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Nearly 10 years in the making, the Army plans to implement its controversial new fitness test later this spring. But a new batch of critiques about gender discrimination and the sheer logistical challenge of administering and training for the new test could imperil that deadline.

Creating the new Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, has been a monumental undertaking for the service. The mission: rework how the force judges whether someone is physically fit enough to serve and fight America’s wars. This is the first time since the 1980s that fitness has had any major overhaul in the Army.

Army leaders tested their new fitness standards in 2019, initiating a campaign to gather data that would decide which events ended up becoming a part of the final test, and how they would be scored. The goal was to have all soldiers judged by the new metrics in October 2020, but the ACFT immediately hit turbulence.

First, the pandemic shut down gyms and severely limited how soldiers can work out. Second, Army leaders looking to implement the test had to navigate a myriad of obstacles, including skepticism from Capitol Hill and the secretary of the Army over lopsided underperformance by women, and questions over whether a cyber warfare soldier needs the same fitness test as an infantryman on a test some say is more akin to a CrossFit workout than a precise tool to grade fitness for combat.

“There’s something seriously wrong here,” Kyle Novak, a data scientist who crunched ACFT data for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., ahead of her introducing a law delaying the test, said in an interview. “There’s gender bias built into the ACFT.”

Novak said the Army used poor data and methodology to figure out what to put in the ACFT, specifically not using enough women in early trials. For example, a study at Fort Benning, Georgia, to measure what physical abilities are needed for combat used 136 male soldiers and only 16 women, according to Army documents.

That led to an overemphasis on physical activities the average male is inherently better at than the average woman, such as the power throw and leg tucks. Army research, however, suggests those events have little correlation with combat. On top of that, Novak said other potential events that measure balance and flexibility, much needed physical attributes in battle, were sidelined.

Those challenges spurred lawmakers to delay using the ACFT across the Army and tasked Rand Corp. with investigating the test’s impact on soldier retention and troops’ ability to train for the evaluation in different environments. The study is set to be released this month, according to a Rand spokesperson, pushing Army officials to make final decisions on whether to keep the test as is, tweak it, or scrap it altogether.

The test also initially faced scrutiny from the rank and file because of the same issues that drew the ire of Congress, as well as the new test’s complicated logistics, and the fact that all major new programs draw some resistance in the military, a group generally known to be slow to change.

Regardless, leaders have had to pitch the test to the entire force, all the way down to the youngest soldiers. It isn’t just the ACFT itself; the Army is moving toward a holistic health initiative aimed to get soldiers to eat better and take care of their mental and spiritual health. It’s part of a wider campaign to combat a national obesity crisis that some have pointed to as a national security concern.

“Getting a new idea in the Army is the only thing harder than getting an old idea out; introducing anything makes everyone go nuts,” a senior Army official told Military.com.

“The [ACFT] is the best thing to ever happen to the Army, but only if we get the entire Holistic Health and Fitness program going. It isn’t a la carte,” the senior official added. “The obesity issue in the past decade wasn’t really around when I got in. This is a societal problem. … The test isn’t built to kick people out, it’s built to get people fit.”

Women Struggle on the Test

Soldiers who fail the test currently face no adverse actions or consequences, but if the Army hits its April 1 target to make the test official, how soldiers perform on it will have massive impacts on their careers. Failing the test could lead them to be booted from the service.

Data obtained by Military.com in May 2020 showed nearly half of women in the Army wouldn’t have passed the test. While women have made progress since soldiers began actively training for the new standards, passing the test isn’t enough for most troops. High performance on the test gives soldiers an edge when it comes to promotions and opportunities to attend elite courses such as Ranger School, which can themselves lead to job opportunities. The ACFT grades soldiers on a 600-point scale, with a 360 being the minimum needed to pass and 500 and above largely considered very good scores. As of May, only 66 women had scored above 500 in trials of the new test, versus nearly 32,000 men.

Some senior leaders urged Military.com to ignore that data, saying it is old and that soldiers are performing better on the test in recent months. None of them would speak on the record, citing concerns that most leaders have not yet fully reviewed up-to-date ACFT data or Rand’s findings, and that the force isn’t sure yet how the Army wants to talk about the test to the press and soldiers.

The Army is trying to juggle dueling goals of creating a stronger force while also creating more opportunities for women. Yet service officials acknowledge men and women ultimately have different physiologies, with the average woman likely having to work harder than the average man to deadlift heavy weight. In a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, women were found to have 40% less upper body muscle than men, and 33% less in the lower body.

In March, the Army kicked off a new scoring system — breaking the two genders into tiers. In practice, this could mean men and women still would have to meet the same standards but would not be compared to one another. A soldier’s percentile ranking could be reflected in their record; for example, they might be described as being in the top 10% of fitness ability among their gender across the Army, but the top 10% of men will likely have higher scores than the same tier of women.

The test’s fate ultimately falls to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who has already raised significant concerns to Capitol Hill about how easy the test appears to be for men to pass, and excel at, while women are apparently just scraping by.

“I have concerns on the implications of the test for our ability to continue to retain women,” Wormuth, the first woman to serve in the role, told lawmakers at her confirmation hearing in May.

At a separate hearing that month, Gillibrand, citing Military.com’s reporting, pressed key brass about whether they were concerned by the early data and if changes needed to be made.

“We fully acknowledge that the initial limitation of the test did show that there was a large disparity, one of which was a little bit troubling between genders,” Army’s G1 Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gary Brito said.

The Army Is All-In on the ACFT

Most soldiers interviewed by Military.com believe the force is too committed to the test to consider scrapping it. Leaders have been touting the test for years, and the force has spent more than $63 million on exercise equipment from Sorinex specifically to support training for the new standards. However, a spokesperson for Sorinex told Military.com that the Army has not made any new significant orders for more gear since its initial purchase in 2019, despite many units still seemingly not having easy access to equipment critical for physical training. New sales to the force are mostly focused on repairing and replacing equipment such as hex bars and bumper plates.

“It has become part of the culture now, even with the flaws. Too many mostly male soldiers and male leaders love the test and made hard sales pitches on it to the soldiers and [press],” another senior Army leader told Military.com on the condition of anonymity. “You’ll [see] some tweaks, maybe even getting rid of an event or two, but we can’t walk this back now.”

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston has repeatedly said an exciting effect of the test was having soldiers rethink fitness. The test itself, which some — mostly male — soldiers interviewed by Military.com agree is easier to pass than the previous fitness evaluation, is less important, he said. Having to do deadlifts, sprints and ball throws has added much-needed diversity to their workouts.

Whatever the ACFT looks like come April, if there is a new test, one thing is clear: The previous test, the Army Physical Fitness Test, or APFT, is dead.

“You will no longer take another APFT; it’s good news,” Grinston said at a panel in 2020. “I think it’s good news for me. I’m ready to move on.”

While soldiers remain skeptical of the ACFT, most agree it’s a huge improvement overall to the APFT, replacing what some described as a dull string of two-minute series of push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run.

“I love seeing myself and my soldiers train for this; it’s fun,” Staff Sgt. Nicole Pierce, who is stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, told Military.com

But, for Pierce, it’s still a tall order to perfect the test.

“I’m 5’5 and 115 lbs.. Most men can pick up the deadlift like it’s nothing. I know 140 lbs. is probably my max for now. I go into ACFTs not sure if I’m going to get past the first event,” she said. “I was able to do a leg tuck by six months postpartum. I pushed myself because I wanted to pass. I’ve always been physically fit; I ran up until the day I gave birth. I know every woman can’t do that, but that is what helped me.”

Fitness Tests Change When Women’s Roles Advance in the Army

The APFT was a much simpler event requiring no equipment. It was introduced in 1980 following the so-called “running boom” of the 1970s, in which jogging and long-distance running became a fitness sensation.

Dozens of soldiers and senior leaders interviewed for this story all agreed that the APFT was a poor measure of fitness. The Army itself found in a 2019 study that the old test had no “scientific evidence” that it appropriately measured fitness for combat and that the scoring was arbitrary.

The APFT was largely a reaction to the Pentagon dissolving the Women’s Army Corps, integrating women into non-combat units in the 1970s. In 1975, before the APFT, all soldiers took a fitness test, but men and women had completely different events.

Men were graded on an inverted crawl, a run/dodge/jump event, climbing a ladder, sit-ups and a 2-mile run. Women were tasked to run 80 meters; do push-ups, sit-ups, and a run/dodge/jump event; and run one mile.

A report from the Government Accountability Office in 1976 recommended the force develop a fitness test that “has genderless performance standards to enhance performance,” and is “easy to administer and required minimal equipment.” The APFT became the test of record in 1980 and, while there were gendered standards, it required only a stopwatch and a flat space to run.

Fast forward to the 2010s, where CrossFit – workout routines that consist of constant diversity of functional movements performed at a high intensity, usually involving squats, deadlifts and kettlebells – hit the mainstream and gathered what some have described as an almost cult-like following.

In that same time period, talks about integrating women into combat arms, allowing them to serve in jobs such as infantry and cavalry scouts, gained traction. In 2013, the Army began the development of the ACFT, leading up to the 2015 move to open up all military jobs to women.

National Guard and Reserve Struggle for Gear

The new test and its gear-heavy approach to fitness has created trouble for many soldiers, who have struggled to find the necessary kit. Even on active-duty installations, not all gyms have the space or gear for soldiers to train for the test.

In many cases, gear is locked up in storage containers. Just setting up a test can take an hour or more, with troops having to measure lanes for the sprint/drag/carry event, find a place to conduct the 2-mile run, and move thousands of pounds of weights.

