I'm not a racist.
"Racism is a complex system of beliefs and behaviors, grounded in a presumed superiority of the white race. These beliefs and behaviors are conscious and unconscious; personal and institutional; and result in the oppression of people of color and benefit the dominant group, whites. A simpler definition is racial prejudice + power = racism." (Glossary, Racial Equity Resource Guide)
Fighting racism requires understanding it first. Our hope is that this compilation of resources will challenge our community to examine long held ideas about race and racism in a new light. In addition to books, videos, and podcasts, we have included a list of anti-racism organizations for those who wish to take further action. By no means is our resource list exhaustive, merely a starting point -- with a practical focus on listing materials that are held by Framingham Public Library or free of charge on the Internet.
Framingham Public Library staff members have collected the following resources for adults, teens, and children. We welcome your suggestions for other resources and materials for our collection. Click here to send us your ideas.
The City of Framingham offers a "Resources for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion" webpage, which contains lists of resources for all ages, along with links to Mayor Spicer's Community Hours on the subject of understanding and combating racism on a local level.
Thank you to the Friends of The Framingham Library for their generous purchase of an Anti-Racism collection of print and eBooks for children, teens, and adults. The collection is available through either Overdrive or Libby. To view the collection in Overdrive, click here. To view the collection in Libby, click here. To view the complete list, click here. You must have a Framingham address associated with your library card to borrow digital materials purchased by the Friends.