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BOOKS & QUOTES

Words have the power to heal, bridge divides, and ignite change. The authors, activists, and thinkers featured here have transformed their experiences with racism and discrimination into tools for understanding, hope, and transformation. Their insights remind us that while the journey toward justice is complex, it begins with the courage to listen, learn, and act with compassion. These carefully curated books and quotes offer both mirrors to reflect our own growth and windows into experiences that can expand our empathy and commitment to creating a more equitable world for all.

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01

Poles Apart: Why We Turn Against Each Other and How We Come Together

Poles Apart explores the shaping force of our genetic make-up on our fundamental views and the nature of the influences that family, friends and peers exert. The book pinpoints the economic and political triggers that tip people from healthy disagreement to dangerous hostility, and the part played by social media in spreading entrenched opinions. And it helps us to understand why outlooks that can seem so bizarre and extreme to us seem so eminently sensible to those who hold them.

Why do people become divided? What steps can we all take to reduce hostility and bring about understanding?

Check out this webinar with the creators of the acclaimed Changed My Mind podcast as we find out why people turn against each other, and how to bring them together. It's eye-opening.


NOTE: There's a musical intro that lasts slightly over a minute.

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Humans are social animals.
We seek out like-minded individuals and form groups based on common interests and identity. But in clustering with ‘people like us,’ we tend to shun ‘people not like us’ and become hostile and polarized. Why does this happen? And can it be reversed? 

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On December 6 2021, Intelligence Squared brought together an expert on polarization, a behavioural scientist and a professional communicator to explain why we are so prone to be drawn into rival, often deeply antagonistic, factions. Drawing from their new book Poles Apart, they explored whether ‘tribalism’ is in our genetic make-up and how other factors such as friends and family influence our behaviour. They also pinpointed the economic and political triggers that tip people from healthy disagreement to dangerous hostility, and the part played by social media in spreading entrenched opinions. 

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Racism is not about intent; it is about the result of a behaviour no matter how innocent the intention.

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s acclaimed Racism without Racists documents how, beneath our contemporary conversation about race, there lies a full-blown arsenal of arguments, phrases, and stories that whites use to account for—and ultimately justify—racial inequalities.

 

The sixth edition of this provocative book includes new material on systemic racism and how color-blind racism framed many issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. A revised conclusion addresses what readers can do to confront racism—both personally and on a larger structural level.

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New to this edition:

  • New Chapter 2, “What is Systemic Racism? Coming to Terms with How Racism Shapes ‘All’ Whites (and Non-Whites)” explains how all members of society participate in structural racism.

  • New Chapter 10, “Color-Blind Racism in Pandemic Times” provides coverage of racial disparities in mortality, the role of essential workers, and hunger during the pandemic – particularly how public discourse did not reflect how these problems are worse for communities of color.

  • Updated discussion of police surveillance and violence reflects the current salience of police brutality in the U.S. and enhances the conversation on suave racial discrimination (Chapter 3).

  • Addresses the question, “What is to be done?” and offers White people ideas on what they can do to change themselves (Chapter 11).

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01

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' that led to this book.

Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

"The debate on racism is a game to some and I don’t want to play."
– Reni Eddo-Lodge

 

In June 2020, as the murder of George Floyd and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement reverberated around the world, one book stood out as a way to make sense of the moment. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge became a lightning rod for a national conversation about racial inequality and why we need a better understanding of Black history.  

 

Eddo-Lodge said her desire for the book was not to give a prescription for what to do next but to provide the tools for people to think critically about racism and challenge it around them. Originally published in 2017, the book has won countless awards and sold over one million copies. Now Eddo-Lodge is back with an updated edition reflecting on events of the past few years. Has society gone ‘woke’? Is antiracism being hijacked by the culture wars? And how do we make sense of the racial reckoning of 2020 and the backlash against it? 

 

In this live London event filmed in July 2022, award winning journalist, podcaster and author Reni Eddo-Lodge came to Intelligence Squared in conversation with Gary Younge to reflect on the public conversation around race in the five years since she wrote the multi award winning bestseller Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

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LEARN MORE
Ibram X. Kendi vs. America’s “Antiracism Backlash”

He rocketed to national attention during the BLM movement—then endured a storm of criticism. The author and professor debates America’s choice between democracy and dictatorship.

Ibram X. Kendi's concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America--but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. In How to be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.

In this book, Kendi weaves together an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism.

How to Be an Antiracist is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society.