“This has easily become the most annoying thing,” one active-duty company commander told Military.com on the condition of anonymity. “I’m Team ACFT, but the logistics do not incentivize testing, or practice. By the time everything is set up, the test is complete, and gear is packed up, that’s like half my day.”

But the issue is compounded in the National Guard and Reserve, where most armories that units operate out of do not have any ACFT gear, and in many cases lack the space to conduct the test. In most cases, equipment is stored in other locations, such as a battalion headquarters, which can be on the other side of a state, making testing and practice virtually impossible.

In a June story, Military.com spoke with Guardsmen and Reserve soldiers who were spending hundreds, in some cases thousands, of dollars on expensive gyms and personal equipment. On paper, troops can train at a cheaper gym, but most of those facilities do not have the space or gear the ACFT demands. The Army has said that troops do not need the gear to train for the test, a claim some soldiers scoff at, arguing that their only time doing an exercise for real should not be during an event that dictates their career.

“I’ve had the money for a hex bar and such to train, but I can’t imagine how most can do it,” one senior Guard official told Military.com. “National Guard and Reserve were probably an afterthought. People underestimate our constraints. We’re all over the damn state, and if I need to take a test, there is no simple meeting at a high school track.”

— Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

264 films were submitted for the BAFTA Awards, with five available slots for best film. Expected to be strong contenders among the robust membership is the final outing for Daniel Craig as James Bond with “No Time to Die” and Kenneth Branagh’s drama “Belfast.”

For outstanding British film, the group expanded to 10 nominees last year. There are 64 features in the running for that category, including Walt Disney Pictures’ “Cruella” and MGM and United Artists Releasing’s “House of Gucci.”

BAFTA continues to make a conscious effort to widen its net for diversity, both within its membership and the films it honors. However, with a new voting method introduced last year following the results of their diversity review, the group threw the awards season for a loop with surprise selections. Instituting a jury into the voting process, performances such as Radha Blank (“The Forty-Year-Old Version”) and Adarsh Gourav (“The White Tiger”) managed to make the cut in favor of “safer” picks like eventual Oscar nominees Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) and Gary Oldman (“Mank”).

Once in a while, you see leading and supporting candidates make a switch in their category submissions. The most notable is Vincent Lindon’s turn in “Titane,” which tied for supporting actor (with Kodi Smit-McPhee for “The Power of the Dog”) at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Lindon will be competing in leading actor for the BAFTAs.

Notable actors are looking for boosts from the British voting bloc, including Will Smith from “King Richard” and Denzel Washington from “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” both of whom have never been nominated.

The acting chapter (similar to the actors’ branch of AMPAS) votes by ranking up to 15 actors for round one. The top two performances are automatically nominated for the BAFTA Awards. The following 10 highest vote-receivers are longlisted. Then, a jury selects three actors based on those ranked 13th through 22nd. 15 performances will ultimately be longlisted. For round two, and with the top two already automatic nominees, the jury considers the remaining 13 actors and votes for the four remaining nominees slots. Six actors become BAFTA nominees.

The first round of voting for the BAFTA Awards closes Monday, Jan. 3. The British Academy will announce its longlist in all categories on Jan. 12. The official BAFTA nominations will be announced on Feb. 3. The BAFTA Awards are scheduled to take place on Mar. 13.

Check out the first predictions for the BAFTA longlist down below.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit THE OSCARS COLLECTIVE
Visit each category, per the individual awards show from THE OSCARS HUB
Revisit the prediction archive of the 2021 season THE ARCHIVE
Link to television awards is atTHE EMMYS HUB

UPDATED: Jan 3, 2022

As the CEO and co-founder of Kanarys, Mandy Price is leading the charge in creating long-term systemic change around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In 2019, the Harvard Law School grad left her career as an attorney to launch a DEI tech platform with co-founders, Star Carter and Bennie King. They all attended college together at the University of Texas at Austin, and Price and Carter continued on to law school together and even worked the same law firm after.

Their goal with Kanarys: foster collaboration between companies and employees to strengthen workplace culture and build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce.

The team developed a platform that uses anonymized data to develop targeted, actionable insights that can assist in diagnosing, prioritizing, and optimizing an organization’s DEI efforts. The interventions are precise, measurable, and long-lasting.

Since its launch, Price and her team have had a landmark few years.

Last year, Kanarys received funding from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund as part of Google’s commitment to supporting racial equity. The startup was also one of two from Dallas-Fort Worth to be chosen for the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator: Black Founders Class.

Then, in January 2021, Kanarys closed on a historic $3 million seed round, bringing its total funding to $4.6 million. Price and Carter now are among just 25 Black female founders to have raised at least $4.6 million in venture capital, according to Crunchbase data.

Kanarys is now lauded as the first Black- and female-founded DEI-focused tech company, and the largest DEI data-driven platform of its kind in the U.S. 

But what’s on the horizon? Price expects DEI to remain a priority at companies across the U.S., with investments in HR technology to continue. Here are eight predictions she sees on the horizon for the DEI space in 2022—and beyond.

8 DEI trends, written by Mandy Price

1. Neurodiversity will be accounted for in DEI tracking.

As employers continue to prioritize DEI in the new year, they’ll need to broaden the types of diversity they track and measure. One of the least-tracked diversity metrics is neurodiversity, the range of variations in how the human brain operates, like autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyspraxia. According to a recent Bloomberg Law survey, 72% of respondents currently have metrics to track diversity or well-being, and of those 72%, only 17% reported that their organization is tracking neurodiversity. If companies want to have a truly holistic approach to DEI, it’s essential for employers to understand the role both visible and invisible factors, like neurodiversity, play in an employee’s experience in the workplace.

2. Hybrid workplaces will define the new normal.

Research from PWC found that a third of executives (33%) will have a mixed model, with some in-person full-time, some hybrid, and some fully remote. While hybrid models may be beneficial, given the dual benefits of flexibility and collaboration, they can create subtle inequities among employees who are in the office and those that aren’t.

Companies will need to be more intentional about tracking promotions, pay scales, and opportunities between employees that are remote and those in the office in order to uncover any disproportionate effects of being in the office or not. Otherwise, the unfortunate outcome will be disparities among these two groups, and remote employees being penalized for not being in the office.

For example, remote workers may be treated less favorably, miss out on mentorship opportunities, and be less engaged with their team, which could lead to fewer advancement opportunities. Companies will need to make it a priority to keep all employees on equal footing by ensuring there’s inclusion and equity for all employees regardless of whether they work in the office or not. 

3. The “Great Resignation” shows no signs of stopping.

In 2021, we saw people leave their jobs in droves in search of more money, more flexibility, and more happiness. According to the Labor Department, a record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone, and this turnover is not expected to cool down as a record-high 4.4 million people, or 3% of workers, quit their job in September.

Coined the “Great Registration,” the mass exodus has left employers faced with acute labor shortages because workers in a tight labor market have more leverage to move around.

In response, we’ll see employers pressured to offer increased wages, hiring incentives, and competitive benefits to attract talent, and they’ll also focus on internal mobility, reskilling, and upskilling to retain existing employees. We’ll also see organizations prioritize inclusive hiring practices to widen their talent pool. 

4. Companies will no longer be able to ignore mental health.

Nine out of 10 employers surveyed by McKinsey reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the behavioral health of their workforce. Although mental challenges were undoubtedly present in the workplace before the pandemic, the consensus among researchers is that these challenges have increased significantly.

In fact, 41 percent of American adults—including 75 percent of Gen Z (18- to 24-year-olds)—surveyed by the US Centers for Disease Control in late June 2020 reported struggling with mental health issues stemming from the pandemic. As employees start to head back into offices and return to a new normal of lingering health anxiety and hybrid working environments, now more than ever ignoring employees’ mental and emotional wellness is simply not an option.

To create an environment that supports mental health, companies need to have appropriate policies in place like appointing a senior leader in charge of mental health initiatives, offering mental health benefits that are on par with physical health benefits, ensuring easy access to resources without stigma, and measuring and meeting the real and current needs of employees.

5. DEI is a priority for younger generations and underrepresented workers.

The future of our workforce places DEI at a much higher priority than previous generations, and a recent survey showed that 83% of Gen Z candidates said that a company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is important when choosing an employer. And, it’s not just young job seekers—95% of Black Americans also believe it’s important for companies to promote racial equity, according to a Harris Poll survey done with JUST Capital.

If companies want to attract young job seekers, Black, and underrepresented talent, they’ll need to meet this growing need. 

6. DEI investment and spending will fuel innovation.

With companies recognizing DEI is a priority for young talent and underrepresented employees, they’ll continue to invest in HR technology that helps them meet their DEI goals. In 2021, we saw a surge in both global spending and funding for HR technology. A Sapient Insights survey reported that 2021 was up 57% over last year on HR spending, and WorkTech’s global VC reporting puts 2021’s year-to-date total nearing $17 billion with December.

This interest in HR technology will drive innovation in the space and define the future of work. 

7. Parental leave will take center stage.

The pandemic has brought to light the challenges working parents and caregivers face, and the ongoing conversation around parental and paid family leave was further highlighted this year with Pete Buttigieg being attacked for taking paternity leave and President Biden cutting paid family leave from his social spending plan.

This year, we also experienced the “Shecession,” where the pandemic forced women out of the workforce with nearly three million women dropping out since January 2021. In the next year, we’ll continue to see discussions around parental leave take center stage as workers demand better policies that put families first. 

8. DEI pros and consultants want to be data-driven.

Whether it’s the company’s head of DEI or the DEI consultant they hired to conduct workshops, focus groups, and training, all DEI pros want their activities and strategies to be data-driven. A year ago, a one-time generalized training checked the box. Now, C-Suite executives are prioritizing DEI because it has become part of their Environmental, Social, and Corporate (ESG) strategy that is overseen by their board.

