Immediately after the mass killings at Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, Social media exploded with attempts to make sense of the event. The Twitter hashtag #charlestonsyllabus quickly emerged as the central resource for help in learning how the tragedy fit into the tumultuous history of race relations - not only in the United States but globally. This reader collects some of the best writings to be recommended and debated using the Charleston Syllabus hashtag. Featuring a variety of texts such as songs and poems, historical documents, op-eds, and excerpts from books and journals, Charleston Syllabus is a tool for understanding the roots of American systemic racism, white privilege, the uses and abuses of the Confederate flag and its ideals, the black church as a foundation for civil rights activity, and much more.