By Lynn Parliman, Head of Serials and Electronic Resources and Luisa Porretta, Electronic and Continuing Resources Librarian

President Joseph M. McShane, S.J. eloquently addressed the Fordham community last June and again after the most recent mass shooting denouncing “xenophobic and racist thinking.” Shortly after George Floyd’s egregious killing last year, Fordham quickly responded by adopting an action plan to build a stronger infrastructure within the University that enhances the focus on “educating for justice.”

This plan puts forth initiatives to develop anti-racist pedagogy and practice by teaching race issues, racism, inequality, diversity, and social injustice across disciplines. You can read the entire Fordham 2020 Action Plan to Address Racism and Embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.

Gale Ebooks Race & Social Injustice Collection

The Fordham Libraries are equally committed to helping educate the entire Fordham community in this critical area. In addition to the Black Life in America database, we have recently purchased a varied collection of ebooks to support this educational and mission-critical initiative.

The Gale Ebooks Race and Social Injustice Collection includes a multidisciplinary focus on race and social justice, encompassing subject areas in race and ethnic relations, anthropology, politics, journalism, ethnic and women’s studies, Black studies, and policing. This collection can be found on the Library Databases homepage, in the G Alpha Tab, and the Ebook Collections Tab.

These ebooks have unlimited simultaneous user limits, making them perfect for class assignments.

Below is a sample of ebooks available in the collection:

• Racism in America: A Reference Handbook
  • Provides readers with a background and history of race in America; a thorough treatment of the problems, controversies, and solutions related to race; a perspectives section including essays from experts in a variety of related fields; profiles of important people and organizations; and a section dedicated to data and documents.
• Environmental Racism in the United States and Canada: Seeking Justice and Sustainability
  • From Flint, Michigan, to Standing Rock, North Dakota, minorities have found themselves losing the battle for clean resources and a healthy environment. This book provides a modern history of such environmental injustices in the United States and Canada, using numerous case studies from the 19th century into the present day.
• Hispanic Women/Latina Leaders Overcoming Barriers in Higher Education
  • Though the percentage of Hispanics in universities continues to grow, few Hispanic women advance into leadership positions. Therefore, the voices and experiences of those that have overcome these barriers in higher education are pivotal stories to be told. Ranging from the perceptions of these women’s journeys to leadership, to an understanding of the barriers they encounter, to the question of their access to the resources they need, each factor is a critical component to understanding Hispanic women/Latinas in the higher education atmosphere. This book explores the recruitment, promotion, retention process, and the barriers and resilience needed for Hispanic women/Latinas in higher education leadership roles.

• Reporting on Race in a Digital Era
  • Veteran journalist and media scholar Carolyn Nielsen analyzes how the first two decades of this century produced new models for journalists to explore the complexity of racism, amplify the voices of lived experience, and understand their audiences. Using critical analysis of news coverage and interviews with reporters who cover racial issues, the book shows how new models of journalism break with legacy journalism’s conceptions of objectivity, expertise, and news judgment to provide a deeper understanding of systems of power. 
• Race and Ethnic Relations on Campus: Understanding, Empowerment, and Solutions for College Students
  • Esteemed African American professor Eric J. Bailey breaks the uneasy silence to respond to growing concern from undergraduate students and confronts commonplace race relations issues directly. Presents brand-new race and ethnic relations solution strategies for college students and universities in the United States that will empower today’s college students to take charge and start to effect change.
• Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival
  • The encyclopedia investigates the history, social structure, and culture of indigenous peoples from all corners of the world, including their geography and environment; politics; society, culture, and tradition; access to health care and education; and threats to survival.

Fordham Libraries own many other ebook titles that focus on race and social injustice. If you need help, our Reference Librarians are available 24/7 via the Ask a Librarian chat service.