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“Kendi dissects why in a society where so few people consider themselves to be racist the divisions and inequalities of racism remain so prevalent. How to Be an Antiracist punctures the myths of a post-racial America, examining what racism really is—and what we should do about it.”
- Time

“Ibram Kendi is today’s visionary in the enduring struggle for racial justice. In this personal and revelatory new work, he yet again holds up a transformative lens, challenging both mainstream and antiracist orthodoxy. He illuminates the foundations of racism in revolutionary new ways, and I am consistently challenged and inspired by his analysis. How to Be an Antiracist offers us a necessary and critical way forward.”
- Robin DiAngelo, New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility

Some other reading recommendations to help you understand the matter at hand: 

Books featured elsewhere on this site: 


In the THOUGHTS Section:

  • ANTHRO VISION: How Anthropology Can Explain Business and Life
    By GILLIAN TETT

  • INDIVISIBLE: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future
    By DENISE HAMILTON

  • WHITE FRAGILITY: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
    By ROBIN DIANGELO

In the IDEAS TO DO BETTER Section:

  • ANTI-RACIST ALLY: An Introduction to Activism and Action
    By SOPHIE WILLIAMS

In the PODCASTS & VIDEOS Section:

  • Conversations With People Who Hate Me:
    12 Things I Learned From Talking to Internet Strangers
    By DYLAN MARRON

  • The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power
    By DESMOND COLE

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
    By EMMANUEL ACHO

  • Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You'd Rather Cancel
    By LORETTA J. ROSS

  • Superior: The Return of Race Science
    By ANGELA SAINI

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See also: 

How do we prepare white children to become effective allies in the fight against racial injustice?

Raising children in a racially stratified society presents unique challenges that begin early in development and profoundly shape how white children understand themselves and their place in the world. Raising White Kids provides practical, age-appropriate guidance for parents navigating these complex conversations and decisions.
 

The Challenge

White families face difficult questions with no easy answers:

  • Should we teach children to be "colorblind" or to actively notice race?

  • How do we acknowledge white privilege without creating shame or guilt?

  • What tools do children need to address racism when they encounter it?

  • How can we prepare them to thrive in—and contribute to—a diverse society?
     

A Much-Needed Resource

While extensive research and discussion focus on how racism affects children of color, resources addressing the racial development of white children remain scarce. This book fills that critical gap, offering evidence-based strategies for raising children who can engage thoughtfully and constructively with issues of race and justice.

 

Raising White Kids tackles these sensitive topics with nuance, providing parents, educators, and caregivers with the tools they need to guide honest, age-appropriate conversations about race, privilege, and social responsibility.


Essential reading for parents, teachers, and anyone committed to raising the next generation of informed, compassionate citizens.

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See also

Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America

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An Anti-Racism Conversation For All of Us
A community guide to discussing Jennifer Harvey's Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America

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Dr. Jennifer Harvey is a frequent speaker. We have posted one of her talks and resources for hosting a community conversation on anti-racism here. 

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Desmond Cole

Canadian journalist, activist, author, 
and broadcaster

"Racism is not about people's intentions. Racism is about the impact and the hurt of their actions. Intentions do not matter. And that's a hard one for people, because they cling to being good as a way of saying "I'm not a racist." I don't care if you're racist. I care if you're hurting me."

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Barbara Jordan

An American lawyer, educator and politician who was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement

"We must insist that what we have in common is more important than what divides us. Our ability to remedy racial injustice depends on it."

Joseph Losavio

A specialist on cities, infrastructure, and urban services at the World Economic Forum.

"Demanding an end to racism, and a remedy for its legacy, is not just morally correct but a boost to economic development. Continuing to deny the existence of racism, and refusing to confront it, will lead to a less vibrant, less cohesive, less prosperous world."
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Ibram X. Kendi rose to international prominence with his groundbreaking book How To Be an Antiracist, which transformed conversations about racial justice upon its publication in 2019.


On July 4, 2022, Kendi took the Intelligence Squared stage for an exclusive discussion of his latest work, How To Raise an Antiracist.

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How do we discuss racism with our children?
How do we guide them toward antiracist thinking?
How do children at different developmental stages understand race?
What impact do racist structures have on young people?
How can we empower our children to transcend our limitations and create a more just world?


