What is Equity Reads?
The Equity and Inclusion Office is partnering with the Library to feature books written by, for, and about marginalized individuals and communities.
Each month Theo Dhaliwal, Inclusive Programs & Engagement Assistant from the Equity and Inclusion Office, will review a book by an author who is either historically, persistently, or systemically marginalized (HPSM) or who fights for social and political equity and change.
Reading and talking about what we read is one of the most powerful ways to learn. By intentionally learning about the experiences of others, we can come together to fight for a better future for all of us.
Meet Theo!
My name is Theo (he/him), and I work with the Equity and Inclusion Office as an Inclusive Programming and Engagement Assistant.
I started the Equity Reads program last year to support student engagement with marginalized authors and stories, and to share my own love of reading and learning.
If you have questions about the program or would like to recommend that I read a particular book, email me at equity.student@ubc.ca.
Equity Reads Book list
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong
Version 1.0.0
“The world is ours, and this is for all of us.”
The theme of 2024’s International Day for Persons with Disabilities is ‘Amplifying the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future’. This sentiment is echoed by a central phrase in disability justice and advocacy, ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ – essentially, no conversations should be had about disability justice and activism without prioritizing the voices and lived experiences of disabled individuals. Alice Wong’s 2020 publication ‘Disability Visibility’ is full of stories told by people with disabilities about their experiences. The collection of essays includes stories about public access to services, erasure of people with disabilities in the healthcare system, the relationships people with disabilities have to each other, and so much more.
This book should be essential reading. There are things that I can say about this book – that the essays are incredibly compelling, that the perspectives included are illuminating– but the most important thing I want to impart is that you should it. This book changed my life and has gained a spot on my list of favorites.
Alice Wong (she/her) in addition to being an author and editor, is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project. The DVP is a community dedicated to amplifying and uplifting disability media and culture, as well as the voices of disabled people in telling their own stories. Wong is involved in many different projects that create community and access for people with disabilities. She writes about pop culture, politics, disability, social media, and activism as a practice. Her work has been featured in a large number of publications, including both written and podcast formats, and has won her awards. Wong is a staunch community activist, and I highly recommend both this work and other works by this prolific leader.
Or find it at Okanagan Regional Library or Mosaic Books.
Invasive Species by Marwa Helal
“(i am, i am. and everywhere.) not here.”
Theo’s review:
Poetry is like no other artistic and literary form – there’s more space for wordplay and inventive phrase structure.With this stylistic freedom, poetry can take readers on emotional journeys beyond what can be found in a novel or narrative style book. I don’t read a lot of poetry and it took me a moment to wrap my head around this book. Taking my time allowed me to sit with her art in a new and different way.
In Invasive Species, Marwa Helal plays with structure and the layout of her poem on the page to weave together an incredibly impactful narrative of immigration in America. Helal explores ideas of home, ideas of other, and the tension between the two concepts. Although diametrically opposed for many of us, Helal simultaneously holds ideas of home and other and the pain that comes with that simultaneity. The pain and desperation is strongly evoked in the first third of her book, where the poems run across the page at breakneck speed with a lack of grammar markers, impressing upon the reader a sense of visceral desperation and racing narratives. She writes so richly; pulling in references to revolutionary thinkers such as James Baldwin to root her book within community and collective emotion.
Marwa Helal (she/her) writes primarily about immigration and believes strongly in the power of a story. She passionately asserts the poet’s position in activist spaces in order to disrupt old ideas and introduce new ones. She has two other published works – Ante body, published in 2022, and a chapbook titled I AM MADE TO LEAVE I AM MADE TO RETURN, published in 2017. Her voice rings loud and clear; her writing being heard internationally from Harlem to Buenos Aires to Greece, and winning her many awards.
Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada
by Michelle Good
“It’s been more than five hundred years; Canada should know we aren’t going anywhere. Instead, we remain.”
Theo’s review:
Truth Telling is a masterclass in direct language. Good’s tone throughout the book is frank and unflinching, maintaining that for genuine reconciliation between Indigenous Nations and non-Indigenous folks in Canada, we must all first reckon with the truth of Canada’s violent history.
