So, here's the thing. This book wasn't bad. Not at all. It just didn't have an enormous, eye-opening impact on me like So You Want to Talk About RaceSo, here's the thing. This book wasn't bad. Not at all. It just didn't have an enormous, eye-opening impact on me like So You Want to Talk About Race did.
I learned a few new things, mostly statistics but I wasn't completely shooketh. I did enjoy DiAngelo's personal stories about her own experiences with white fragility and I honestly wish there had been more of them.
I appreciate that DiAngelo confronts the "good/bad binary" or the idea that only bad people are racist and racist people are bad when that simply isn't true.
I do want to note that this book, overall, had more of an informative tone. As the The New Yorker said, this book was more diagnostic and didn't really provide solutions.
Overall, this book was informative and although it wasn't hugely eye-opening for me personally, I highly recommend giving it a chance.
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Review to come
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For a little more info on why I'm reading this, please visit this review
yes, that's kind of a self plug but to be completely honest, I don't want to copy-paste the 5+ paragraph explaination here.
The following is partly a review but mostly a discussion of racism and privilege because, yes, I'd like to talk about race:
Am I racist?
This questiThe following is partly a review but mostly a discussion of racism and privilege because, yes, I'd like to talk about race:
Am I racist?
This question hit me as I was sitting on my phone scrolling Instagram. Around the end of May 2020, George Floyd's death took the world by storm. Within hours, my feed was filled with #BlackLivesMatter and black screens. I got a message saying "[Removed for privacy] tagged you in a story". Said story was a story chain where someone tags a few other people and each of those people tag people and so on. The story said #blacklivesmatter and tagged a few people, me included, who "you know won't break the chain". I reposted the story but immediately thought this isn't right.
There was a nasty feeling in the pit of my gut. It was guilt and a little bit of confusion. You see, reposting a story and tagging more people... feels disingenuous, to me. This isn't a comment on reposting in general. I personally enjoy being tagged in bookish bingos, Q&A's, etc. In this case, though, I felt like I wanted to post something more than a reposted story chain but then the deluge of posts came. Soon, there were so many posts in my feed and I still hadn't posted anything. And then Kosoko Jackson posted this.
I was even more confused. That couldn't be fair, right? I was frustrated but I was afraid to say anything because what if I said something wrong? And then it occurred to me. I don't know much about racism and that was a huge problem. And so, I picked up this book.
This book, aside from being well-written and emotional, gave me a lot of perspective that I hadn't previously had and was truly eye-opening.
This book made me realize and confront the fact that I often forget to check and appreciate my privilege. I also realized that, whenever the topic of racism and white supremacy is brought up, I often get defensive. I would think "okay, but..." or I would make it about myself which is crazy because it's not about me. It's uncomfortable to face one's flaws. We all, deep down, want to tell ourselves that we have no biases or advantages. But we can't keep hiding.
This is why I read this book and this is why I am going to read more books like it. I need to face the fact that I do have privilege and advantage over people of color simply because I'm white which sucks. I need to hear these voices and learn their stories so that I can have empathy. I need to learn what I, as a white person, can do to help.
The author did an excellent job explaining her story and explaining things that are hurtful and how to avoid further hurt. She explained why these things hurt. I found most of the points within this book very helpful because, to put it simply, I am not a person of color and I never will be so the next best thing I can do is listen. And that's why I am here.
I have listened and I will keep listening. I am going to strive to do my very best to face my flaws, privilege, and implicit biases. It's going to be uncomfortable and it may sting but it's needed. I'm going to make mistakes but I am going to acknowledge them and keep going. I am going to strive to do my level best to help destroy these systems of hatred while being open and kind to all involved.
This is not the end of my journey. Reading this book has not made me instantly woke. I am going to hear new voices and learn new things, all the while doing my best to open, honest, and kind.
Tl;dr - this book gave me an eye-opening new perspective on people of color and the lives they live and the racism they have to face on a daily basis. This book was also, basically, a handbook on what I am currently doing that may be hurtful and what I can do to stop. It is worth a read if you want to learn more about race, racism, or if you've ever asked the question Am I racist?
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