These were the very questions Kendi found himself reluctant to confront as he awaited his first child's birth. Like many parents and expectant parents, he initially wanted to shield his daughter from discussions of racism—fearing such conversations would compromise her innocence and diminish her happiness. However, Kendi argues the opposite:
only by educating children about racism's realities and race's constructed nature from an early age can we truly safeguard their well-being and preserve their joy.

 

Drawing from a century of scientific research alongside his own powerful personal narrative, he makes a compelling case for this counterintuitive approach.

See also

Harvard psychologists have been studying what it takes to raise 'good' kids. Here are 6 tips.

By S. SETHURAMAN 

​

One of the tips is:

Show your kids the bigger picture

"Almost all children empathize with and care about a small circle of families and friends," said the researchers. While it may feel natural to care for those around you, it's important to care about people who are socially, culturally and even geographically outside their circles. Exposure through travel, meeting new people and embracing new cultures can help widen their worldview and do away with prejudices that may have taken form. Parents can also show examples of people exhibiting empathy and kindness in the news and entertainment, to emphasize the importance of being kind to others. "Raising a caring, respectful, ethical child is and always has been hard work. But it's something all of us can do. And no work is more important or ultimately more rewarding," reads the study.

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Antiracist Baby introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism, providing the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age

 

Dr. Kendi's children’s book, written in rhyme, offers nine steps, including seeing skin color, celebrating differences and growing up to be an antiracist. “Parents use books to teach about love or kindness or to potty train. Why not do the same for teaching our kids to be anti-racist,” Dr. Kendi said. He notes that people who are uncomfortable talking about race often come from homes where it wasn’t a topic of conversation.

 

“Our parents didn’t want to talk to us about it in a controlled constructive environment,” he said. “We didn’t even learn to start having these conversations because we’d already been trained by our parents that this was something you don’t talk about. There’s a cycle.”

Rooting out racism in children's books

Resources for children and young people: 

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Children's Booklist

The Conscious Kid is an education, research and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity and bias.

Rudine Sims Bishop uses "Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors" as an analogy to discuss the importance of diversity in books and the authors who write them. We need books in which children can see reflections of themselves – but also look through and see other worlds.

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See also: 

Celebrating diverse authors and storytellers

The FOLD

The Festival of Literary Diversity is Canada’s first festival for diverse authors and storytellers, held in historic downtown Brampton. The FOLD provides one-of-a-kind events for kids and adults that engage readers, inspire writers, and empower educators by highlighting important and underrepresented voices.

Juliana Hafner

“Give yourself time to get to know who lives next door to you. Give yourself time to listen to their stories and to open your heart.

It’s time to recognize the humanity within ourselves and learn from it.”

Unknown

"When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."

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Morgan Freeman

"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man."

Why does the media think we need to know everyone’s, race, religion or sexuality anyway?

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“Residential schools will always be the sorrow in Canada’s bones.”

  • Richard Van Camp


Five Little Indians tells the story of five friends who survive a church-run residential school to which they refer as Indian School or Mission School. While Michelle Good uses actual place names, in most cases in the novel, such as Port McNeil and Vancouver, B.C., the location of the Indian School isn’t given.

 

Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention.

Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission.

Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job—through fishing grounds, orchards and logging camps—trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share together. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew.

With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward.

The
Next Chapter
with Shelagh Rogers

Michelle Good's Five Little Indians is a look at the legacy and trauma of Canada's residential school system

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CBC Radio's Shelagh Rogers talks to Michelle Good about this must-read book.

COMMENT

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For me, this book made clear the genesis of the inter-generational trauma, as well as the tremendously debilitating and enduring repercussions of the residential school system that so many Indigenous people are suffering. The interconnected stories of the five main characters succinctly and powerfully bring to light the kind of long-term impacts that years of abuse, dislocation and disconnection can have and why it will take generations to overcome.   

"All beings have an inherent right to not just survive – but thrive – without the burdens of oppressive systems, structures and beliefs."

From 

Reclamation Ventures

Creating is investing in the future of wellbeing

"Racial equity is at the core of our collective wellbeing –
and without addressing and dismantling its persistence in society, we cannot fully heal."

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"The voices of those most marginalized must be centered in the movement towards justice."
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, achieved immediate success and has since become a cornerstone of modern American literature, winning the Pulitzer Prize. Widely taught in American middle schools and high schools, the novel presents universal truths that continue to resonate across generations.

 

Lee drew inspiration from her childhood in Monroeville, Alabama, basing the plot and characters on her observations of family, neighbours, and a pivotal event that occurred in her hometown in 1936, when she was ten years old.