In 2022, we’ll see boards play a critical role in providing education, oversight, monitoring, and support for the organization’s DEI strategy, and they’ll continue to request companies be more data-driven when it comes to DEI. 

Last year, states like California, New Jersey, and Illinois passed or considered legislation that required public companies to report on or commit to improving diverse leadership, and organizations like Nasdaq started to require companies to report their board diversity. In the new year, we’ll see more diversification of boards as more regulations and reporting will be required for boards. 

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Mayor Mattie Parker, whose catchphrase is “Go Time,” says she coined the term for a reason. Fort Worth is at a pinnacle of possibility, and entrepreneurship is at the center of that. The data speaks for itself, Parker said: A new jobs report from Sparkyard shows startups play a significant role in job creation in Fort Worth and Tarrant County—with average salaries more than twice the minimum wage.

The new investment and accelerator platform wants to help seed-stage companies “cut through red tape”— and get to market up to 18 months sooner than they would on their own.

Fund III is the largest institutional Texas-focused, early-stage venture fund in the past decade.

At the free, live, in-person networking event, attendees will hear from the MassChallenge team and key partners about the North Texas launch. The live pitch competition will allow early-stage startups to compete for a direct spot in the MassChallenge 2022 Global Early-Stage Program.

NASCAR and a North Carolina-based LGBTQ+ organization announced on Wednesday a new partnership to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

The Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest LGBTQ+ chambers within the region advocating for equitable change within the workplace and economy, said that NASCAR will become the group’s DE&I partner for 2022, according to a press release.

“NASCAR has a rich history in our region and continues to be one of the most popular sports in the nation,” Tiffany Keaton, the vice-chair of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, said. “The intentionality of their partnership will allow the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber to leverage relationships and increase our work in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Keaton added that the partnership with NASCAR shows the race car league’s “commitment to equality and non-discrimination both on and off the track.”

“NASCAR is excited to partner with the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce,” Brandon Thompson, NASCAR’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, said in the release. “With NASCAR offices and much of our industry based in the Carolinas, we look forward to working with CLGBTCC in support of its mission to foster equity, inclusion, and economic prosperity for the LGBTQ community.”

Last month, NASCAR made a major donation to the chamber, according to local public radio station WFAE. It’s just the latest move as NASCAR works to reinvent itself as a more inclusive league. The station noted that NASCAR has previously given to The Trevor Project and, in June, NASCAR employees raise money for a charity run in support of the One Pulse Foundation in Orlando.

“We know that fans of NASCAR look different, they love different, they’re differently able,” Thompson told WFAE. “This gives us an opportunity to let them know that we see them as well as support them.”

NASCAR and the chamber said the undisclosed donation would be used to provide diversity and inclusion training to businesses in North and South Carolina.  

The Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce is made up of LGBTQ-owned and allied businesses, corporations, and professionals throughout western North Carolina and most of South Carolina.

Heritage Foundation educational policy fellow Jay Greene blasts school boards as debate over CRT rages

A coalition that represents more than 2,000 Orthodox rabbis on American public policy issues is demanding that American universities abandon their “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) efforts in the wake of a report showing that DEI leaders often promote antisemitism.

“With antisemitic incidents rising at an alarming rate, using Israel as a convenient facade, universities must ensure their diversity efforts include protection of Jewish students,” Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), told Fox News. “Instead they have appointed foxes to guard the proverbial hen house.”

“We believe that universities should suspend all DEI programs pending a comprehensive review of how candidates are selected for staff positions, because those harboring what should be obvious disqualifying biases were apparently identified on literally dozens of campuses with influence over thousands of students,” Menken told Fox News. 

He acknowledged that DEI efforts pursue a “noble goal,” but he expressed deep concerns about an antisemitic trend among DEI staff.

This Jan. 28, 2019 file photo shows the entrance to the main Duke University campus in Durham, N.C. CJV recently condemned the Duke University student government’s decision to deny recognition to a pro-Israel student group, claiming that the move demonstrated a “despicable double standard” on “Jew-hatred.”
((AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File))

CJV is calling on American universities to stop their DEI efforts “pending a comprehensive review to ensure that such programs do not promote antisemitic bias.”

The coalition’s demand follows an alarming study in which the Heritage Foundation found that university DEI staff “express anti-Israel attitudes that are so out of proportion and imbalanced as to constitute antisemitism.”

The Heritage study examined the Twitter feeds of 741 DEI personnel at 65 universities, contrasting their public communications regarding Israel with those regarding China. Those DEI staff tweeted, retweeted or liked almost three times as many tweets about Israel as tweets about China. Ninety-five percent of those tweets criticized the Jewish state, while 62% of the China tweets were favorable toward the Middle Kingdom. More tweets referenced “apartheid” in Israel than indicated anything favorable about the Jewish state.

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values
(Coalition for Jewish Values)

“While criticism of Israel is not necessarily antisemitic, the inordinate amount of attention given to Israel and the excessive criticism directed at that one country is evidence of a double-standard with respect to the Jewish state, which is a central feature of a widely accepted definition of antisemitism,” the Heritage report claimed, referencing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

“Repeatedly accusing the Jewish state of Israel of ‘genocide,’ ‘apartheid,’ and other fictitious crimes while praising China, a country that is putting Muslims in internment camps, indicates an irrational hatred of Jews and not a concern for human rights,” Menken said in a statement on the study. “With regards to Jews, diversity heads seem to share much in common with grand wizards of the Ku Klux Klan, and it is clear that the entire field needs to be reevaluated before more Jewish students are placed at unnecessary risk.”

Israelis participate in a rally calling for the release of Israeli soldiers and civilians being held by Hamas in Gaza, In front of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

The following is a list of new and forthcoming adult, young adult, and children’s titles on the issues surrounding diversity and the multicultural nature of American society.

Diversity Playbook: Recommendations and Guidance for Christian Organizations

Michelle R. Loyd-Paige and Michelle D. Williams, out now

Building on their years of experience in Christian higher education, the authors offer solutions for Christian organizations and diversity professionals.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

High Five Discipline: Positive Parenting for Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Kids

Candice W. Jones, Dec.

Pediatrician Jones coaches parents to understand their child’s developmental stages and their own motivations to create a family discipline plan that manages misbehavior and encourages good behavior.

Conversations With People Who Hate Me

Dylan Marron, Jan.

The host of the podcast bearing the book’s title explores how to navigate difficult conversations, offering a permission slip for those who believe that connection can be possible even in these dark times.

The Other Side of Yet: Finding Light In The Midst of Darkness

Michelle D. Hord, Mar.

Media executive Hord offers a blueprint on how to harness inner strength to create a life of purpose, passion, and possibility regardless of what is thrown at us.

Seen and Unseen

Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster, May

How new media has changed the narrative on race, tipping the levers of power in favor of the historically disadvantaged and altering the centuries-long battle for racial justice.

ATRIA / ONE SIGNAL

Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (And Why It’s Different Than You Think)

Reshma Saujani, Mar.

Lays out a bold set of plans to recast motherhood, including government payments to moms, dramatic shifts in workplace policy, and radical culture change.

Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor

Kim Kelly, Apr.

Explores the history of the labor movement and the forgotten workers, organizers, and their allies who risked everything to win fair wages, better working conditions, disability protections, and an eight-hour workday.

Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service

Tajja Isen, May

Nine essays exploring the absurdity of living in a world that apologizes for structural racism, yet makes only cosmetic attempts to solve it.

Kyle T. Mays, out now

Argues that the foundations of the U.S. are rooted in antiblackness and settler colonialism, and that these parallel oppressions continue into the present.

Parenting With an Accent: How Immigrants Honor Their Heritage, Navigate Setbacks, and Chart New Paths for Their Children

Masha Rumer, out now

Through her own stories and interviews with other immigrant families, Rumer paints a picture of what it’s like for immigrant parents raising a child in America while honoring their cultural identities.

Living While Black: Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma

Guilaine Kinouani, Jan.

A look at the impacts of anti-Black racism and a practical guide for overcoming racial trauma through radical self-care as a form of resistance.

Education Across Borders: Immigration, Race, and Identity in the Classroom

Patrick Sylvain, Jalene Tamerat, Marie Lily Cerat, Feb.

A resource for K-12 educators that serve BIPOC and first-generation students that explores why inclusive and culturally relevant pedagogy is necessary to ensure the success of their students.

Entry Lessons: The Stories of Women Fighting for Their Place, Their Children, and Their Futures After Incarceration

Jorja Leap, Apr.

Offers oral histories, embedded observation, and research on the daily struggles of women returning to life after incarceration, and concrete solutions to the seemingly hopeless issue.

Mothercoin: The Stories of Immigrant Nannies

Elizabeth Cummins Muñoz, Apr.

A historical and cultural exploration of the devastating consequences of undervaluing those who conduct the “women’s work” of childcare and housekeeping

City of Refugees: The Story of Three Newcomers Who Breathed Life into a Dying American Town

Susan Hartman, May

An intimate portrait of the newcomers revitalizing the old manufacturing town of Utica, N.Y. by starting small businesses, renovating houses, and adding a fresh vitality to the community through cultural diversity.

Edited by Jessica P. Pryde, Feb.

Authors, newcomers, librarians, academicians, and avid readers and reviewers consider the mirrors and windows into Black love as it is depicted in the novels, television shows, and films that have shaped their own stories.

BERRETT-KOEHLER

Reclaiming Your Community: You Don’t Have to Move out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One

Majora Carter, Feb.

