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NEA Advice

Titles for Social Justice, Activism, and Change 

Help inspire and guide readers of all ages in the fight for a better society and the disruption of inequity with these titles focused on social justice, activism, and change.
Published: March 25, 2024
This resource originally appeared on NEA.org

Find more recommendations on our extended list of social justice titles available at your local library through World Cat. 

Picture Books and Elementary 

Climate Action: What Happened and What We Can Do by Seymour Simon 

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin  

For all/Para todos by Alejandra Domenzain 

The Great Banned Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil 

IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi  

Sí, se puede!/Yes, we can! Janitor Strike in L.A. by Diana Cohn 

Speak Up by Miranda Paul 

Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: The Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist by Philip Dray 

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom 

We Want to Go to School! The Fight for Disability Rights by Maryann Cocca-Leffler 

Middle Grade 

Amina's Voice by Hena Khan 

Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami 

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks 

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Marley Dias Gets It Done and So Can You! by Marley Dias 

Sylvia & Aki by Winifred Conkling 

Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York by Amy Hill Hearth 

Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles 

We Are Your Children Too: Black Students, White Supremacists, and the Battle for America's schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia by P. O'Connell Pearson 

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade & Cheryl Willis Hudson 

Young Adult 

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely  

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner 

Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles 

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and The Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo 

Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson 

One Person, No Vote (YA edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally by Carol Anderson with Tonya Bolden 

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin 

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon 

Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert 

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan 

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