taliban for attending school. Most of us know Malala for her advocacy for girls education, but Malala has also faced other hardships such as being internally displaced in her native Pakistan. Malala shares her own story in this book, and then the following chapters follow the lives of girls across the globe who have also been displaced in some way. 

8. The Rise of the Rocket Girls, by Nathalia Halt

Ever wondered who worked behind the scenes to get humans into space? Well, a group of women known as the “human computers” broke barriers of race AND gender to propel Astronomical Science to where it is today. These women who solved catastrophically difficult equations were given almost no recognition at all, until now.

9. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

This story, which has been adapted into an incredible film starring Amandla Stenberg, is about a 16-year-old girl called Starr who moves between two worlds; her life at a fancy private school and the poor neighbourhood in which she lives. Starr’s unarmed childhood best friend Khalil is shot by a white police officer after their car is pulled over. Drawing way too many parallels to what has just happened with George Floyd’s murder, this book has never been more relevant. 

10. Sabrina & Corina, by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

A collection of short stories based around the lives of Latinas of Indigenous descent living in Western America. These stories explore motherhood, friendship and the truths of the motherland.