Books & Media for Beginning Conversations on Race & Diversity

I recently sat down with some friends for two different conversations on race & diversity – especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. In both of our conversations, we talked about different books, shows and resources out there to not only educate ourselves, but to also spark conversation. I love a good book club, but what I love even more are podcasts, videos, television shows and movies. They are great conversation starters and are sometimes more accessible for people than books.

The first conversation I had was with Cindy Fiala and Gina McClain on their newly launched vodcast/YouTube Channel, There’s That. I was also joined by another friend, Paula Danielle. I met all three of these amazing women, in person, at the beginning of the year at a Next Generation leaders conference put on by Orange (who creates curriculum, books and all sorts of other great resources to equip churches to partner with families). I was already a fan of Gina through the Orange Kids Podcast, but only heard her voice, so it was a thrill to meet her in person! Cindy and Gina are both incredible coaches and leaders in the Next Generation (think babies, kids, youth, college kids, young adults…) field. I was introduced to Paula (Well, I also probably creeped her out a little because I went up to her the day she wore Kobe Bryant’s jersey and said something that I can’t remember because I was still trying to process my own grief over that!) by Gina and I find out that she is also a coach and leader in this field. I love that I was surrounded by strong WOMEN who were leaders in the same field that I was in! What a jackpot!

I was thrilled to join on the conversation about racism and diversity as it is a deep passion and calling in my personal life, but also because it came on the heels of the lynching death of Ahmaud Arbery and in the midst of the anti-Asian American racism happening because of COVID-19. Click below to watch our conversation.

The second conversation I ended up having was a little bit on accident. I was watching the amazing Paula and Lisette Fraser, who is a pastor at Fellowship Church in California, having a conversation on “Making Diversity Normal.” Paula invited me to hop in on the conversation through the magic of technology and I felt so grateful. You can watch and listen to the conversation below. We need to have these conversations be regular in our churches and I am thankful for the both of them for highlighting and talking about it!

I would love for you to join in on these conversations and to hear your thoughts on this. Here are the books that I recommended – it’s a mix of books for kids and adults (most of the links go to the author’s site and in some instances they go to Amazon, but they are not affiliate links):