Contemporary Books on Social Justice

Social justice is the pursuit of fairness in society based on the belief that all people deserve equal opportunities and rights. We curated the following study guide collection (including books for middle-grade and young adult readers) to help readers get the most out of books that cover contemporary issues and topics in social justice.

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Philosophy, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Social Justice, Education, Education, LGBTQ, Philosophy


Publication year 1997

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Place, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Society: War, Society: Nation

Tags Science / Nature, Health / Medicine, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Education, Education, Gender / Feminism


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Social Justice, Incarceration, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Sociology, History: World

Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America is a work of nonfiction by James Forman Jr., an American lawyer and legal scholar specializing in racial inequities in criminal justice. Published in 2017, this critically acclaimed book examines the complex role Black leaders played in advancing tough-on-crime policies that ultimately contributed to the mass incarceration of Black people in the United States. Drawing on his experience as a public defender and his extensive... Read Locking Up Our Own Summary


Publication year 1851

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags History: European, Social Justice, Poverty, Journalism, British Literature, Sociology, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Action / Adventure, Race / Racism, Black Lives Matter, History: U.S., Social Justice, American Literature, African American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ, Bullying, Depression / Suicide, Parenting, Love / Sexuality, Social Justice, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Diversity, Relationships, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Mothers

Tags Sociology, Poverty, Biography, Social Justice

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive is Stephanie Land’s first book. Land is a former professional house cleaner whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Her writing explores issues related to systemic poverty, the hardships and stigmas associated with social services, surviving in the gig economy, and the challenges of motherhood. Maid was originally inspired by a Vox article she wrote about... Read Maid Summary


Publication year 1994

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags Race / Racism, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography

Nathan McCall’s 1994 autobiography, Makes Me Wanna Holler, is about growing up in a working-class black section of Portsmouth, Virginia in the 1960s and 1970s. McCall was a smart boy, but despite a strong family unit and a caring community, he fell into crime. From a young age, he was tormented by racism. He recounts violent racism when attending an integrated elementary school, a depressing level of inequality of opportunity when looking for work as... Read Makes Me Wanna Holler Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Inspirational, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Black Lives Matter, History: World, Biography


Publication year 2016

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Civil Rights / Jim Crow, History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, History: World, Politics / Government, Biography


Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community

Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Incarceration, Education, Education, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Sociology


Publication year 1959

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Natural World: Animals, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Harlem Renaissance, American Literature, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Social Justice, History: U.S.


Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Race / Racism, Black Lives Matter, Education, Education, Social Justice, Sociology, Self Help, Politics / Government

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad is a New York Times bestselling nonfiction book and workbook published in 2020. Structured around a 28-day antiracism journaling challenge, white readers and participants critically examine their own personal complicity in upholding white supremacy.Stemming from author Saad’s viral challenge on Instagram— #MeAndWhiteSupremacy—over the course of four weeks, Me and White Supremacy breaks open white supremacy as an... Read Me and White Supremacy Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Race / Racism, Science / Nature, History: World, Social Justice, Health / Medicine

In the 2007 nonfiction book Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, medical researcher Harriet A. Washington describes the long history of American medical experiments on Black Americans. Although some of these abuses are well-known, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the book presents a comprehensive history that describes the long-standing pattern of exploitative practices. By uncovering how American medicine has been built upon the... Read Medical Apartheid Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender

Tags Gender / Feminism, Sociology, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Social Justice, Politics / Government

Men Explain Things to Me is Rebecca Solnit’s 19th book. First published in 2014, it is comprised of a collection of essays primarily concerned with gender politics. The first essay explores men silencing women. It begins with Solnit recounting a conversation with “Mr. Very Important” in which he asks her about her writing, only to talk over her and lecture her about a book that, it turns out, she actually wrote. She uses this to... Read Men Explain Things To Me Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags Race / Racism, Biography, Social Justice

In her 2013 memoir Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward pays tribute to five young Black men from her hometown of DeLisle, Mississippi. She honors each man’s life and death in individualized chapters and explores her own personal and family history as she navigates the complex experiences of grief. Ward seeks to understand the forces that led to each man’s death and chronicle the impact of their deaths on her life and community.Other works by this... Read Men We Reaped Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Action / Adventure, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Children's Literature, Fantasy


Publication year 2020

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Relationships, Gender / Feminism, American Literature, Korean Literature, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Asian Literature, Biography


Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Society: Class

Tags Sociology, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, Education, Education, Urban Development, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics / Government

More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City is a 2009 nonfiction book by William Julius Wilson, a Harvard University professor of sociology. In his book, Wilson examines the structural and, more controversially, the cultural contributors to the poverty, high incarceration rate, and social problems faced by inner-city African American males today. Wilson’s central contention is that African Americans have suffered disproportionately from the impacts of nonracial political and global economic... Read More Than Just Race Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: War

Tags Social Justice, Lyric Poem