Books

These foundational texts provide historical context on the ideologies and systems that challenge modern democracy today, from the legacy of eugenics to the history of resistance.

Foundations of Democracy & Resistance

Chain of Ideas: the Origins of Our Authoritarian Age

by Ibram X. Kendi (2026)

Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics

by Adam Rutherford (2023)

Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy

by Jonathan Rauch (2025)

Hitler's American Model: The United States & the Making of Nazi Race Law

by James Q Whitman (2017)

Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech & Our Fight for an Independent Future

by Anita Say Chan (2025)

Sand and Blood: America's Stealth War on the Mexico Border

by John Carlos Frey (2019)

The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border

by Francisco Cantú (2018)

We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance

by Kellie Carter Jackson (2024)

Books for Children and Caregivers

A curated collection of books for children and caregivers to help navigate difficult conversations and community trauma.

Coping in the Aftermath of a Tragedy

by Hennepin County Library Staff