Good advocates fiercely for Indigenous rights and holds hope for Canada’s collective future. She implores that none of us allow Indigenous history or affirmations of Indigenous rights to exist only as words on a page. Rather, settlers have a duty to breathe life into documents such as the TRC Calls to Action and actively create and repair relations with Indigenous peoples and communities.
Truth Telling is a wake-up call to all Canadians engaging with truth and reconciliation as frameworks in which we pursue equity in Canada. Good reminds us that truth and reconciliation are separate notions and, while they should be held in equal respect, we must address the truth that Canada has buried for so long before we can move forward.
Michelle Good (she/her) is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, is a Cree lawyer and writer. She writes primarily about the experience of Indigenous people and nations in Canada, from both a fictional and nonfiction standpoint. Her body of work is widely acclaimed, and contains poems, short stories, and novels.
Or find it at ORL or purchase it from Mosaic books.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
“The land is our teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.”
Theo’s review:
Braiding Sweetgrass is a thematic collection of essays about what we can all learn from plant life that has been around long before humans, and why we must listen to all living things around us. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s collection of 22 essays guide readers through various plant teachings, artfully interwoven with stories of Indigenous joy and community. While the book does discuss heavier themes of anti–Indigenous sentiments, intergenerational trauma, and residential schools, Kimmere centers joy and celebrates learning in her storytelling. Her writing is both lively and gentle, drawing on personal narratives to create compelling stories about the meaning and intention of gifts; the importance of family traditions; and other invaluable lessons about living and learning from the land with compassion.
Robin Wall Kimmerer (she/her) is an Indigenous botanist and author living in New York who describes herself as ‘a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation.’ Alongside her work as an author, she is the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the State University of New York. Her work synthesizes Indigenous and Western forms of science, enhancing a holistic understanding of the natural world.
Or find it at ORL or purchase from Mosaic Books.
Rebent Sinner by Ivan Coyote
“I fell asleep that night wondering if I ever wrote a song about my hometown, would it be a love song, or maybe not?”
Theo’s review:
Rebent Sinner is a memoir that chronicles the author’s experiences as a young queer and trans person in Canada. This book is an ode to queer life, all of its joys and sorrows and every moment in between. While Ivan Coyote discusses their hardships and the hardships that the 2SLGBTQ+ community at large has faced, they also highlight moments of joy that have shaped who they are. Coyote is a powerhouse storyteller, with gently passionate prose that reads like a hug from an old and treasured friend. They perfectly encapsulate the tone of growing up in Canada and explore queerness and gender identity while underscoring the importance of family, community, and connection. This is my favorite book of all time, and I recommend it to everyone – particularly those who are looking to cry tears of joy and of sadness, fall in love with life again, and hope for a bright future.
Ivan Coyote (they/them) is a non-binary Canadian author who writes about their experience growing up in Canada as a young queer person. They started writing in 1998, and have 13 published works. In addition to being a writer, they are a performer of live shows, collaborating with other queer Canadian artists such as Clyde Petersen and Rae Spoon. No matter the subject at hand, Coyote prioritizes themes of identity, community, intersection, and love.
Or find it at the Okanagan Regional Library or purchase at Mosaic Books.
All About Love by bell hooks
“Those of us who have already chosen to embrace a love ethic… know that when we let our love shine, we draw to us and are drawn to other bearers of light.”
Theo’s review:
All About Love is about the power of deep love for one another to transform our world into one of connection and community. hooks details the different and necessary dimensions of love: justice, respect, living by a ‘love ethic’, and more. To explain why true and deep love is essential for us all, she draws on her own experiences and personal opinions, discussing abuse and mistreatment that may occur in relationships but focusing on our collective love and care for each other and our communities. Through her narrative, hooks establishes a hopeful future where we all engage with each other with deep respect, tolerance, and empathy. Her words are sure to resonate with anyone who deeply cares for their community and their loved ones.
bell hooks (she/her) is a trailblazer. She is an educator, author, and social critic. Her pen name, one may notice, is completely lowercase to shift the focus of her audience to her words instead of her person. Over her life, she published 40 works ranging from poetry to children’s books and complex essays. She writes about race, gender, and loving one another, and deeply considers intersectionality of different identities in her work.
