The Prisoners Literature Project

For over 30 years, this volunteer-based organization has been receiving and fulfilling book requests from prisoners. Black men are disproportionately and unjustly represented in the prison population, and while we work to right that wrong the Prisoners Literature Project helps educate, uplift and support these men through books. I am so touched by their mission that I have donated 10% of the profits from my own book to the organization, and I encourage you to donate as well.

My Grandmother’s Hands, Racialized Trauma & the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts & Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem’s 

This is the most compassionate book I have ever read about how to begin the healing work of structural racism and implicit bias in America. As trauma and relationship psychotherapist who happens to be black, Menakem reveals research which suggests that trauma is the bodily response to threats to the body or the mind. This revolutionary mind-body approach suggests that healing racialized in America will require somatic work and provides body practice exercises with each chapter. This book is a game changer, it has revolutionized the way I think.

Nikkolas Smith - Concept Artist, Children's Books Author and Film Illustrator

Nikkolas Smith is fulfilling an artist's duty of reflecting the times. His "Artivism" has sparked many important conversations regarding the inequities in America. His children's books are amazing and deliver a clear and imaginable message for the next generations.

The Octavia Project

The Octavia Project uses the creative power of science fiction and community to envision new futures and greater possibilities for our world. They foster spaces of imagination and exploration for Brooklyn teens, blending creative writing, art, science, and technology to encourage critical thinking, build confidence, and develop skills in a myriad of subjects.

Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust

The Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC) is working towards a collective vision of advancing land and food sovereignty in the northeast region through permanent and secure land tenure for POC farmers and land stewards who will use the land in a sacred manner that honors their ancestors’ dreams—for sustainable farming, human habitat, ceremony, native ecosystem restoration, and cultural preservation.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

I can't say enough wonderful things about Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. This debut novel is centered around Emira, a black woman who is out one night babysitting for her white employer. While shopping, Emira is stopped by a security guard who sees a black woman with a white child and assumes the child is kidnapped. It's an unflinching, powerful look at racism and privilege in the age of social media and viral videos.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

This powerful novel, a story of slaves' escape attempts from a Georgia plantation, garnered Colson Whitehead the first of his two Pulitzer Prizes. This alternate history is alive with Whitehead’s imaginings, most notably the inclusion of a literal railroad as part of the slaves’ escape network, yet does not flinch in its examination of this horrific chapter in American history — from which we, shamefully, have still failed to distance ourselves adequately.