Click here to listen on your device and subscribe!
Welcome to The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, Christy Kirk, and special guest Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland! In this episode, we make a shift from our typical content.
There has been so much pain and distress in our world around the racial inequalities in our society. So in this episode, let’s think about how we, as individuals, whether authors or readers, can support POC voices and bring their books and thought leadership to life as we all seek to create a better, more equal world.
During this episode, we talk about how authors and readers can support POC book marketing efforts, how we can bring attention to their books and platforms, and how we can learn from their important perspectives.
Our guest, Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland, works in the digital marketing department at Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Berrett-Koehler is an independent publisher with the mission of connecting people and ideas to create a world that works for all. A key element in doing so is through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Berrett-Koehler has many titles from authors of color that work with organizations and individuals to do the deep work of examining bias, inequality, and how to make more inclusive communities and organizations.
- A resource to help you examine your own biases is Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships across Differences by Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman.
- The next step after examining your personal biases is addressing individual and interpersonal biases. Erasing Institutional Bias: How to Create Systemic Change for Organizational Inclusion by Tiffany Jana and Ashley Diaz Mejias scales up the framework to impact systemic change in organizations.
- A useful book on building a sustainable culture of inclusion is Diversity Beyond Lip Service: A Coaching Guide for Challenging Bias by La’Wana Harris.
- The most difficult change is societal change. A great resource on how to close the racial wealth gap with philanthropy as a tool is Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance by Edgar Villanueva. This book denounces the reproduction of systems of oppression while also advocating for an orientation towards justice to open the floodgates for a rising tide that lifts all boats.
Along with these great books listed above from authors of color, Berrett-Koehler offers a resource guide that lists their entire library of books related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), with a majority of the books written from POC. This resource guide gives you all of the books you may need to start or deepen your DEI journey.
“Berrett-Koehler truly believes there should be a book for every goal. There should be a solution to every problem, and that’s especially true with DEI.” – Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland
Today’s action steps to help us think about how we can bring attention to important and diverse voices in our world:
- Buy or share a DEI book. If you have never read one of these books, we encourage you to use Berrett-Koehler’s resource guide and begin your own DEI journey today.
- Follow diverse thought-leaders. We encourage you to seek out and follow authors in the DEI space, including Dr. Tiffany Jana and La’Wana Harris.
Watch the webinar we mentioned in today’s episode here. During this webinar, author Dr. Tiffany Jana talks about creating a culture of belonging and fostering inclusivity in an age of remote working. You can follow Tiffany Jana on Twitter here and LinkedIn here.
Click here to tweet about this episode!
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.