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Despite confronting the grave issues of rape and racial inequality, the novel is celebrated for its remarkable balance of warmth and humor. Lee masterfully weaves together two narrative threads: a young girl's coming-of-age journey and a penetrating examination of racism and prejudice in the American South.

 

The story explores how good and evil can coexist within a single community—and even within individual hearts. Through Scout Finch's eyes, readers witness both the capacity for cruelty and the potential for moral courage that define the human experience.

 

Scout's Moral Education

Scout's growth centers on two fundamental lessons:

  1. Empathy over judgment: Learning to resist condemning others based on unfounded assumptions or prejudice

  2. Moral perseverance: Understanding how to maintain one's values even when they are challenged, sometimes violently, by the surrounding world

Enduring Wisdom

The novel's lasting impact stems from its profound insights into human nature and moral courage:

 

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view …
Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

 

“I wanted you to see what real courage is ...
It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

 

"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."

 

"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

 

"Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of another ...There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world, they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results."

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These passages illuminate Lee's central concerns:
the importance of empathy, the nature of true courage, the dangers of confirmation bias, the supremacy of individual conscience, and the misuse of religious authority.
Together, they form a moral framework that continues to challenge and inspire readers more than six decades after publication.

Kasari Govender
BC human rights commissioner

“If we don’t base our policies and decision-making on the real facts,
we risk implementing policies that are based on stereotype and bias.
And that’s how systemic discrimination perpetuates itself.”

Ram Dass

American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer

"You can act to oppose something because it creates suffering. You can become an instrument of that which relieves suffering."

Ram Dass often spoke about compassionate action and the paradox of suffering. He believed that while opposing actions that create suffering is necessary, it should be done with an open heart and without judgment. He emphasized that even when setting boundaries or stopping harmful behavior, it's important to recognize the shared humanity in both the person causing harm and the one experiencing it.

Ram Dass's teachings encourage us to act from a place of understanding and compassion, rather than righteousness or anger. This approach not only addresses the immediate issue but also fosters deeper connections and healing.

Wayne Dyer
American self-help author and motivational speaker

"Judgments prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances."

“Waking Up White is the book I wish someone had handed me decades ago. My hope is that by sharing my sometimes cringe-worthy struggle to understand racism and racial tensions, I offer a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, manners, and tolerance. As I unpack my own long-held beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person, and wanting to help people of color, I reveal how each of these well-intentioned mindsets actually perpetuated my ill-conceived ideas about race. 

 

I hope it will give you or someone you know new insights into how racism works and why you (or white people you know) can get so anxious when it comes to talking about race and racism. Writing the book was not only my way to reach out to other white people confused and/or curious about racism, it was like writing a five-year-long journal entry in an effort to make sense of all I learned and experienced in my research."

​- DEBBY IRVING

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See also Phillipe SHOCK Mathews' interview
with Debbie Irving at

https://youtu.be/YL43HqvB4yY

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From one of Canada’s most successful business leaders, the founder of the BlackNorth Initiative and the newest and first Black Dragon in the Dragon’s Den comes a rags-to-riches story that also carries a profound message of hope and transformation.

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Wes Hall's journey began in a zinc-roofed shack in Jamaica, where he was one of several children raised by his grandmother. That relative paradise ended when he went to live with his verbally abusive and violent mother. At thirteen, she threw him out, forcing him to survive on his wits for the next three years. At sixteen, Wes came to Canada, sponsored by a father he had barely known, and by eighteen, he was once again on his own.

 

Despite these early hardships, Wes Hall rose to become a major entrepreneur, business leader, philanthropist, and change-maker. Starting in a law firm mailroom, he climbed his way up through intelligence, curiosity, and an exceptional ability to recognize opportunities others missed.

 

When others expected his thick Jamaican accent, lack of money and formal education—not to mention the color of his skin—to limit his future, Wes refused to be stopped. He continues to overturn expectations today. Fully aware of the racism, injustice, and systemic barriers he faced, Wes maintained an unshakeable belief in his ability to succeed against all odds.

 

His story reveals how he fostered that resolve, exploring both his challenging childhood and the pivotal successes and failures of his career. More than a personal triumph, this is a blueprint for how he not only survived and thrived but dedicated himself to lifting his family and community with him.

