As more of the world continues to wake up and stand against the injustices, intolerance, unacceptable treatment and racism suffered by people of colour all over the globe, at kikki.K we continue in our commitment to educate our own team and our community.
As a global brand we know it’s our responsibility to use our platform and voice. We wholeheartedly believe in equality in all its forms and, as we’ve said before, the first step we’re taking is educating ourselves, our diverse team and our kikki.K community. We know there is much more to be done, and more that we can do, and we‘ll have an update for you soon on the next steps we’re taking as a brand in our commitment to positive change.
We understand that it’s more important than ever now for us all to open our minds and our hearts to the hard truths as well as the beauty of our diverse world. Which is why we wanted to bring you this incredible reading list, with books for both children and adults, from some of the world’s most amazing storytellers and writers. Our bookshelves should represent the world we live in, with stories from as many diverse voices, backgrounds, perspectives and authors as possible. We will continue to add to this list as well, as we know it’s just a start.
Some of these books explore racism, prejudice, discrimination and inequality. Some are non-fiction, some are fiction, but all of them are written from perspectives and voices that should be heard and all of them are worth adding to your reading list. Black lives matter, black voices matter and black stories matter.
FOR ADULTS
- Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge
- The Hate Race, Maxine Beneba Clarke
- How to be an Antiracist, Ibrahim X Kendi
- If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin
- The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas
- Me and White Supremecy, Layla Saad
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, Anita Heiss
- Australia Day, Stan Grant
- Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe
- Welcome to Country, Marcia Langton
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
- The White Girl by Tony Birch
- Ghost River, Tony Birch
- Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson
- Terra Nullius, Claire G. Coleman
- Tell me Why, Archie Roach
- Top End Girl, Miranda Tapsell
- Too Much Lip, Melisssa Lucashenko
- The Awakened Woman, Dr Tererai Trent
FOR CHILDREN
- Sorry Day, Coral Vass, Dub Leffler
- Who am I? Anita Heiss
- Sister Heart, Sally Morgan
- Finding Our Heart, Thomas Mayor
- Welcome to Country, Aunty Joy Murphy, Lisa Kennedy
- Our Home, Our Heartbeat, Briggs
- Girls Can Fly, Sally Morgan, Ambelin Kwaymullina
- Juneteenth, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Drew Nelson
- Chocolate Me, Taye Diggs
- I Love Me, Sally Morgan, Ambelin Kwaymullina
- Little Leaders: Bold Black Women in History, Vashti Harrison
- The Rainbow Serpent, Dick Roughsey
- My Culture and Me, Gregg Dreise
- The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, Dr Tererai Trent
We’ve also compiled a few resources below to help you continue to expand and grow your own reading lists. It’s important we support diverse stories, authors and publishers, so diverse stories and truths can continue to be told.
MORE RESOURCES
- https://www.instagram.com/blackfulla_bookclub/
- https://www.instagram.com/theconsciouskid/
- https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/articles/anti-racist-books-and-resources
- https://www.thecut.com/2020/05/13-books-you-should-read-about-black-lives.html
- https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/06/9848927/black-lives-matter-books
- https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/111427.Indigenous_Australian_autobiographies_2
- https://www.readings.com.au/collection/recommended-first-nations-childrens-books
- https://www.readings.com.au/collection/australian-first-nations-fiction
And if you haven’t already, you can also read our Black Lives Matter blog for more resources for educating ourselves and petition links so you can take action with us.
As we mentioned, we know there is much more to be done, and more that we can do, and we’ll have an update for you soon on the next steps we’re taking as a brand and our next steps in our commitment to positive change.
Love this approach.