I know that it has been a long time but Must Read Mondays are back! Now that we are quarantined, I have time to listen to my audio-books. Also, I finally tried out Libby through the Monroe County Library system which is an application that you can access e-books and audio-books. I love the app and I wished that I would have used it sooner.
I picked up this book last year and I have been reading it on and off since I purchased it but I finally was able to finish it. The next book that I think that you must read is White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. This book gives me the language that I was looking for all my life. So many times when I brought up race in predominantly white spaces defensiveness, rudeness, and dismissive behaviors took center stage. Therefore, the real conversations on how white supremacy has damaged us all could not truly happen. I recommend this book to everyone, especially white people that are really ready to move in a better direction with Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
The book goes through this rehearsed behavior that many white people demonstrate when race comes up in conversation. In addition, the books goes through the coded language that many white people use instead of saying white or black. Furthermore, the mere fact that many white people can get their MBA, JD, Ph.D., or even their MD and never study racism or discuss racism is a sad reality. It is sad that most white people will not have meaningful relationships outside of their white world. DiAngelo even critics diversity courses she states, “ It is far more the norm for these courses and programs to use racially coded language such as “urban,” “inner city,” and “disadvantaged,” but rarely use “white” or “over- advantaged” or “privileged.” Another point that DiAngelo urges us to understand is these concepts below:
RACIST = BAD NOT RACIST = GOOD
Ignorant Progressive
Bigoted Educated
Prejudiced open-minded
Mean- spirited Well-intentioned
Old Young
Southern Northern
I appreciated her going through these concepts and letting us know that no white person is above the evil of white supremacy. Just know when you tell me that you are not racist that it does not make me feel better or put me at ease. When a person tells me this I know that they are above critique and above reproach therefore you are a dangerous person in my mind so I will set boundaries accordingly. Personally, I might not take criticism well at first but I do take the time to reflect on it and make the necessary adjustments. If I am not evolving then what am I doing with my life? I believe we all should have this mindset so that we won’t continue being harmful to others. One of my mantras is that the one constant in life is change. So either you are going to go with it or get left behind. I don’t want to be one of those folks left behind especially left in terrible, toxic thinking.
In conclusion, if you have a true desire to want to understand how white supremacy works and if you want to understand racism please read this book. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. I appreciate your time in reading my post!
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