Inclusive reading and listening picks to add to your list
For LINK writer and SAIT alumna Giselle Wedemire (JA ’13), raising awareness around equity and diversity lies close to her heart. Following her conversation with Adora Nwofor and Shahzia Noorally, we asked Wedemire to draw on her personal exploration of EDI and create a reading and listening list for those wanting to learn more.
Here are her top picks for podcasts and memoirs that help put you in others’ shoes.
Podcasts
Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race
Thought-provoking and stimulating, this now-defunct podcast explores racial issues that are still relevant today.
Minority Korner
Each week, queer comedian James Arthur M provides a crash course on intersectionality while discussing current events, media and pop culture.
Sooo Many White guys
Tired of white men getting all the glory in comedy, Phoebe Robinson interviews comedians and entertainers of all races and genders.
The Woke Desi
Nehal and Annika represent the South Asian community as they discuss topics ranging from cultural stigmas to dating and marriage.
Books
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
by Cathy Park Hong
Part Cultural critique and part memoir, Hong's book examines the negative emotions she felt growing up as an American child of Korean parents.
In the Country We Love: My Family Divided
by Diane Guerrero
American-born Guerrero's memoir vividly portrays the day she was left behind at school while her family was deported to Colombia.
How Does it Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America
by Moustafa Bayoumi
The lives of seven Arab-American living in post-9/11 Brooklyn are followed and examined.
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and So Much More
by Janet Mock
Vulnerable and heart-breaking, Mock invites readers to learn about her journey to self-realization and self-acceptance as a trans-woman.
Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina
by Raquel Cepeda
Unpacking the Caribbean's uniquely complicated history, writer-filmmaker Cepeda takes us on a journey of learning and understanding her culture.
This is My Face: Try Not to Stare
by Gabourey Sidibe
UnpackingThis delightful collection of essays examines Sidibe's experiences as a poor child and, later, a successful plus-sized Black actress.
To see how the conversation started, read "The road ahead: A conversation about equity, diversity and inclusion", originally written for the Spring 2021 issue of LINK — Raw, risky and full of joy.