Books on Justice & Injustice

James Baldwin said, "It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have." In this collection, we've compiled texts that explore the idea of what justice is — and how it can thrive.

Barn Burning

by William Faulkner

Publication year 1939

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Fathers, Loyalty & Betrayal, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, American Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

First published in Harper’s magazine in 1939, William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” comments upon inheritance, loyalty, and the heavy bonds that link fathers and sons. Many of Faulkner’s writings, including his short stories and novels, are set in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, which is based loosely upon Lafayette County. The Snopes family, who are the main characters in “Barn Burning,” appear in many of Faulkner’s other short stories and novels.The story opens in a... Read Barn Burning Summary

Barracoon

by Zora Neale Hurston

Publication year 2018

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Justice, Power & Greed, Family, Perseverance, Memory, Language, Race, Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Harlem Renaissance, US History, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Anthropology, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Grief & Death, History: African , Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Biography

Originally written in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018) is the transcribed posthumous autobiography of the life of Oluale “Cudjo Lewis” Kossola (1841-1935), written by Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Known for her involvement in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston was a writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and filmmaker. In all her work, she held a special appreciation for Black life and Black culture of the US South. Her works... Read Barracoon Summary

Bear

by Julia Phillips

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Community, Economics, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Animals, Romance, Canadian Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read Bear Summary

Becoming

by Michelle Obama

Publication year 2021

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Hope, Gender Identity, Race, Family, Marriage, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice

Tags Self-Improvement, Inspirational, African American Literature, US History

... Read Becoming Summary

Behind the Bedroom Wall

by Laura E. Williams

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Safety & Danger, Race, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Coming of Age, European History, World History, Children`s Literature, Military & War

Behind the Bedroom Wall is a 1996 Young Adult historical fiction novel by Korean American author Laura E. Williams. The novel won the 1997 Jane Addams’ Children’s Book Award. Williams has written several other novels, including The Mystic Lighthouse series, Up a Creek, The Ghost Stallion, The Executioner’s Daughter, The Can Man, and Unexpected.Set in 1942 Germany, Behind the Bedroom Wall follows a 13-year-old Aryan German girl named Korinna Rehme, who is an active member... Read Behind the Bedroom Wall Summary

Belonging

by Nora Krug

Publication year 2018

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Guilt, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Race, Death, The Past, Place, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags European History, Holocaust, World War II

... Read Belonging Summary

Betty

by Tiffany McDaniel

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Indigenous Identity, Family, Grief, Hope, Hate & Anger, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Race, Coming of Age, Environment, Mothers, Siblings, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Trauma & Abuse

... Read Betty Summary

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, African American Literature, Black Lives Matter, World History, Social Justice, Politics & Government, Biography

Ta-Nehisi Coates’s nonfiction book Between the World and Me was published 2015. The book takes the form of a long letter to Coates’s son Samori at age 15, and the title borrows from a poem by famed Black author Richard Wright. The text focuses on the psychological and physical trauma of racial violence that haunts generations of Black people, considering themes like The Precarity of the Black Body in the United States, The Danger of... Read Between the World and Me Summary

Biased

by Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Justice, Equality, Fear, Conflict, Community

Tags Psychology, Race & Racism, Sociology, Social Justice, Science & Nature, Psychology, Politics & Government

... Read Biased Summary

Big Boy Leaves Home

by Richard Wright

Publication year 1936

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Community, Race, Justice

Tags African American Literature, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South

The short story “Big Boy Leaves Home” (1936) is the first published work of Richard Wright (1908-1960), a celebrated African American author who is best known for his 1940 protest novel Native Son. Most of Wright’s poetry, fiction, and nonfiction deal with the experiences of working-class Black people (especially men) in the United States. His protagonists, like “Big Boy,” struggle against overt racism and racist violence in their communities, ultimately facing crises that force them... Read Big Boy Leaves Home Summary

Billy Budd, Sailor

by Herman Melville

Publication year 1924

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Teamwork, Community, War, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Education, Education, World History

Billy Budd, Sailor is a 1924 novella by Herman Melville. The narrative is equal parts philosophical examination and Christian allegory. The story concerns the brief time and tragic death of the eponymous Billy on the British warship Bellipotent. In the story, Billy, happy and naïve, is framed for mutiny and hanged for treason despite his innocence. Melville uses Billy’s story to examine The Struggle Between Morality and Lawfulness, The Vulnerability of Innocence and Naivety, and... Read Billy Budd, Sailor Summary

Black Boy

by Richard Wright

Publication year 1945

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

Black Boy (American Hunger): A Record of Childhood and Youth is American writer Richard Wright’s classic memoir about coming of age as a Black man in the Jim Crow South and his migration to Chicago. Harper published Part 1 in 1945 as Black Boy and Part 2, which focuses on Wright’s experiences in the Communist Party in Chicago, in 1977 as American Hunger; Library of America published the combined memoir in 1991. The 1945 edition... Read Black Boy Summary

Black Like Me

by John Howard Griffin

Publication year 1961

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Race, Community, Justice

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Journalism, Sociology, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

Black Like Me is a sociological memoir written by John Howard Griffin in 1960. It takes place in 1959 in the deep South of the United States during the end of the segregation era. Griffin, a white man, assumes the appearance and life of a Black man and records his experiences in an attempt to create understanding and bridge gaps between Black and white Americans. Black Like Me was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for... Read Black Like Me Summary