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Now, with the founding of the BlackNorth Initiative, Wes takes aim at ending systemic anti-Black racism—a monumental goal he's pursuing with heart, intelligence, and every connection forged during an extraordinary career that has placed him at the center of the Canadian establishment. Throughout his life, he has resisted despair and refused to be consumed by anger. Now, he's ready to speak truth to power and pave a path forward for others to follow.

The
Current
with Matt Galloway

Wes Hall faced racism as he climbed the corporate ladder.
He wants to make sure others don't have to.

Hall remembers a colleague saying
'In spite of the fact that Wes is Black, he's doing well'

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A powerful story of resilience and overcoming

 

Wes Hall was raised by his grandmother in a tin-roof shack in Saint Thomas, Jamaica, before moving to Canada as a teenager and working to become one of the country’s most successful corporate leaders. He tells the story in his new memoir, No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot: My Rise from a Jamaican Plantation Shack to the Boardrooms of Bay Street.

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CBC Radio's Matt Galloway talks to Wes Hall about his amazing story.

The Book

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How does an affluent, middle-class, private-school-attending son of a doctor end up at the Aryan Nations compound in Idaho, falling in with and then recruiting for some of the most notorious neo-Nazi groups in Canada and the United States?

The Cure for Hate paints a very human picture of a young man who craved attention, acceptance, and approval and the dark place he would go to get it. Tony McAleer found an outlet for his teenage rage in the street violence of the skinhead scene. He then grew deeply involved in the White Aryan Resistance (WAR), rising through the ranks to become a leader, and embraced technology and the budding internet to bring white nationalist propaganda into the digital age. After fifteen years in the movement, it was the outpouring of love he felt at the birth of his children that inspired him to start questioning his hateful beliefs. Thus began the spiritual journey of personal transformation that enabled him to disengage from the highest levels of the white power movement.

This incisive book breaks commonly held stereotypes and delivers valuable insights into how regular people are drawn to violent extremism, how the ideology takes hold, and the best ways to help someone leave hate behind. In his candid and introspective memoir, Tony shares his perspective gleaned from over a thousand hours of therapy, group work, and facilitating change in others that reveals the deeper psychological causes behind racism.

 

At a period in history when instances of racial violence are on the upswing, The Cure for Hate demonstrates that in a society frighteningly divided by hate and in need of healing, perhaps atonement, forgiveness, and most importantly, radical compassion is the cure.

Tony McAleer: From Hate to Healing

Introduction: The Power of Hate and Transformation

Hate is a powerful emotional response that can easily escalate to violence. Tony McAleer's remarkable journey from white supremacist leader to advocate for healing offers profound insights into the nature of extremism and the possibility of redemption. Born into an affluent Vancouver family, McAleer's life trajectory led him to join some of the most notorious neo-Nazi groups in Canada and the United States before undergoing a complete transformation.
 

The Book: "The Cure for Hate"

McAleer's memoir, "The Cure for Hate," provides an intimate look inside his life story, chronicling his descent into extremism and eventual path to redemption. The book serves as both personal testimony and educational resource, exploring the psychological and social factors that drive individuals toward hate groups.
 

Media and Public Engagement

Conversations That Matter

The Morris J. Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University featured McAleer in their Conversations That Matter series, where he discussed his mission to help people leave hate groups. As one of the founders of Life After Hate, McAleer shared insights about the process of deradicalization and the work of helping others escape extremist movements.

Standing in a Synagogue: Seeking Forgiveness

In a powerful moment of reconciliation, McAleer appeared on stage with the rabbi of Temple Sholom in Vancouver during the Jewish high holidays—a period of reflection and repentance. This appearance, documented in the Deseret News article "He was a neo-Nazi leader. Now he's standing in a synagogue seeking one thing from his Jewish audience," demonstrates his commitment to making amends for his past actions.

Core Insights: Understanding the Roots of Hate

McAleer's work reveals that hate exhibited by individuals is often symptomatic of deeper underlying issues, including:

  • A failure to be seen and accepted

  • Unmet needs for belonging and significance

  • The universal human desire to be loved and valued

This recognition of hate as a symptom rather than a root cause may be the key to positive change and deradicalization efforts.

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The Film

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Educational Resources & Social Impact

The Cure for Hate website offers extensive educational materials through its official website and partnerships:


Distribution & Materials:

  • Available through the Media Education Foundation for Social Studies curricula

  • Features Q&A screenings with Tony McAleer, who speaks internationally on white supremacist movements

  • Includes study guides and discussion materials for educational institutions, community organizations, law enforcement, and government agencies


Educational Applications: The film serves as a teaching tool covering:

  • Psychology of radicalization and deradicalization

  • Historical parallels between 1930s fascism and contemporary extremism

  • Holocaust education and pathways out of hate groups


Academic reviewers have praised it as "an important and timely film that deftly demonstrates the importance of history and memory in countering radicalization."