Shows how to end the brain drain that cripples low-income communities, mapping out a development strategy focused on encouraging talented people to stay and help lift up the community.

The Power of Employee Resource Groups: How People Create Authentic Change Farzana Nayani, May

A reference on building employee resource groups (ERGs) to empower underrepresented employees and positively impact DEI efforts within organizations and in society at large.

BETHANY HOUSE

Carved in Ebony: Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us

Jasmine Holmes, out now

Takes readers past the stories of white males in the history books and allows them to discover how Black women have been some of the main figures in defining the landscape of American history and faith.

This Is Not Your Country

Amin Ahmad, out now

A collection of stories challenging conventional assumptions about the inner and outer lives of immigrants from south Asia who struggle to establish new lives in the United States.

‎BOOKBABY

Women of Fire and Snow: Short Stories

Nati del Paso, out now

A collection of contemporary stories of women straddling the Mexican-American divide while finding their place and voice; cultural identity, gender violence, forced migration, sacrifice, love, and resiliency frame suspenseful tales blending social commentary with classic and psychological horror.

Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World—and How to Repair It All

Lisa Sharon Harper, Feb.

Harper traces her family’s story through generations, showing how American ideas, customs, and laws robbed her ancestors—and the ancestors of so many—of their humanity.

Choosing Us: Marriage and Mutual Flourishing in a World of Difference

Gail Song Bantum and Brian Bantum, Mar.

Reveals the lessons, mistakes, and principles that have helped the authors navigate race, family history, and gender dynamics in their twenty-plus years of marriage, while inspiring readers to pursue mutual flourishing in their marriages and relationships.

Recovering Racist: Dismantling White Supremacy and Reclaiming Our Humanity

Idelette McVicker, Apr.

The author, a white Afrikaner woman, journeys over 30 years and across three continents to shatter the lies of white supremacy embedded deep within her soul, revealing that grappling with the legacy of white supremacy and recovering from racism is lifelong work that requires both inner transformation and societal change.

Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just

Claude Atcho, May

Pastor and teacher Atcho demonstrates that reading about Black experience as shown in the literature of great African American writers can guide us toward sharper theological thinking and more faithful living.

The Enneagram for Black Liberation: Return to Who You Are Beneath the Armor You Carry

Chichi Agorom, Mar.

The certified Enneagram teacher and trained psychotherapist reclaims the Enneagram as a powerful tool for Black women to rediscover wholeness and worth.

Unbossed: How Black Girls Are Leading the Way

Khristi Lauren Adams, Mar.

Practical lessons in leadership, resilience, empathy, and tenacity from a group of young leaders of color who are often neglected.

All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa

Richard Conyngham, illus. by Dada Khanyisa et al., Apr.

Six true stories of resistance by marginalized South Africans against the country’s colonial government in the years leading up to Apartheid.

Anti-Racism 4 REALS: Real Talk with Real Strategies in Real Time for Real Change

Sheila M. Beckford and E. Michelle Ledder, out now

Two anti-racism trainers––one Black Latina woman ordained in a white-dominant denomination and one white woman ordained in a historically Black denomination–– approach the same material from their own racialized experiences, perspectives, and identity.

When Kids Ask Hard Questions, Vol. 2: More Faith-filled Responses for Tough Topics

Edited by Bromleigh McCleneghan and Karen Ware Jackson, out now

In this follow-up to the popular When Kids Ask Hard Questions, parenting experts tackle 30 more tough topics from a progressive Christian point of view.

Jamise Harper and Jane Mount, out now

An inclusive collection which uplifts the works of authors who are often underrepresented in the literary world, offering illustrated book stacks with an emphasis on authors of color and authors from diverse cultural backgrounds. A look inside beloved bookstores owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Courageous Discomfort: How to Have Important, Brave, Life-Changing Conversations about Race and Racism

Rosalind Wiseman and Shanterra McBride, May

Wiseman, who is white, and McBride, who is Black, discuss their own friendship and tap into their decades of anti-racism work to answer the 20 uncomfortable-but-critical questions about race they get asked most often.

Wash Day Diaries

Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith, May

A graphic novel taking its title from the wash day experience shared by Black women everywhere of setting aside all plans and responsibilities for a full day of washing, conditioning, and nourishing their hair.

African American Soldier: A Two-Hundred Year History of African Americans in the U.S. Military

Michael L. Lanning, Jan.

Retired lieutenant colonel Lanning explores the pivotal role of African Americans who risked their lives for their country in conflicts from the colonial days through more recent struggles of the 21st century—even as they fought courageously to become full citizens.

Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X

Rodnell P. Collins and A. Peter Bailey, Jan.

An intimate portrait of Malcolm X not just as a revolutionary leader, but as a complex family man, told through personal stories, memories, and rare family photos from the sister who raised him and his nephew.

COLLECTIVE BOOK STUDIO

Dear White Women: Let’s Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism

Sara Blanchard and Misasha Suzuki Graham, out now

Contextualizing racism throughout American history in targeted chapters to listen, learn, and act.

Following up The Other Side, three friends who’ve shared everything—including the same birthday—bond over the triumphs, trials, and unexpected complications surrounding the men they love.

Couples Wanted

Briana Cole, out now

A look behind the scenes of love and marriage follows two couples and an intimate adventure gone very wrong.

Dance Theatre of Harlem: A History, A Movement, A Celebration

Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel, out now

A celebration of the first African-American ballet company, from its origins in a Harlem basement, to the performances, community engagement, and arts education through which the Company continues to carry forward its message of empowerment through the arts for all.

Playing With Fire

Kiki Swinson, out now

The prequel to the Playing Dirty and Notorious duology, set in the early days of Yoshi Lomax, when she was an ambitious law student making her way in the privileged circles of academia.

Queen of Urban Prophecy

Aya de Leon, Dec.

A young female rap superstar takes on the misogyny of the music industry.

A Fatal Glow

Valerie Wilson Wesley, Feb.

The second installment in a cozy mystery series set in Grovesville, an aging town in New Jersey, where African American sleuth Odessa Jones is an caterer-turned-realtor who has the gift of premonition.

Miss Pearly’s Girls

ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Feb.

Four estranged sisters return to rural Arkansas when their dying mother wants them to repair their shattered relationships.

A Duke, The Spy, An Artist, And A Lie

Vanessa Riley, Mar.

The third and final installment of the Rogues & Remarkable Women series featuring a secret society of widows battling society to regain their money and a chance at love.

Empty Vows

Mary Monroe, Mar.

In this follow-up to Mrs. Wiggins, a proper church-going woman determined to snare Alabama’s most-sought after widower finds his secret desires and righteous lies come as a package deal.

Truth, Lies, And Mr. Grey

Shelly Ellis, Mar.

In the follow-up to The Three Mrs. Greys, a trio of betrayed wives finds that no one can be trusted—definitely not their wealthy, vengeful bigamist husband, and maybe not even themselves.

Can’t Hide Love

Cheris Hodges, May

As the four Richardson sisters strive to uphold their family’s reputation and legacy at their historic B&B in Charleston, South Carolina, romance that one sister never saw coming will upend all their expectations.

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

Imani Perry, Jan.

Perry weaves stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved and Jim Crowed peoples, unsung heroes, and her personal history and ancestry as a Black woman born in Alabama, to show that the richness of these customs is based in the resilience of Black communities and other cultures across the South.

Father Abraham’s Many Children: The Bible in a World of Religious Difference

Tyler D. Mayfield, Jan.

Through the stories of Cain, Ishmael, and Esau, Mayfield draws out a more generous theology of religious diversity so that Christians might be better equipped to authentically love their neighbors of multiple faith traditions.

That We May Be One: Practicing Unity in a Divided Church

Gary B. Agee, Apr.

Explores the roots of division within the church—political, racial, and otherwise—and the virtues and practices that can promote the restoration of unity.

EUROPA EDITIONS

Captures the impact of racial encounters on racialized people—the whiplash of race that occurs while minding one’s own business.

FIU BUSINESS

Jefa in Training: The Business Startup Toolkit for Entrepreneurial and Creative Women

Ashley K. Stoyanov-Ojeda, Dec.

A Spanglish project-launching toolkit and female entrepreneur planner specially made for a new generation of boss women.

Kal Penn, out now

Demonstrates by example that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you.

Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration

Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts, Feb.

A collection of personal essays that celebrate the redemptive strength of Black joy.

GIBBS SMITH

Ordinary Equality: The Fearless Women and Queer People Who Shaped the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Rights Amendment

Kate Kelly, illus. by Nicole LaRue, Mar.

Explores the past, present, and future of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) through the lives of the bold, fearless women and queer people who have helped shape the U.S. Constitution.

GLOBAL COLLECTIVE

Moumita Bhattacharyya and Subhankar Bhattacharyya, Feb.

Documents Swami Vivekananda’s historic voyage from Bombay to Chicago in 1893, introducing Spiritual India to the materialistic West.

GRAND CENTRAL

Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School

Kendra James, Jan.

A look into the storied world of elite prep schools from the first African-American legacy student to graduate from The Taft School.

Nobody’s Magic

Destiny O. Birdsong, Feb.

A triptych novel set in Shreveport, Louisiana following the romances of three Black women with albinism who find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives.

The Trayvon Generation: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Elizabeth Alexander, Mar.

A meditation on the trauma of race-based violence and the potential of the rising generation of young adults.

Edited by Kim Gordon and Sinead Gleeson, May

A collection for and about the women who kicked in doors, as pioneers of their craft or making politics central to their sound, offering a new way of thinking about the vast spectrum of women in music.

HACHETTE GO

Get Rooted: Reclaim Your Soul, Ser, and Sisterhood Through the Healing Medicine of the Grandmothers

Robyn Moreno, Apr.

