While reflecting on the killing of George Floyd, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Dean Michelle Williams decided to read Toni Morrison’s “The Origin of Others,” a book of essays based on Morrison’s Norton lectures.
Williams was among nine faculty members featured in a June 15, 2020 Harvard Gazette article discussing the books they recommend for those wanting to learn more about systemic racism, white privilege, and the legacy of slavery in the U.S.
Morrison’s book “examines the persistence of racism, bigotry, and intolerance in a world where we still have to demonstrate that … black lives matter,” said Williams.
She also recommended Carol Anderson’s “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.”
Read the Harvard Gazette article: A reading list on issues of race