Yet again, a U.S. election has left me, a liberal white woman, feeling a sense of shock, in realization that I don't know the people around me. I'm not well-enough rooted in my communities, thus permitting the exists of echo-chambers to exist around me.

As a result, and as inspired by this IG post from @jnaydaily, I've decided to focus more on community building, joining existing efforts, and even just being more present outside of my house. As a neurodivergent, anxious woman who has lived a fairly isolated life, it's kind of scary to step out and commit to meeting more people. Relationships are confusing. But, there are lots of people, especially Black women and LGBTQ+ activists, who have written with the goal of helping others find community, so I'm creating this challenge as a place where we can find books to read that help us take next steps.

I specifically intend for this challenge to contain books that are antiracist, LGBTQ+ affirming, intersectionally feminist, anti-colonialist, and accessibility-focused. Obviously, no one book is going to be a perfect fit, and some books can have nuggets of great advice while being not so great in other ways. These are the intentions of the group, however, and I hope people joining this challenge will align with those intentions as well.

I've set the challenge goal of 24 books to read over the span of the two next year - one per month, between now and the U.S.'s 2026 election day. But also, feel free to just use this list as a running list of books other like-minded people think would be helpful in exploring this topic. I've taken a first pass at adding books for this challenge. They may or may not be the best, but I wanted to provide a starting point. Please add more!

I encourage participants in this challenge to connect with each other via Buddy Reads! So far, I've participated in multiple Buddy Reads with internet strangers, and it's been pretty fun, so I hope to do it more!

All in all, please remember to not lose hope and to keep pushing forward. We can create wonderfully supportive communities, even in the darkest of places.

"Let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion stars, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service. And may that work guide us even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America." - Kamala Harris

Now let's just figure out how to do just that...