The corporate media maven, Latinx leader, and TV host shares how she became a modern‑day curandera, rooting back into her true essence, and how you can do the same.

HANOVER SQUARE

Righteous Troublemakers: Untold Stories of the Social Justice Movement in America

Al Sharpton, Jan.

Drawing on his unique perspective in the history of the fight for social justice in America, Sharpton brings to light the stories of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights movement.

Don’t Cry for Me: A Novel

Daniel Black, Feb.

Through letters written on his deathbed, a Black father makes amends with his gay son.

Black Market: An Insider’s Journey into the High-Stakes World of College Basketball

Merl Code, Mar.

From a former college basketball player and shoe rep for Nike, an insider’s account into the dark underworld of college basketball exposes the corrupt and racist systems that exploit young athletes––and offers a new way forward.

No Escape: A Uyghur’s Story of Oppression, Genocide, and China’s Digital Dictatorship

Nury Turkel, May

A memoir that lays bare China’s repression of the Uyghur people by the former president of the Uyghur Humans Rights Project and now part of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

David J. Dennis Jr. and David J. Dennis Sr., May

Both oral history and memoir, pivoting between the voices of a father and son, chronicling the story of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and its living legacy embodied in Black Lives Matter.

HARPER BUSINESS

The First, The Few, The Only

Deepa Purushothaman, Mar.

A personal call to action for women of color to find power from within and join in advocating for a new corporate environment where all belong—and are accepted—on their own terms.

HARPERCOLLINS LEADERSHIP

Cultures of Belonging: Building Inclusive Organizations That Last

Alida Miranda-Wolff, Feb.

Provides actionable steps for infusing organizational culture with the diversity, inclusion, and belonging employees need to feel accepted, be their best selves, and do their best work.

HARPER DESIGN

Harold Green III, Jan.

The poet and founder of the music collective Flowers for the Living pays tribute to Black women by focusing on visionaries and leaders who are currently making history.

HARPER PERENNIAL

Black Girls Must Be Magic

Jayne Allen, Feb.

In the second installment in the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series, Walker copes with more of life’s challenges with a little help and lots of love from friends old and new.

Patriarchy Blues

Frederick Joseph, May

A personal collection of essays, poems, and reflections on issues of masculinity and patriarchy from both a personal and cultural standpoint, through the lens of a Black man.

HARPER WAVE

Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World

Traci Baxley, out now

A guide to raising anti-racist, compassionate, and socially conscious children, from a diversity and inclusion educator with more than thirty years of experience.

Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change

Angela Garbes, May

An investigation into the current state of caregiving in America and an exploration of motherhood as a means of social change.

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

Bias Interrupted: Creating Inclusion for Real and for Good

Joan C. Williams, out now

How leaders can interrupt the bias that is continually transmitted through formal systems like performance appraisals, as well as the informal systems that control access to career-enhancing opportunities.

Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World

James D. White and Krista White, Mar.

A comprehensive plan for leaders who are ready to get serious about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and creating an anti-racist company culture.

Eric Dickerson and Greg Hanlon, Jan.

The Los Angeles Rams Hall of Famer tells his own story.

Angela Davis: An Autobiography

Angela Y. Davis, Feb.

First published and edited by Toni Morrison in 1974, and featuring a new introduction by the author.

#SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of State Violence and Public Silence

Edited by Kimberlé Crenshaw, Feb.

An analytical framework for understanding Black women’s susceptibility to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence, and how, through black feminist storytelling and ritual, to mobilize various communities and empower them to advocate for racial justice.

Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Mass Incarceration, and the Movement for Black Lives

Donna Murch, Mar.

The Panther scholar explores how social protest is challenging our current system of state violence and mass incarceration.

Regina Shands Stoltzfus and Tobin Miller Shearer, out now

The authors share the pains and joys experienced in three decades of partnership in anti-racism work across racial lines.

How We Can Win: Race, History, and Changing the Money Game that’s Rigged

Kimberly Jones, Jan.

The activist and former bookseller calls for Reconstruction 2.0, a multilayered plan for Black Americans to reclaim economic and social restitutions.

INK & WILLOW

Rise Up: A Coloring Book Celebrating Black Courage, Resilience, and Faith

Ink & Willow, out now

Color illustrations that celebrate Black culture and experiences, all drawn by talented Black artists.

V.M. Burns, out now

In the seventh Mystery Bookshop novel, bookstore owner, mystery writer, and amateur sleuth Samantha Washington and her Nana Jo confront their own relationship with law enforcement when a local cop who’s unjustly persecuted their family is accused of killing a person in his custody.

Murder at the Mistletoe Ball: A Ferrara Family Mystery

J.D. Griffo, out now

The multi-generational, Italian-American sleuthing team returns for Christmas in Tranquility, New Jersey—but someone has murder on their holiday wish list.

The Spanish Daughter

Lorena Hughes, Dec.

In early twentieth century Ecuador, in order to survive, a resourceful young chocolatier must impersonate a man; inspired by the real-life story of María Purificación García, an overlooked female inventor credited with developing the cacao bean roaster in 1847.

Survivor’s Guilt: An Erin McCabe Legal Thriller

Robyn Gigl, Jan.

The second installment featuring Erin McCabe, a protagonist who, like the author, is a transgender attorney, now drawn into a world of offshore bank accounts, computer hacking, murder, and the devastating impact of sexual abuse.

The Secrets We Shared

Edwin Hill, Mar.

The deep bonds—and deadly secrets—between two very different sisters haunted by the crimes of their father murdered nearly twenty years earlier.

In the Face of the Sun: A Novel

Denny S. Bryce, Apr.

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a pregnant young woman and her brash, profane aunt embark upon an audacious road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles to confront a decades-old mystery from 1920’s Black Hollywood.

Manifesting Justice

Valena Beety, May

The innocence litigator, activist, and founder of the West Virginia Innocence Project examines the failures in America’s criminal legal system and the reforms necessary to eliminate wrongful convictions, particularly of women, the queer community, and people of color.

Renovated to Death

Frank Polito, May

A new cozy mystery series featuring a gay couple who solve crimes while renovating houses in suburban Detroit as part of their hit reality show “Domestic Partners.”

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

Matt Cain, May

The forced retirement of a shy, closeted postman creates the opportunity for him to track down his lost love, embrace his true self, connect with his community, and finally experience his life’s great adventure.

LITTLE, BROWN

Fuccboi: A Novel

Sean Thor Conroe, Jan.

An untrustworthy womanizer experiences a breakup and searches for any framework, in the absence of a present role model, for how to be a man.

Like A Sister

Kellye Garrett, Mar.

When a disgraced reality-TV star is found dead in the Bronx, no one bats an eye—except her estranged half-sister, who embarks on an increasingly dangerous search for the truth.

Peach Blossom Spring: A Novel

Melissa Fu, Mar.

The author uses her father’s memories of China and Taiwan during the Sino-Japanese and Chinese Civil wars to create the multigenerational journey of the Dao family and their search for home.

Love from the Inside Out: Lessons and Inspiration for Loving Yourself, Your Partner, and Your World

Robert Mack, Dec.

Explores the frustration and futility of seeking love from others, instead of yourself―and in the future, instead of in the present.

The Prepared Graduate: Find Your Dream Job, Live the Life You Want, and Step

into Your Purpose

Kyyah Abdul, Dec.

Offers extensive job search tips and work advice, such as guidance on writing the perfect résumé, excelling in job interviews, networking in-person and online, negotiating job salaries, paying off student loans, and more.

MELVILLE HOUSE

John Lewis: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations

John Lewis and Jelani Cobb, out now

Interviews of civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis at almost every stage of his career.

The Marauders

Patrick Strickland, Jan.

How residents in a small Arizona border town stood up to anti-immigrant militias and vigilantes.

Death Row Welcomes You

Steven Hale, Mar.

A look at justice and ethics in America, told through interwoven lives of condemned prisoners and the men and women who come to visit them.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux’s Why Born Enslaved! Reconsidered

Edited by Elyse Nelson and Wendy S. Walters, Apr.

Centering on Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s (1827–1875) bust Why Born Enslaved! in the context of transatlantic abolitionist movements, this publication explores artists’ evocation of the Black figure as a changeable political symbol and a representation of exoticized beauty and desire.

Under Lock & Skeleton Key: A Secret Staircase Mystery

Gigi Pandian, Mar.

An impossible crime, a family legacy, and the intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases.

Taj McCoy, Mar.

A plus-size heroine gets a full-life makeover after a brutal breakup, with the help of friends and family, a kitchen reno, and a handsome contractor.

Inclusion On Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work

Ruchika Tulshyan, Feb.

How leaders and organizations can meaningfully foster diversity, equity and inclusion by taking action to address and prevent workplace bias, while centering on the workplace experience of women of color, who are subject to both gender and racial bias.

WILLIAM MORROW

All Her Little Secrets

Wanda M. Morris, out now

A black lawyer gets caught in a dangerous conspiracy after the sudden death of her boss.

The Donut Trap

Julie Tieu, out now

A romantic comedy in which a young woman feels caught in the life her parents have made for her until she falls in love and finds a way out of the trap.

Larry Miller and Laila Lacy, Jan.

One of the most successful Black businessmen in the country tells the story of his rise from gangland violence to the pinnacles of international business.

Dating Dr. Dil

Nisha Sharma, Mar.

A love-phobic TV doctor must convince a love-obsessed homebody they are destined to be together.

Read Dangerously

Azar Nafisi, Mar.

Nafisi draws on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, her life as an immigrant in the United States, and her role as literature professor in both countries, to argue for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so.

