Update (December 2021)

In June of 2020, we put together this guide to serve as a tool for our conversations about the racist practices that plague our society and halt our collective progress. We appreciate the feedback that we've received and are humbled to hear how it has engaged our community. This feedback makes us consider what can we do to elevate it further, to do more rather than simply be a list of resources. Can it start conversations rather than just support them?

We did not aimlessly include the Dr. Ibram X. Kendi quote below, which states, "...being antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination." We chose to include that quote to hold ourselves accountable, to remind ourselves that we're responsible for this guide and thus it should be a priority to review and make sure it is reflective of what our community needs. So, we updated the guide to provide resources that address the embedded racism and racist practices within higher education. Specifically, as they exist in the education of business, nursing, STEM, and traditional liberal arts subjects, as well as in the hiring and retention of the staff and faculty. Additionally, we gathered resources that speak to the importance of name pronunciation. The former iteration of the guide still exists, and is archived in it's own tab. We hope you still use that guide to inform your conversations and your practices. We welcome any feedback and/or suggestions from our community and will continue add resources as we gather them.

In January of 2019, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi addressed the Fairfield University community as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation Keynote Speaker and spoke to us about how the opposite of being racist isn't being not-racist, it's being anti-racist. Now, just over one year later, as we mourn the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others, we need to think even more critically about anti-racism and reforming the current system that threatens and ends the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Black community.  We need to educate ourselves further to learn how we can do better, and advocate for change now. 

This guide includes a list of resources that we find useful in helping us understand and address the systemic racism within America. As the Fairfield University community moves forward together during this painful time, please know that we at the DiMenna-Nyselius Library are here to help you access credible information and that we are committed to continuing to grow our collection on this important issue. We will continue to update this page as more resources are added to our collection. If there are any titles that you would like to see added to our collection, or if you would like us to try getting any of our physical books as an ebook, please use our Recommend a Purchase Form.