The Documentary: "The Cure for Hate: Bearing Witness to Auschwitz" (2023)


Overview

This documentary film follows McAleer, a former skinhead and Holocaust denier, on his profound journey to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Poland. The film captures his personal journey of atonement and reconciliation with his dark past.

Key Elements

  • Teshuvah Journey: McAleer travels to Auschwitz in the spirit of teshuvah (Hebrew for repentance/return)

  • Bearing Witness: The film documents his confrontation with the horror of the Holocaust

  • Personal Encounters: Includes footage of his time with an Auschwitz guide who had lost family members in the Holocaust

  • Historical Context: Explores the conditions that allowed fascism to rise in 1930s Europe

  • Educational Purpose: Serves as both cautionary tale and educational resource about extremism
     

Themes and Impact

The documentary examines:

  • The journey from violent extremism to "radical compassion"

  • How people become involved in extremist groups

  • Pathways out of violent extremism

  • The importance of history and memory in countering radicalization

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Legacy and Mission

Tony McAleer's transformation from hate group leader to advocate for healing represents one of the most dramatic personal redemption stories of our time. Through Life After Hate, his speaking engagements, writings, and documentary work, he continues to:

  • Help individuals leave extremist groups

  • Educate communities about the roots of radicalization

  • Promote understanding and reconciliation

  • Demonstrate that even the most deeply entrenched hatred can be overcome

His story serves as both warning and hope—showing how ordinary people can be drawn into extremism while also proving that redemption and healing are possible through courage, accountability, and compassion.

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In this deeply inspiring book, Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi recount their experiences talking to people from all walks of life about race and identity on a cross-country tour of America. Spurred by the realization that they had nearly completed high school without hearing any substantive discussion about racism in school, the two young women deferred college admission for a year to collect first-person accounts of how racism plays out in this country every day--and often in unexpected ways.

In Tell Me Who You Are, Guo and Vulchi reveal the lines that separate us based on race or other perceived differences and how telling our stories--and listening deeply to the stories of others--are the first and most crucial steps we can take towards negating racial inequity in our culture. Featuring interviews with over 150 Americans accompanied by their photographs, this intimate toolkit also offers a deep examination of the seeds of racism and strategies for effecting change.

This groundbreaking book will inspire readers to join Guo and Vulchi in imagining an America in which we can fully understand and appreciate who we are.

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Challenging Racist British Columbia
150 Years and Counting

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This illustrated booklet examines 150 years of racist policies that have affected Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in British Columbia since the province joined Canada.
Co-published by the CCPA-BC Office, it connects historical racism and resistance movements to today's anti-racist advocacy.

 

This comprehensive resource supports anti-racist educators, teachers, scholars, policymakers, and community organizers working to break the silence that has allowed racism to flourish in our communities, corporations, and institutions.

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The project includes three complementary components:

  1. the booklet,

  2. a three-part video series, and

  3. an enhanced digital edition (EDE) designed specifically for educators.

The EDE offers an interactive online experience featuring the complete text, a dedicated "Teachers' Corner" webpage, and extensive learning materials including primary source documents, community resources, and classroom activities.

The book isn't just about the history of the province, but about ongoing systemic racism and how we can rethink where we've come from, and where we want to go in terms of racial equality.

On March 21st 2021, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC Office and the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre and the Museum of Migration Society co-hosted the launch of Challenging Racist "British Columbia": 150 Years and Counting.

 

All seven authors – Nicholas XEMŦOLTW̱ Claxton, Denise Fong, Fran Morrison, Christine O’Bonsawin, Maryka Omatsu, John Price and Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra – and the illustrator John Endo Greenaway were present to share how they hoped the illustrated resource will be used by educators and activists interested in doing anti-racist work. The discussion was moderated by PCHC Director, Dr. Carol Liao.

 

This free and open access publication examines the historical thread of racism and how it connects to the racism that is ongoing. Individuals, educators, and policymakers can use this to amplify the diversity of voices and experiences in our movement and pathway forward.

 

This book will be further developed into an interactive online resource.
Download the booklet for free here: http://challengeracistbc.ca/

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