We Were Dreamers

Simu Liu, May

Marvel’s newest recruit shares his own origin story of growing up between cultures, finding your family, and becoming the master of your own extraordinary circumstance.

NORTH ATLANTIC

A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation

Jacoby Ballard, out now

The author, a trans man and survivor, weaves his personal stories into the teachings he offers for healing from trauma and social injustice.

The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves

Shawn Ginwright, Jan.

Outlines the four myths of social change that keep us from doing our own healing work and that, in turn, derail our social movements.

Paul Tran, Feb.

A debut poetry collection that investigates intergenerational trauma, sexual violence, and U.S. imperialism to radically alter our understanding of freedom, power, and control.

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE SOUTH AFRICA

Blues for the White Man: Hearing Black Voices in South Africa and the Deep South

Fred de Vries, out now

Starting with an exploration of blues music, the author seeks to understand white fear and black anger in the American Deep South and South Africa.

PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL

Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design History

Edited by Briar Levit, out now

Women whose work has shaped, shifted, and formed graphic design as we know it today, including auteurs, advocates for social justice, and creators ahead of their time.

Dressing the Resistance: The Virtual Language of Protest Through History

Camille Benda, out now

Looks at historical and current protest movements across the globe to explore how everyday people and the societies they live in harness the visual power of dress to fight for justice and radical change.

The Women Who Changed Architecture

Edited by Jan Cigliano Hartman, Mar.

Women in architecture around the world, from the nineteenth century to today.

Love and Justice: A Journey of Empowerment, Activism, and Embracing Black Beauty

Laetitia Ky, Apr.

The personal story of the artist, activist, and influencer known for sculpting her own hair to create playful and powerful artwork that embraces the beauty of Black hair and style, the fight for social justice, and the journey toward self-love.

RED HEN

New Moons: Contemporary Writings by North American Muslims

Edited by Kazim Ali, out now

Works from practicing and nonpracticing Muslims; the cultural Muslim; the secular Muslim; the feminist Muslim; Muslims of various gender identities, sexualities, and national origins.

LYNNE RIENNER

Social Problems and Social Control in Criminal Justice

Stacy Burns and Mark Peyrot, May

How social control efforts have adapted and changed over time—and how some efforts have inadvertently contributed to the problems they are trying to alleviate.

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Effective Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism Practices for Museums: From the Inside Out

Cecile Shellman, Feb.

Equal parts autobiography, cautionary tale, and actionable recommendations, drawn from the author’s nearly three-decade career of being “the only one in the room.” Published in partnership with the American Alliance of Museums.

What’s Your Zip Code Story? Understanding and Overcoming Class Dynamics at Work

CJ Gross, May

Offers solutions to class bias in the workplace by analyzing real experiences, social norms, education, wealth, and more.

SIMON & SCHUSTER

Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight for Fairness

Laura Coates, Jan.

Through Coates’s experience as a Black female prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, readers have a front-row seat in the courtroom as a parade of Black and brown defendants are hauled in and systemic racism plays out.

Sari, Not Sari

Sonya Singh, Apr.

A woman tries to connect with her South Asian roots through a memorable cast of characters in a veritable feast of food, family traditions, and fun.

ST. MARTIN’S

Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America

Michael Eric Dyson Dyson, out now

Brings together the various components of Dyson’s multihued identity and eclectic pursuits.

Profit and Punishment

Tony Messenger, Dec.

Looks at the criminalization of poverty in the U.S., joining a growing and popular genre that is making a difference.

An Abolitionist’s Handbook

Patrisse Cullors, Jan.

How everyday activists can effectively fight for an abolitionist present and future.

The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agye, Feb.

Black voices across economics, education, health, climate, and technology, look at what’s next for centering Black people in policy matters.

ST. MARTIN’S ESSENTIALS

Mohammad The World Changer

Mohamad Jebara, out now

Fusing details long known to Muslim scholars but inaccessible to popular audiences, Jebara brings to life the personal story of Islam’s founding prophet.

ST. MARTIN’S GRIFFIN

Single Black Female: A Novel

Tracy Brown, out now

Four friends grapple with the dramatic twists and turns of life, love and what it means to “make it in America.”

Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It

Tracey Gendron, Mar.

The nationally recognized gerontologist and speaker uncovers ageism’s roots, impact, and how each of us can create a new reality of elderhood.

THOMAS & MERCER

Under Color of Law: A Novel

Aaron Philip Clark, out now

A Black rookie LAPD detective must navigate his superiors while scouring the underbelly of the city to uncover the truth behind the murder of a young police recruit.

GEORGE F. THOMPSON

Violins and Hope: From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall

Daniel Levin, out now

A documentary look at the work and workshop of Amnon Weinstein, the master luthier from Tel Aviv who takes violins that survived the Holocaust and restores them so they can sing in symphony halls throughout the world.

Roadside South

David Wharton, Feb.

Captures the forgotten and neglected scenes to be found along the South’s rural highways and byways.

Occupying Massachusetts: Layers of History on Indigenous Land

Sandra Matthews, Apr.

A photographic meditation on the human occupation of land, with an emphasis on the long presence of Indigenous people in Massachusetts and the impact on the land by waves of settlement by foreign people from all over the world—from the early 1600s to the present day.

Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism

Elsa Sjunneson, out now

The Deafblind writer and media studies professor explores how the misrepresentation of disability in books, movies, and TV harms both the disabled community and everyone else.

TINY REPARATIONS

What the Fireflies Knew: A Novel

Kai Harris, Feb.

Over the course of a sweltering summer, an almost-eleven-year-old girl attempts to get her bearings after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit.

Maurice Broaddus, Mar.

With the wisdom of their ancestors, the power of their warriors, and the vision of their scientists, the Muungano empire forms a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretches from Africa on O.E. (original Earth) to Titan, in this first installment of a multicultural science fiction trilogy.

Freya Marske, out now

A mashup that combines the most loved aspects of historical fantasy with rom-coms, centering queer love and queer characters in a world that would have normally erased them.

Tochi Onyebuchi, Jan.

In the 2050s, those with the means to flee have left Earth for the plush comfort of space colonies—and those without the means are left behind, forced to salvage what they can from beneath the weight of the world’s collapsing infrastructure.

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories

Edited by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Want, Mar.

Explores the expanse of Chinese science fiction and fantasy from the perspective of an entirely female and non-binary creative team; includes Chinese-language authors whose writing has rarely appeared in English and translators and essayists from the global Chinese diaspora.

Siren Queen

Nghi Vo, May

An outsider achieves stardom on her own terms, in a fantastical Hollywood where the monsters are real–but she is willing to do whatever it takes, even if that means becoming the monster herself.

TYNDALE HOUSE

How to Heal Our Racial Divide: What the Bible Says, and the First Christians Knew, about Racial Reconciliation

Derwin Gray, Apr.

The popular Bible teacher shows how from the beginning, God envisioned a reconciled multiethnic family in loving community, reflecting His beauty and healing presence in the world.

Jean Chen Ho, Jan.

Traces the lives of two young Taiwanese American women as they navigate friendship, sexuality, identity, and heartbreak over two decades.

Black American Refugee: Escaping the Narcissism of the American Dream

Tiffanie Drayton, Feb.

An expansion of Drayton’s New York Times piece of the same name, the book examines in depth the intersection of her personal experiences and the broader culture and historical ramifications of American racism and global white supremacy.

Wrong Lanes Have Right Turns: A Pardoned Man’s Escape from the School-to-Prison Pipeline and What We Can Do to Dismantle It

Michael Phillips, Jan.

How the author escaped from the school-to-prison pipeline, reinvented himself as a pastor and education reform advocate, and what his journey can teach readers about turning the collateral damage in the lives of our youth into hope.

The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope

Helen Lee and Michelle Reyes, May

A resource to equip Christian parents to better understand the roots of racism and provide practical guidance on addressing issues of race within their families.

YELLOW PEAR

Rum Rebels: 16 Women Revolutionizing the Spirits Industry

Martyna Halas, Dec.

Looking at more than a dozen rum distilleries, each chapter profiles women in leadership in a traditionally male-dominated industry, their rum, and the perfect cocktail pairing.

Rebekah Weatherspoon, out now

The third Cowboys of California romance, set on a Black-owned luxury dude ranch,. features a brawny rancher and a brainy beauty who find themselves in a beast of a predicament.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Therese Beharrie, out now

An #OwnVoices rom-com about a romance novelist with a touch of magic addresses issues around the foster care system, mental health, and the power of creativity.

CHILDREN’S/Young Adult

Black Girls Unbossed: Young World Changers Leading the Way

Khristi Lauren Adams, Mar.

Introduces readers to eight young Black women changing the world, including the founder of a child literacy nonprofit, political activists, and a school shooting survivor who launched a political action committee to prevent gun violence. Ages 8-12.

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People

Kekla Magoon, out now

An account of the Black Panthers as militant revolutionaries and as human rights advocates working to defend and protect their community. Ages 12-up.

Love in the Library

Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illus.by Yas Imamura, Jan.

Based on true events, a love story set in an internment camp where the United States detained Japanese Americans during WWII. Ages 6-9.

Carrimebac, the Town that Walked

David Barclay Moore, illus. by John Holyfield, Mar.

A tale of Black endurance, drawing on the rhythms and traditions of African American storytelling to open a window into the past. Ages 6-9.

Meant to Be

Jo Knowles, Mar.

In a companion to Where the Heart Is, the lens turns to younger sister Ivy as she fields the joys and pitfalls of new friendship, hones her passion for baking, and resists the idea of change. Ages 9-12.

Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter for Women

Christine McDonnell, illus. by Victoria Tentler Krylov, Mar.