Or find it at the Okanagan Regional Library, or Purchase at Mosaic Books.
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
“The ceaseless arguments about her…obscured, much more than they illuminated, the condition of Black women during slavery.”
Theo’s review:
Women Race and Class is an illuminating take on intersectional identities, both how they converge, and how they conflict. It details, specifically, how Black women were effectively silenced through racist and sexist systems of oppression that pervade our lives on national and individual levels.
Because of the heavier subject matter, there are some challenging sections about anti-Black violence during and after slavery, sexual assault, eugenics, as well as the inclusion of anti–Black slurs, particularly in chapters one and ten. Despite these challenging themes, Davis’ writing is compassionate and celebrates Black liberation and emancipation, while asserting her belief that we can all come together as community members who care for each other.
Throughout the book, Davis discusses many different activists and political events, using these pieces of American history as case studies of conflicting and converging identity. Davis makes sure to highlight strong Black female leaders, specifically in her chapter about Communist Women. Throughout her novel, one thing is clear: none of us are free until all of us are free.
Angela Davis (she/her) is a prominent American activist and community organizer. Her career includes experience as a professor at the University of California, prolific authorship on topics such as prisons and other forms of oppression, and a strong presence in revolutionary committees. She was a longtime member of the Communist and Black Panther Parties, and founded the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism.
Aside from her numerous books, talks, and other publications, a simple Google search of her name will reveal her incredible career and devotion to the causes she so firmly believes in. Notably, she appears on the faculty pages of many different organizations and universities. Her success, and love for her community, is well-documented.
Or purchase from Mosaic Books.
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
“Sometimes solidarity is just that simple. Step up, reach back, and keep pushing forward.”
Theo’s review:
This collection of 18 non-fiction essays are about education and housing crises affecting Black and Brown communities, fetishization of Black women, reproductive justice, and much more. Kendall deftly and empathetically discusses heavy topics, such as eating disorders, abuse, gun violence, and anti-Black violence. Kendall’s assertive and colorful prose is not only necessary in communicating the urgency of the issues she outlines, it is also a refreshing call to action for all of us to critically confront our biases and move towards an equitable future.
Readers are encouraged to critically engage with the text and reflect on how we all can deconstruct misogyny and misogynoir, which is the specific misogyny directed at Black women through Western society and media,while acknowledging and working within intersectional feminism and centering the wellbeing of our communities and our cultures. Despite these occasionally heavy themes, Kendall writes about brighter and better futures for Black and Brown women.
Mikki Kendall (she/her) has occupied many spaces and roles throughout her life and career. Alongside being an author and co-author, she has been a cultural commentator for NPR, BBC, Al Jazeera, and many more publications. Her current work is directly informed by her childhood in Hyde Park, Chicago, and she writes most prominently about media depictions on Black culture; perceptions of communities of color; and misogynoir. In 2017, she received the Best Food Essay Award from the Association of Food Journalists for her work titled ‘Hot Sauce in Her Bag: Southern Black identity, Beyoncé, Jim Crow, and the pleasure of well-seasoned food’.
Or find it at from the Okanagan Regional Library, or purchase from Mosaic Books.
Micro-Activism by Omkari L Williams
“What if an activist looks like you?”
Theo’s review:
Micro-Activism begins with an empowering message to its audience that we all have the capacity to engage in small and sustainable acts of activism. It presents digestible discourses of how to navigate activist spaces without feeling overwhelmed, how to practice self care, how to identify your passions, and so much more! The digestible and accessible nature of this guide is perfect for folks who are looking for ways to get involved in their communities and help uplift their peers, as well as folks who are heavily involved in activist work and are looking to avoid burnout. It is a perfect refresher for everyone that we are never alone in our fights for equity, and that together, we can achieve incredible things.
Omkari L Williams (she/her) is an educator and activist in many forms – a podcaster, an author, a speaker, and much more. Her other careers have included an actor and a political consultant. Her passion and inspiration comes from her father, who worked in international and humanitarian relief in the wake of natural disasters, teaching her community values and radical love. You can find her on Instagram @omkari_williams, and online at omkariwilliams.com. She hosts several resources on her website, and discusses her own experiences and expertise with grace, extending advice and support to the wider activist community.
