We are a learning organization that values curiosity. One way that shows up is the shelves upon shelves of books we’ve collectively read. Over the past several years, many of those stories have been related to our work toward equity in southwest Minnesota. Reading books isn’t the only thing we need to do to realize justice in our communities, but the stories we see, hear and share matter. Over time, stories shape our reality. They help us understand other perspectives and build on the shared experience of being human.
In that spirit, we’re sharing a list of books our staff recommend that have sparked learning in their lives.
American Dirt
American DirtBy Jeanine Cummins
Book recommendation by Nancy Fasching, SWIF Vice President of Community Impact
I was drawn to this book to immerse myself into the journey of migrants into the United States. There are many reasons one might flee their home to come to el norte, or the United States, and this story gives context to the situations and experiences migrants face. The author gives a very personal account of Lydia and her 8-year-old son, Luca, what the journey looks and feels like for them, leaving their comfortable middle-class existence. The account is heart wrenching and provides a powerful exposure to the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.
A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota
Edited by Sun Yung Shin
Book recommendation by Nancy Kaping, SWIF Executive Assistant
This book is a collection of essays by sixteen writers who provide a range of perspectives on what it’s like to live as a person of color in our state. I like it because the stories are short and the writers are from Minnesota and their stories are experiences living in Minnesota.
Grasshopper Girl
Written by Teresa R. Peterson
Illustrated by Jordan Rodgers
Book recommendation by Marie Zimmerman, SWIF Communications Manager
This children’s book is based on an Unktomi trickster story. Unktomi stories have been shared in Dakota families and communities for a very long time. My daughter loves mischief, and she likes to follow the trouble Unktomi gets into. There are many Dakota words in the book, and I have picked up new words alongside my 5-year-old. I didn’t realize the city of Chanhassen gets its name from the Dakota language, which led me to learning about many more Minnesota place names that also come from the Dakota language.
Teresa is a member of our SWIF Board of Directors. You can listen to Teresa read her book in this video from the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Heavy: An American Memoir
Written by Kiese Laymon
Book recommendation by Jeff Vetsch, SWIF Community Philanthropy Officer
I liked this book because it allowed me to enter a world I am unfamiliar with. Author Kiese Laymon describes growing up with a highly intellectual, abusive single mother and his struggles with his own weight and the oppression of racism in America. Some of scenes are raw and Laymon writes with an openness and honesty that can be difficult to hear. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into the challenges, both internal and external, a young black man faces trying to make it into adulthood in the American south.
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Written by Austin Channing Brown
Book recommendation by Meghan Laffen, SWIF Philanthropy Communications Specialist
In her powerful memoir, Austin Channing Brown writes about growing up black, female and Christian in middle-class white America. I enjoyed this book because Austin addresses hard topics such as racism and racial justice through writing about her lived experiences. She shares her journey of navigating through racial hostility and learning to love herself in “a world made for whiteness.”
Rising out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist
Written by Eli Saslow
Book recommendation by Diana Anderson, SWIF President & CEO
“Rising Out of Hatred” is the story of Derek Black, who grew up inside the White Nationalist movement and was indoctrinated into a mindset that America was founded as a country by and for white people. I didn’t know anything about this movement, and as a reader, I found myself inside this frightening world that I couldn’t imagine, with secret meetings and secret rallies. When Derek starts attending New College of Florida, one of the most liberal colleges in the country, holes get poked in his belief system. He’s meeting people different than him and finding out they are good and decent people. It’s a really compelling story of one person’s journey from intense hatred to this new understanding of how all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity are part of the rich fabric of our county.
Small Great Things
Written by Jodi Picoult
Book recommendation by Liz Cheney, SWIF Vice President of Philanthropy
I have read many of Picoult’s books for enjoyment over the years, such as Nineteen Minutes, The Pact, My Sister’s Keeper and more. I happened upon Small Great Things in the early days of my equity journey. The novel debuted as a #1 New York Times bestseller and was chosen for the 2017 National Network of State Teachers of the Year social justice booklist for high school – adult readers. The story: a labor and delivery nurse, who is Black, is confronted by white supremacists who ask that she is reassigned. The hospital complies, the nurse is reassigned, the newborn goes into cardiac distress… Through the beauty of story and well-developed characters, I found myself in the shoes of the nurse character—experiencing fear, heartbreak and fallout. The hard topics of prejudice, race and justice were approachable and became very real. It was exactly what I needed, even though I didn’t know it.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
Written by Heather McGhee
Book recommendation by Diana Anderson, SWIF President & CEO
This book takes an economic view of what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Heather McGhee takes a deeply personal look at how so many Americans, both whites and people of color find themselves shut out of opportunity because policies are designed to protect the status quo. Think of all the lost potential because of this; the whole country pays for it. The author also finds proof of the benefits we gain when people come together across race to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own.
Under the Tulip Tree
Written by Michelle Shocklee
Book recommendation by Karen Grasmon, SWIF Communications Director
I was drawn to this novel about a young writer looking for her place in a world turned upside down. She finds it in the friendship, faith and wisdom of a 101-year-old former slave. Set after the stock market crash of 1929, it’s fiction but based on the Federal Writers’ Project and the Slave Narrative Collection, which was part of the New Deal and Works Progress Administration (WPA) employment programs. I was familiar with bridges and buildings built during the Great Depression, but the Federal Writers’ Project and these first-person histories were a new discovery for me. This book explores the power and connectedness of our life stories and how our perspectives can change when we meet new people.
Explore the Federal Writers’ Project at the Library of Congress
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
Written by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry
Book recommendation by Diana Anderson, SWIF President & CEO
When looking at bad behavior in children and teens, we might be tempted to ask, “What’s wrong with you?” This book explains why that is not the right question … instead, we should be asking, “What happened to you?” We talk a lot about ACEs – Adverse Childhood Experiences – at Southwest Initiative Foundation as we think about our kids and Grow Our Own, and this book delves deeply into how traumatic experiences in childhood shape our behavior for life. It talks about the how and the why, and what we can do to help our kids. I listened to it as an audio book, and I enjoyed that because it’s essentially a conversation between Oprah and Dr. Perry, who has spent his entire career focused on brain science and childhood trauma. I think any parent, any grandparent, anyone who cares about kids could benefit from reading “What Happened to You?” because it explains so much.
[divider style=”0″]Below are two book selections the staff has read and discussed collectively.
From Somalia to Snow
Written by Hudda Ibrahim
This book unpacks the immigration narrative of Somali Americans and explains why nearly 20 percent have chosen to settle in Minnesota. “From Somalia to Snow” gives readers an insider’s look into the lives and culture of our Somali neighbors and the challenges they face.
Hudda is an alum of the Initiators Fellowship, a program that equips early stage social entrepreneurs with the support they need to transform their ideas into scalable, sustainable ventures that serve and enrich Greater Minnesota, including our southwest Minnesota region.
White Birch, Red Hawthorn
Written by Nora Murphy
Nora Murphy tells the story of her ancestors’ maple grove that, long before the Irish arrived, was home to three Native tribes: the Dakota, Ojibwe, and Ho-Chunk. That her dispossessed ancestors’ homestead was built upon another, far more brutal dispossession is the hard truth underlying Murphy’s search for the deeper connections between this contested land and the communities who call it home.
Nora is the former tribal planner and grant writer for the Lower Sioux Indian Community.