When Kip Tiernan was growing up during the Great Depression, the U.S. had no shelters for women; this is the story of how one person’s dream can make a huge difference, and small acts of kindness can lead to great things. Ages 7-10.

The Lucky Ones

Linda Williams Jackson, Apr.

The author pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell the story of 11-year-old Ellis Earl, who in 1967 dreams of a real house, food enough for the whole family—and to be someone. Ages 8-12.

’Twas the Night Before Pride

Joanna McClintick, illus. by Juana Medina, May

A celebration of queer families honors those in the LBGTQ+ community who fought against injustice and inequality. Ages 4-8.

‎CANDLEWICK/BIG PICTURE

Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution

De Nichols, illus. by Diana Dagadita, Molly Mendoza, Olivia Twist, et al., out now

Looks at protest art to understand how color, symbolism, technique, and typography play an important role in communication, with tips and ideas for creating revolutionary designs. Ages 10-up.

Sarah Rising

Ty Chapman, May

Provides a child’s-eye view of a protest and an opportunity for children to talk about why people take to the streets to protest racial injustice, and how important it is to be part of a community of people who protect each other. Ages 5-8.

Hannes Barnard, Jan.

Set in the final years of South Africa’s Apartheid era, a white 16-year-old schoolboy and two complete strangers—a Black farmworker’s son and an Indian shopkeeper’s daughter—find themselves running for their lives from the vicious Rudie. Ages 12-18.

Rebecca Balcarcel, May

Family drama and dauntless determination illuminate Luz’s journey as she summons her inner strength and learns to accept others and embrace the enduring connection of family. Ages 8-12.

Black Girl Rising

Brynne Barnes, June

Alchemizes the sorrow and strength of the past into the brilliant gold of the future, sweeping young readers of all backgrounds into an exploration of what it means to be Black, female, and glorious. Ages 5-8.

Kristina Brooke Daniele, Jan.

Introduces readers to a selection of many civil rights movement facts, moments, and historical events in Black history. Ages 8-12.

Young Trailblazers: The Book of Black Heroes and Groundbreakers

M.J. Fievre, illus. by Kim Balacuit, Mar.

Introduces Black trailblazers who persevered through adversity to inspire generations to come. Ages 8-12.

Amanda Cley, illus. by Cecilia Ferri, Mar.

Imagines what happens when a human being wears wolf’s clothing, to spark conversations about identity, peer pressure, and finding one’s own path. Ages 5-9.

I Hate Borsch!

Yevgenia Nayberg, Apr.

A girl despises Eastern Europe’s most beloved soup, but when she immigrates to the United States, American food leaves her feeling empty… until she discovers borsch recipes in an old suitcase. Ages 4-8.

ETERNAL TREE

Leaf Talks Peace: Buddha’s Message of Harmony

Priya Kumari, illus. by Anusha Santosh, May

An illustrated poem introducing children to the message of the Buddha through his vision of the entire cosmos in a leaf on the Bodhi tree. Ages 4-8.

Emer O’Neill, illus. by Debby Rahmalia, out now

A gentle tale for children about embracing our differences. Ages 4-8.

GLOBAL COLLECTIVE

The Year that Wasn’t: The Diary of a 14-Year-Old

Brisha Jain, Feb.

When Brisha made a New Year’s resolution to write a diary for the coming year, little did she realize that these entries would eventually turn into a treasure trove of experiences.

Laila Sabreen, Feb.

After a terrorist attack rocks the country, stirring anti-Islamic sentiment, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths. Ages 13-17.

Call Me Miss Hamilton: One Woman’s Case for Equality and Respect

Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Jeffery Boston Weatherford. Feb.

The true story of the woman who took a stand for respect—and won. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. nicknamed her “Red” because of her fiery spirit. Ages 7-11.

We Belong

Laura Purdie Salas, illus. by Carlos Vélez Aguilera, Mar.

Rhyming verse invites others to notice the diversity of our world and affirm that we all belong, just as we are. Ages 4-8.

Gold Mountain

Betty G. Yee, Apr.

In 1860s China, Tam Ling Fan disguises herself as a boy and takes her brother’s contract to work for the Central Pacific Railroad Company in America; when someone threatens to expose her secret, she must take an even greater risk to save what’s left of her family. Ages 11-up.

10 at 10: The Surprising Childhoods of Ten Remarkable People

Carlyn Beccia, Apr.

Audrey Hepburn, Roberto Clemente, Albert Einstein—kids know the names, but do they know what some of history’s most famous figures were like at the age of 10? Ages 8-12.

Today Is Different

Doua Moua, illus. by Kim Holt, Apr.

When a Hmong girl learns that her best friend, who is Black, is protesting an act of police violence against the Black community, she joins the protest too, showing her parents that standing together makes all of us stronger. Ages‎ 5-9.

LEVINE QUERIDO

A Snake Falls to Earth

Darcie Little Badger, out now

Draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave a tale of monsters, magic, and family. Ages 12-18.

Freedom! The Story of the Black Panther Party

Jetta Grace Martin, Joshua Bloom, and Waldo E. Martin Jr., Jan.

Introduces the Black Panthers to younger readers. Ages 12-up.

Aviva vs the Dybbuk

Mari Lowe, Feb.

In an Orthodox Jewish community, a ghostly dybbuk causes mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on young Aviva. Ages 8-12.

It’s Dat’s first day of school in a new country, but he doesn’t know the language. How is he going to make new friends if they can’t understand each other? Ages‎ 4-8.

High Spirits

Camille Gomera-Tavarez, Apr.

Eleven interconnected short stories follow one extended Dominican family in both the Dominican Republic and the United States, exploring themes of machismo, mental health, family, identity, and the borders between reality and the supernatural. Ages 12-18.

The Dove in the Belly

Jim Grimesly, May

The electric, dangerous, sometimes tender but always powerful love between two very different boys. Ages 16-up.

The One Who Loves You Most

medina, May

A new year brings a school project, trans and queer friends, and a YouTube channel that help Gabriela find purpose in their journey. Ages 8-14.

MAGINATION PRESS

Something Happened to My Dad: A Story About Immigration and Family Separation

Ann Hazzard and Vivianne Aponte Rivera, May

How Carmen, her family, and community cope when her father, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, is detained and legal proceedings slowly unfold. Ages 4-8.

Black and Resilient: 52 Weeks of Anti-Racist Activities for Black Joy and Empowerment

M.J. Fievre, Dec.

Mind-strengthening practices to teach Black boys how to stay empowered despite what life throws at them; includes prompts for boys to reflect and divulge what they’re feeling on a deeper level. Ages 12-18.

TOMMY NELSON

Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth

Alice Faye Duncan, illus. by Keturah A. Bobo, Jan.

The true story of Black activist Opal Lee and her vision of Juneteenth as a holiday for everyone. Ages 4-8.

O’BRIEN

Uncle David’s Wedding

Bob Johnston, illus. by Michael Emberley, June

A celebration of love, family, and weddings and an introduction for children to the idea of same-sex partnerships and marriage equality.

RANDOM HOUSE

Why Not You?

Ciara and Russell Wilson, illus. by Jessica Gibson, Mar.

Encourages readers to see themselves achieving their dreams, no matter how outrageous they may seem. Ages 4-8.

RANDOM HOUSE/CROWN

Killers of the Flower Moon: Adapted for Young Readers

David Grann, out now

Introduces young readers to the Reign of Terror against the Osage people, one of history’s most ruthless and shocking crimes. Ages 10-up.

The Swag Is in the Socks

Kelly J. Baptist, out now

Xavier has never had the courage to apply to join the elite boys’ after-school club that admits only the most suave and confident young men. but his wild socks are getting him some big attention, so maybe it’s time to come out of the shadows and follow in his family’s footsteps… or march down a new path altogether. Ages 8-12.

Justice Is…

Preet Bharara, illus. by Sue Cornelison, Jan.

Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, explains what justice is and what it takes to achieve it for even the youngest readers. Ages 4-8.

Operation Sisterhood

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Jan.

Four sisters in a newly blended family band together in the heart of New York City and navigate the difficulties of change, sibling loyalty, and the love of family. Ages 8-12.

Vinyl Moon

Mahogany L. Browne, Jan.

Prose, poems, and vignettes tell the story of Angel, a young woman whose past was shaped by domestic violence but whose love of language and music and the gift of community grant her the chance to find herself again. Ages 14-up.

Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman

Kristen R. Lee, Feb.

When freshman Savannah Howard unearths secrets of her college’s racist history, she must decide if telling the truth about its past will cost her own future. Ages 14-up.

The Rise (and Falls) of Jackie Chan

Kristen Mai Giang, illus. by Alina Chau, Mar.

Twist, tumble, and train alongside martial arts hero Jackie Chan in this picture book biography, and discover how Jackie used his goofball acrobatics to make a name and a style all his own. Ages 4-8.

Finding Jupiter

Kelis Rowe, May

A star-crossed couple has a past filled with secrets that threaten to tear them apart before their love story even begins. Ages 13-17.

RANDOM HOUSE/DELACORTE

The Beautiful Struggle (Adapted for Young Adults)

Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jan.

Adapted from the adult memoir, Coates explores his coming-of-age story, especially his relationship with a father who’d been part of the Black Panthers, was dedicated to reading and publishing the history of African civilization, and committed to raising proud Black men equipped to deal with a racist society, during a turbulent period in the collapsing city of Baltimore where they lived. Ages 12-up.

Like Home

Louisa Onome, Feb.

A girl’s life is turned upside down after one local act of vandalism throws both her relationships and neighborhood into turmoil. Ages 12-up.

