It’s going to be a long summer: Great books for high school activists

I keep hearing about great students with summer plans that are cancelled or completely up in the air. I can’t change that. 

For many of you, this disappointment is combined with a sense of urgency. You want to build on what you’ve already learned. You want to understand more about the challenges we all face and how you can make a difference. You’re convinced that each one of us, including you, can make a better world. But how have others done this, and what can your role be, especially now?   

You also have friends and relatives who want to make a difference, too, and they want to cheer you on, every step of the way. You can share this list with them, too.  

For everyone who wants to make a difference and who wants to learn more, we’re suggesting a handful of books we love. Stay tuned for a future post on podcasts and documentaries we love.  

With each suggestion, we’ve tried to find a voice that is unique and authentic and that feels like a new friend. This is not homework.  

Tell us about other books you love.   

Books in graphic novel form or with lots of photographs or images

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang
A graphic novel tells us the story of a family in a new neighborhood and the experience of being the only Chinese American student at a new school.

The Best We Could Do, An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui
This graphic novel tells the story of the author’s Vietnamese-American family.

March, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
This three-part graphic novel about the civil rights movement reveals the creativity and discipline and courage of those who showed the country the need to change. 

Maus I, A Survivor’s Tale, by Art Spiegelman
Through this graphic novel, the author tells the story of his father’s experience in Nazi Europe.

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik
What started out as a Tumblr became a great illustrated book, telling the story of what makes RBG special. 

Persepolis:  The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi
A memoir / graphic novel of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. 

Undocumented: Immigration and the Militarization of the United States-Mexico Border, by John Moore
Journalistic essays and photographs document the complexity of the southern border. 

Books focused on the written word

Citizen, by Claudia Rankine
Aquaculture saved the author.  It can save the ocean and fishing communities, and maybe much more.

Eat Like a Fish, by Bren Smith
Aquaculture saved the author.  It can save the ocean and fishing communities, and maybe much more.

Educated, by Tara Westover
A memoir about the impact of education.

How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
Racism is not going to stop by itself. Through personal stories and analysis of power and policy, this book helps each of us reach a better understanding of what an antiracist society might look like and how each of us might participate.

Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
Get proximate to begin to understand the urgent need to reform the US criminal justice system.

I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai
A teenager from the Swat Valley in Pakistan tells the story of her fight for access to education.

The Laramie Project, by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project
Drawing on hundreds of interviews, this play documents the town of Laramie and its relationship to the killing of Matthew Shepard.

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, by Jon Krakauer
Before you start college, please read how college sexual misconduct can take hold as part of a school culture, unless someone stops it.

My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
The Supreme Court Justice describes her American journey.

A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf
When asked to deliver a talk on the topic of women and fiction, Virginia Woolf embarks on a journey that leads to this conclusion:  “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” 

Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education, by Danielle S. Allen
How to turn civic distrust into "a citizenship of political friendship."

Translation Nation, Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States, by Héctor Tobar
An award-winning journalist travels across the United States to report on emerging Latino communities from Los Angeles to San Antonio, to Miami.

United States Constitution
Ok, this might feel like homework, but a pocket Constitution is a good thing to have.  The Declaration of Independence is included in this version as an added bonus.

The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
A history of the Great Migration from the US south, told from the perspective of three families.

Enjoy.

P.S., The links above go to Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores. The Civics Center is an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and The Civics Center earns a commission if you use the links above to click through and make a purchase.