Or Purchase Micro-Activism from Mosaic Books.
The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong
“Poor kid. Even when he becomes a grown-up, a success of sorts, he won’t ever be able to run away from his childhood.”
Theo’s review:
The Double Life of Benson Yu is a story about identity, family, trauma, and the consequences of choice. The novel follows Benson, a young boy living in Chinatown with his grandmother. When his grandmother dies, Benson’s life is dramatically and irrevocably changed as he interacts with those around him – specifically his neighbor, who takes Benson under his wing after his grandmother’s passing. There is another story being told in this double life, however – Benson in the future as an established adult. Eventually, both versions of Benson collide, and the older version of Benson has many opportunities to heal a younger version of himself. Chong paints a picture of family, Japanese and Chinese culture, and healing from past traumas in a way that allows audiences to relate to his characters and become enraptured with the subtle magic elements of time travel present within the story. While this story deals with themes of attempted sexual assault and murder, Chong is considerate of both his characters and his audience, treading lightly and ultimately rounding out his beautiful narrative.
Alongside being a celebrated author, Kevin Chong (he/him) is a professor of creative writing – he has previously taught at Simon Fraser University and UBC, and now teaches at UBCO! He writes a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with common themes of family, Asian culture, and Canadian history.
Or find it at the Okanagan Regional Library, or purchase at Mosaic Books.
Gender Euphoria by Laura Kate Dale
“Gender is a figment of consciousness, and I’m free to conceive of my role however I want.”
Theo’s review:
As explained in the introduction of this anthology, gender euphoria can be any experiences, actions, and presentations that makes one feel ‘elation, pride, confidence, freedom, and ecstasy’ within one’s gender, especially through various gender expressions. This book is a compilation of personal stories about experiencing and embracing gender euphoria and is a celebration of queer identity.
The stories, written by folks of many different gender identities, proudly present the many experiences that gender-diverse folks can have. It is a celebration of the narrators’ joy, and the stories invite the audience to feel the same! The creation process of the book was just as community oriented – it was published through Unbound, an innovative international crowdfunding publisher where community members can personally support their favorite publications.
Laura Kate Dale (she/her) is a transgender author and video game critic living in Britain. She has several publications including children’s books, non-fiction and biography, and anthologies. As a video game critic, she has written for Destructoid and Kotaku UK, regularly creates videos about accessibility and inclusion in video games, and cohosts the gaming podcast PodQuisition, where she and the other hosts discuss video games and video game news.
Or find it at the Okanagan Regional Library, or purchase at Mosaic Books.
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
“Sometimes you have to scare yourself to find yourself.”
Theo’s review:
Jonny Appleseed tells the story of a young queer Indigenous man living in Winnipeg. Through beautiful storytelling, Whitehead intersperses memories of his mother, his kokum – grandmother – and other members of his family while he navigates life in Winnipeg, learns of the death of his stepfather, and travels home for his funeral. Rather than following a linear narrative, the novel is written as one story. This stylistic choice truly imbues a special kind of literary magic into this book. Readers are thus able to travel through Jonny’s past and present and explore themes of grief, sex work, abuse, and substance use, parallelled with the compassion of fond childhood memories. The seamless style is strengthened through Whitehead’s reverent prose, leaving the reader with a simultaneously gentle and electrifying experience.
Joshua Whitehead (he/him) is an Ojibwe and Cree Two-Spirit storyteller, academic, and poet from Peguis First Nation on Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba. He primarily writes about Indigenous – specifically queer Indigenous – identity. As an author, he writes poetry and prose, having won the Governor General’s History Award for the Indigenous Arts and Stories Challenge in 2016. In 2018, his debut poetry collection full-metal indigiqueer was a finalist at the Indigenous Voices Awards. Jonny Appleseed is his debut novel.
Or find it at the Okanagan Regional Library, or purchase at Mosaic Books.
ORL at UBCO
Did you know that UBC Okanagan Library houses an Okanagan Regional Library branch? Anyone with an ORL library card can borrow from the ORL collection and put holds on books for pick-up.
Looking for a book that is not within the UBC Library collection? Let us know!