Trevor Noah's Bookshelf

I’m planning to finish the book I’m currently reading this week, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. in hopes that I’m ready to dig into Caste by Isabel Wilkerson for the Epoch Education book club that starts next week. I didn’t know much about the author, Eddie Glaude Jr. or this book until I saw it on Trevor Noah’s bookshelf. Do you ever do that? Lean closer to the screen so you can see exactly what books the speaker has on their shelves? I love doing this. And Democracy in Black was a book that I ordered soon after seeing it on Noah’s shelf.

I admire and respect Trevor Noah and want to read what he is reading! Glaude’s newest book, Begin Again, is now on my shelf too thanks to my husband. So much to read and learn!

And with each page, I’m learning. We’ve heard time and time again the phrase that is repeated by MLK that some take to interpret (incorrectly) as a push for colorblindness.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (I Have a Dream Speech, 1963)

Glaude Jr. spends chapter eight explaining why King’s “I Have a Dream” speech should not be the only focus of his legacy. MLK Jr. was a peaceful activist and yet radical at the same time.

Why don’t we give more attention to the whole of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s messaging?

Here are two more quotes that we do not hear as often:

“The fact is that the ultimate logic of racism is genocide. If you say that I am not good enough to live next door to you...because of the color of my skin or my ethnic origins then you are saying in substance that I do not deserve to exist.” (March, 1968)

“The vast majority of white Americans are racist either consciously or unconsciously.” (August, 1967)

I think of the way that some churches share the legacy of Jesus and how they often leave out a focus on how radical he truly was. He preached love and peace, yet stirred up controversy by reaching out to untouchables, showing up where he was unwelcome, and pushing people to rebel against their own comfort.

I appreciate the opportunity to think more about the many sides and visions of the people I hold up and admire. I know that reading is the easy way in and it is the action part that is much more difficult. What more can and will I do? I have marched, and written and shared, and discussed, and ...there will be more. Reading is a jumping off platform for me and for many. Reading gives me wisdom, courage, and curiosity.

Whose bookshelves are you curious to study?