It has taken me all month, but I think I’ve created a simple and powerful reading list for Black History Month.

As February comes to a close, let’s take a look at some of the books people passed on to me about race reporting.

The Race Beat (Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff) –Roberts and Klibanoff tell an amazing collection of stories that paint a broad picture of how journalism changed the face of the U.S. during the civil rights movement. However, I suggest you take notes as you read. There are a lot of people mentioned in the book and it can get confusing.

The Authentic Voice: The best reporting on race and ethnicity (Arlene Notoro Morgan, Alice Irene Pifer and Keith Woods) – The Authentic Voice is actually a textbook, but is a great tool for journalists who want to create culturally sensitive articles. One great feature about this book, besides the companion DVD, is that it can apply to all cultures. The book includes some of the best articles and reports from various media on race and ethnicity.

Race: How blacks & whites think & feel about the American obsession (Studs Terkel) – A professor passed this book onto me as she was packing up her office last year. The book was nothing like I expected, because it is conversations with ordinary Americans about their views on race. While the book is almost 20 years old, I can’t imagine the thoughts have changed much. You can also listen to Terkel’s interviews at StudsTerkel.org.

Obviously this is not an extensive list, but I want to encourage you all to add your own suggestions to the comments section.

I hope you take some time as we move on from Black History Month to pick up a book. You may not just improve your reporting. You may also become more culturally sensitive in your daily lives, too.

February is only 10 days away, which means Black History Month is only 10 days away, too.

We would be remiss if we didn’t use this time to help educate and inform people, especially our campus members, about race reporting.

There have been many wonderful books and articles published on this topic, and February would be a perfect time to share some of them on our blog.

Please send us the title and author of any books or articles that you think would be a valuable resource for our readers. Feel free to include some information on why you liked the piece and why others will find it useful.

You can email the information to me at aseaman@spj.org.