The Night Bus Hero

Onjali Q. Raúf, Feb.

The topic of homelessness and bullying, as well as empathy and forgiveness, are front and center in this novel about a boy whose life is redirected after a bullying incident and an opportunity to broaden his perspective on the world and those in it. Ages 10-up.

Becoming (Adapted for Young Readers)

Michelle Obama, Mar.

Obama’s worldwide bestselling memoir, adapted for young readers, offers a fascinating account of a life led by example. Ages 10-up.

Devotion (Adapted for Young Adults)

Adam Makos, May

A YA adaptation of the adult bestseller and forthcoming film that details the true story of two Navy pilots from divergent racial and economic backgrounds who forge a deep friendship as they face extraordinary circumstances during the Korean War. Ages 12-up.

RANDOM HOUSE STUDIO

The Big Bath House

Kyo Maclear, illus. by Gracey Zhang, out now

A celebration of Japanese cultural traditions and body positivity as a girl visits a bath house with her grandmother and aunties. Ages 4-8.

The Faith of Elijah Cummings: The North Star of Equal Justice

Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Laura Freeman, Jan.

The humble beginnings and unwavering faith of the Congressman and civil rights advocate who dedicated his life to public service. Ages 6-9.

Areli Is a Dreamer

Areli Morales, illus. by Luisa Uribe, June

DACA Dreamer Morales tells her own powerful immigration story. Ages 4-8.

RUNNING PRESS KIDS

She Raised Her Voice! 50 Black Women Who Sang Their Way into Music History

Jordannah Elizabeth, illus. by Briana Dengoue, Dec.

An illustrated middle-grade anthology celebrating Black women singers throughout history from jazz and blues, hip hop and R&B, to pop, punk, and opera. Ages 8-12.

Baby Aretha: A Book About Girl Power

Pintachan, Jan.

Celebrates the iconic Queen of Soul, with the theme of girl empowerment throughout. Ages 0-3.

If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It

Lil Miss Hot Mess, illus. by Olga de Dios Ruiz, May

A founding member of Drag Queen Story Hour offers a sing-along book with a drag twist that encourages kids to embrace the playfulness of drag culture. Ages 4-8.

Kind Like Marsha: Learning from LGBTQ+ Leaders

Sarah Prager, illus. by Cheryl Thuesday, May

Celebrates 14 inspirational LGBTQ+ people throughout history. Ages‎ 4-8.

Gita Varadarajan, illus. by Archana Sreenivasan, Feb.

A girl finds the magic, power, and history of wearing a bindi for the first time. Ages 4-8.

Because of You, John Lewis

Andrea Davis Pinkney, illus. by Keith Henry Brown, Mar.

An inspiring story of the friendship between Congressman John Lewis and 10-year-old activist Tybre Faw. Ages 7-10.

Coming Up Cuban

Sonia Manzano, Apr.

Examines the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four children from very different walks of life, addressing the inner lives and growth of children in the wake of major social, political, and cultural upheaval. Ages 8-12.

SCHOLASTIC FOCUS

Days of Infamy: How a Century of Bigotry Led to Japanese American Internment

Lawrence Goldstone, June

Examines the history of racism against Japanese Americans, exploring the territory of citizenship and touching on fears of non-white immigration to the U.S. Ages 12-up.

SCHOLASTIC/ORCHARD

In the Spirit of a Dream

Aida Salazar and Alina Chau, out now

A tribute to American immigrants of color, written in poems and illustrated by 14 first- and second-generation immigrant artists. Ages 5-7.

We Shall Overcome

Bryan Collier, Dec.

A celebration of the gospel anthem and Civil Rights protest song “We Shall Overcome,” brought to life with illustrations from multi-award-winning Collier. Ages 4-8.

Stand Up!

Brittney Cooper, illus. by Cathy Ann Johnson, Apr.

Introduces young readers to 10 revolutionary Black women––both historical and contemporary––who changed the world for the better by standing up for what’s right. Ages 4-8.

SIMON & SCHUSTER/ALADDIN

Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy

Misty Copeland, out now

The American Ballet Theatre principal dancer pays tribute to Black ballerinas, both past and present, who have influenced her on and off the stage. Ages 10-up.

It’s Her Story: Ida B. Wells: A Graphic Novel

Anastasia Magloire Williams, illus. by Alleanna Harris, Dec.

Spotlights Ida B. Wells, a groundbreaking journalist and civil rights activist in the decades after the Civil War who spoke out against injustice wherever she saw it. Part of a new graphic novel series on women who have impacted the world. Ages 7-10.

It’s Her Story: Shirley Chisholm: A Graphic Novel

Patrice Aggs, illus. by Markia Jenaim Feb.

Introduces Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, where she served for seven terms, and in 1972 was the first Black person to seek the nomination of President of the United States from a major party. Part of a new graphic novel series on women who have impacted the world. Ages 7-10.

TWO LIONS

I Am Able to Shine

Korey Watari, illus. by Mike Wu, May

A story about embracing your identity and finding your voice, inspired in part by Watari’s experiences growing up Asian American and illustrated by her husband, a Pixar artist. Ages 3-7.

Dorena Williamson, illus. by Shellene Rodney, Jan.

A rhyming picture book that invites young readers into the world of a Black girl as she becomes aware of her God-given. Ages 4-8.

Hues of You: An Activity Book for Learning About the Skin You Are In

Lucretia Berry, illus. by Adia Carter, Jan.

Provides parents, caregivers, and kids an interactive and age-appropriate way to navigate conversations around skin tone, race, and racism. Ages 7-10.

If you look at pictures of some of NASA’s first astronauts, you might notice they all have something in common — every one of them is a white man.

While there is much progress still to be made, in recent years more women and people of color have trained as astronauts and traveled to the International Space Station. But there is still work to be done; women were only able to apply to NASA’s astronaut corps starting in 1983 and, to date, out of about 600 people who have been to space, far less than 100 have been people of color, and only four Black women in history have been to space.

During a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion in spaceflight on Nov 10 titled “Opening Spaceflight for Everybody” during Spaceflight for Everybody Virtual Symposium, NASA scientists as well as European researchers discussed different ways that U.S. and European space programs could work to become more diverse and inclusive. They touched on possible methods, from funding research by scientists from marginalized backgrounds to training the first astronaut with a physical disability. Ultimately, they aim for scientists, astronauts and space researchers to accurately represent the diversity of humankind.

“We need to keep it fair, we need to have equity in the way people are represented throughout the program,” Kenneth Bowersox, Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said during the panel.

Bowersox emphasized that groups of people with different backgrounds and perspectives offer a wider variety of unique contributions. Bowersox, a former astronaut, described being in a flight simulation with two people he usually worked with and a less-experienced crew member he rarely did. Something was going wrong in the simulation,  but no one could figure out what it was. The less-experienced crew member pointed out some strange readings that the others hadn’t noticed. This person saved the group from failing the simulation, Bowersox said, because of his difference in perspective.

“Having somebody in the crew who is different is extremely powerful, and they can really help you,” said Bowersox.

NASA also has awards that support early career scientists from marginalized backgrounds through its Minority University Research and Education Project, supporting colleges and universities that serve students such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities. These awards can support anything from research infrastructure to curriculum development. Additionally, NASA’s program the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research funds research in states where less tends to take place, like New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

“We want the best ideas from everyone, regardless of their background,” said Maneesh Arya, NASA’s Analog Mission Coordinator, during the conference.

Space agencies are also taking the first steps to include disabled people in human spaceflight. The European Space Agency’s Parastronaut Feasibility Project will select one astronaut candidate with a physical disability to train and work with scientists as part of the project.  This person will be selected alongside other astronauts without disabilities as part of the ESA’s 2021 astronaut selection process. This person is not guaranteed to go to space, however the parastronaut selected will go through extensive training and research with the ESA as part of this program in order to determine whether they can safely travel to space. 

No other space agency has ever even tried to include physically disabled astronauts. For this initial project, the ESA is only considering people who have one of three physical disabilities – lower limb deficiency, a leg length difference, or short stature less than 130 centimeters.

So far, about 250 people have applied for the position; the agency is seriously considering 86 applicants, said Guillaume Weerts, the Head of Space Medicine at the European Space Agency, during the conference.

About one in five Europeans have some sort of disability, so like people from other marginalized backgrounds, representing them is a matter of equity for the ESA, said Weerts during the conference. He added that “disability might become [an] ability in some circumstances.” The project’s website expands on this idea, noting that “including people with special needs also means benefiting from their extraordinary experience, ability to adapt to difficult environments, and point of view.”

While NASA has not announced any explicit plans to hire an astronaut with a physical disability, the ESA’s project will provide the initial research and precedent for other space agencies to consider the idea. Though no NASA astronaut with a disability has gone to space, in September, Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude’s Research Hospital, became the first person with a prosthesis to go to space as part of an all-civilian crew led by tech billionaire and pilot Jared Isaacman. Other initiatives, like AstroAccess, created with the organization SciAccess, aim to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in spaceflight. As part of the initiative, 12 “disability ambassadors” with a variety of disabilities participated in a parabolic flight, which reproduces gravity-free conditions, in October. 

NASA’s recent astronaut picks have gotten more diverse over time and the agency hopes this will continue.  NASA’s Artemis program aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, and NASA’s Artemis Team reflects that. The group is made up of nine men and nine women, and is also evenly split between white people and people of color. 

The speakers in the session emphasized that diversity in spaceflight is not just a matter of fairness, but in doing science that benefits all people.

The reason for space research and exploration “is to expand humanity out into the solar system,” said Bowersox. “Well, if it’s got to be humanity, it can’t just be one small group of humanity. It has to be everybody.”