Whether you’re looking for your next camping trip read or preparing your “to-be-read” pile for fall, here are three of Lama Tsomo’s most recent book recommendations.

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald (Penguin Random House)

We’re very conditioned to see the world in clumpings that are unconsciously done so we can easily maneuver and navigate society. Written by psychologists, this book examines those unconscious thoughts and patterns. It contains the Implicit Association Test that helps us see where our unconscious biases may lay. Don’t worry if you take the test and fail, even the authors failed the test when they took it! This book can bring up noticeable discomfort as you read it and complete the test. It challenges who we think we are and the assumptions we hold.

The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias by Dolly Chugh (HarperCollins)

Author and psychologist Dolly Chugh focuses on the ideology of “a good person” and how that psychology interacts with the social justice issues of race, sex, and equality. It invites us to let go of our fear of not being perfect and “good” so that we can grow and learn without heavy judgment. In this way, we’re able to recognize our behavior patterns and become active builders in the society that we want to see exist.

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (Penguin Random House)

Looking to learn more about antiracism work? This book is a great place to start. Written by a leading antiracist educator, the book educates us on white fragility – the discomfort white people feel when discussing or witnessing acts of racism or inequality – and how that hinders us from having meaningful and progressive conversation around race.

In the comments section, let us know what you’ve been reading, or if you’ve read any of these books, what you’ve learned.

Published on Aug 20 09 : 00 am