Why am I passionate about this?

I was born and raised in Nyack, New York, and all of my degrees are from colleges and universities in New York. I have always been interested in race relations in America and understanding their causes and consequences. Hope and despair are two themes that run through the experiences of people of African ancestry in America. The books I selected include fiction and nonfiction works that highlight promises made and promises unfulfilled.


I wrote

White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs

By Lori Latrice Martin, Brian D. Behnken (editor),

Book cover of White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs

What is my book about?

Sports can be an inspirational example of what can be achieved through hard work and perseverance, regardless of race. However, raceā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Sula

Lori Latrice Martin Why did I love this book?

I love Toni Morrison's works and consider her one of my favorite authors. I would argue, as others have, that Morrison is one of the greatest American writers ever. I appreciate that the characters in all of her books, including this one, are always dynamic. I also appreciate how Morrison shares the main characters' traumas, tragedies, and triumphs.

By Toni Morrison,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Sula as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Extravagantly beautiful... Enormously, achingly alive... A howl of love and rage, playful and funny as well as hard and bitter' New York Times

As young girls, Nel and Sula shared each other's secrets and dreams in the poor black mid-West of their childhood. Then Sula ran away to live her dreams and Nel got married.

Ten years later Sula returns and no one, least of all Nel, trusts her. Sula is a story of fear - the fear that traps us, justifying itself through perpetual myth and legend. Cast as a witch by the people who resent her strength, Sulaā€¦


Book cover of The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches

Lori Latrice Martin Why did I love this book?

I think WEB DuBois is one of the greatest scholars ever to live. I recommend this book because DuBois eloquently tackles some of American society's greatest challenges. I like that DuBois is not satisfied with contemporary explanations about racial inequities. I am grateful to DuBois for encouraging American society to explore the roles of race and racism and explaining the experiences of people of African ancestry in America.

By W. E. B. Du Bois,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Souls of Black Folk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches is a 1903 work of American literature by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology and a cornerstone of African-American literature.


The book contains several essays on race, some of which had been published earlier in The Atlantic Monthly. To develop this work, Du Bois drew from his own experiences as an African American in American society. Outside of its notable relevance in African-American history, The Souls of Black Folk also holds an important place in social science as one of the early worksā€¦


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Book cover of This Animal Body

This Animal Body by Meredith Walters,

Neuroscience PhD student Frankie Conner has finally gotten her life togetherā€”sheā€™s determined to discover the cause of her depression and find a cure for herself and everyone like her. But the first day of her program, she meets a group of talking animals who have an urgent message they refuseā€¦

Book cover of Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul

Lori Latrice Martin Why did I love this book?

I am so glad Dr. Glaude continues the tradition of encouraging Americans to hold a mirror up to themselves in Democracy in America and ask whether there is a gap between what we value as a society and how we treat people. I find the book very accessible to people from diverse backgrounds. This book is not written with scholars or college students in mind but for anyone who wants to understand better what democracy has, can, and could look like.

By Eddie S. Glaude,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Democracy in Black as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A powerful polemic on the state of black America that savages the idea of a post-racial society.
 
Americaā€™s great promise of equality has always rung hollow in the ears of African Americans. But today the situation has grown even more dire. From the murders of black youth by the police, to the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, to the disaster visited upon poor and middle-class black families by the Great Recession, it is clear that black America faces an emergencyā€”at the very moment the election of the first black president has prompted many to believe weā€™ve solved Americaā€™s raceā€¦


Book cover of Black Wealth / White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality

Lori Latrice Martin Why did I love this book?

I found this book to be life-changing. No good books have explained racial wealth inequality in America for years. This book changed that oversight. I love how the book calls upon its readers to think beyond income as a measure of economic equality and consider wealth. It plainly shows the causes and consequences of racial wealth inequality in America. I am glad that the book offers some recommendations for narrowing the gap but is also realistic about the related challenges.

By Melvin Oliver, Thomas M. Shapiro,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Black Wealth / White Wealth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The award-winning Black Wealth / White Wealth offers a powerful portrait of racial inequality based on an analysis of private wealth. Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro's groundbreaking research analyzes wealth - total assets and debts rather than income alone - to uncover deep and persistent racial inequality in America, and they show how public policies have failed to redress the problem.

First published in 1995, Black Wealth / White Wealth is considered a classic exploration of race and inequality. It provided, for the first time, systematic empirical evidence that explained the racial inequality gap between blacks and whites. The Tenthā€¦


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Book cover of The Flight to Brassbright

The Flight to Brassbright by Lori Alden Holuta,

Constance is a wild, stubborn young girl growing up poor in a small industrial town in the late 1800's. Beneath her thread-worn exterior beats the heart of a dreamer and a wordsmith. But at age twelve, sheā€™s orphaned. Running away to join the circusā€”like kids do in adventure booksā€”seems likeā€¦

Book cover of Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America

Lori Latrice Martin Why did I love this book?

I consider this book one of the most important ever written on the subject of race. I marvel at the way the book causes readers to consider why so many people believe that racism exists but never take any responsibility for their role in its continued significance. I think the book is thoroughly researched, well-written, and thought-provoking.

By Eduardo Bonilla-Silva,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Racism without Racists as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Racism Without Racists examines in detail how Whites talk, think, and account for the existence of racial inequality. The main argument of the book is that color-blind racism, a new racial ideology that emerged in the post-Civil Rights era, has emerged as the fountain of frames, stylistic components, and racial stories Whites rely on to articulate their views on racial affairs. Relying on systematically-gathered interview data, Bonilla-Silva not only de constructs the main elements of this ideology, but also explains how the ways most Whites live their lives (the "white habitus") is central to the reproduction of this ideology, whyā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs

By Lori Latrice Martin, Brian D. Behnken (editor),

Book cover of White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs

What is my book about?

Sports can be an inspirational example of what can be achieved through hard work and perseverance, regardless of race. However, race still plays a major role in sports, and sports are agents of racial socialization. 

This new edition challenges the idea that America has moved beyond racial discrimination and identifies how racial identities and athletic determinism affect individuals in the world of sports. Featuring a new chapter covering the history of Black athletes in college sports and including 40% revised material covering major events and players since 2015, my influential text clarifies the links between sports and society as a whole. It demonstrates that the issues surrounding racism in sports are not limited to the playing field.

Book cover of Sula
Book cover of The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches
Book cover of Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul

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Interested in African Americans, race relations, and Ohio?

African Americans 814 books
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Ohio 80 books