Along with Chapman University, the Leatherby Libraries stands united with all those fighting against social injustice, particularly in the wake of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We know that many of our students, faculty, staff, and community members are currently looking for ways to learn more about issues of race and identity, the Black experience in the U.S, and how to be anti-racist. To that end, the Leatherby Libraries is providing a number of resources to help the Chapman community learn more, and we’ve focused our efforts on providing resources that are available remotely.

We have recently acquired fourteen new e-books, pictured below. These books include Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me, Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, and Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility: Why it’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Links to each of these e-books can be found in the new Research Guide listed below. Please note that the permissions for each eBook varies. Some have unlimited access while others can only be viewed by one person at a time. If an eBook is unavailable, check back at a later time.

A collage of book covers on a white background. The top row contains, from left to right, America's Original Sin, by Jim Wallis; An African American and Latinx History of the United States, by Paul Ortiz; Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates; and Black Lives Matter. by Duchess Harris. The middle row contains, from left to right, Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald; Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?, by Mumia Abu-Jamal; How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi; I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown; and Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson. The bottom row contains, from left to right, The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin; The Fire This Time, by Jesmyn Ward; The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander; The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson; and White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo

The Leatherby Libraries’ new e-books on Black history in the United States and racism

In addition to the purchase of these new e-books, the Leatherby Libraries announces a new Research and Study Guide dedicated to Black Lives Matter topics, curated by Africana Studies subject librarian Margaret Puentes. Along with links to each of the e-books, this guide offers suggested journal articles, all available remotely, suggested databases and search terms, and films, many of which are available to stream on Kanopy or Swank, on the topic of race and racism in the US. Our goal in creating this guide is to provide as many remotely available resources as possible. If you know of a great resource that we own but we haven’t listed, please reach out to us to suggest other resources to add.

If you are looking for other Chapman resources, an excellent place to start is by watching the recording of the “Turning Anguish to Purpose: The Path Forward” event that took place on Tuesday, June 9th. This event was organized by Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the Fowler School of Law, and featured guest speakers Jimmie C. Gardner and “Prexy” (Rozell W.) Nesbitt. You can view the recording here.

An article in the Chapman Newsroom offers more resources and ideas, including Chapman University initiatives and plans, on-campus groups to support and join, and organizations to give to, if you’re looking for places to donate.

Cover image courtesy of The Panther Online.