This is a challenging but very necessary and beneficial read. All of us need to be working toward anti-racism. Education and awareness about the ways in which we fall into racist, white supremacist traps is the first step. This book provides that education and the space to explore one’s own mistakes and ignorance, to identify the propaganda, lies and habits they have been taught. This book also brings awareness to the BIPOC community about what they are facing in their own interactions with people who have been raised in white supremacist societies.
Layla explains terms such as: white privilege, white fragility, white silence, white exceptionalism, white apathy, white centering, white saviorism, tone policing, racist stereotypes, anti-blackness, optical allyship, tokenism, color-blindness and why all these things present problems to our communities and relationships with BIPOC. It is important that people who are white, like myself, take the time to ponder white supremacy within their own personal lives, the lives of their relatives and friends, their work places, hospitals, grocery stores, churches, and the broader community. We will be re-identifying these issues for the rest of our lives. Anti-racism work is lifelong. When we are not being actively anti-racist, we fall right back into white supremacist racism.
I appreciated the definitions and examples provided in this book. My husband and I discussed our answers, our challenges, our failings, and we are implementing change. We acknowledge that we will fail again and that we will be working toward anti-racism for the rest of our lives.
I highly recommend reading and re-reading this book as part of your journey to become or continue being actively anti-racist.
