Tag: race

Book Reviews, Bookworm Blogging

Mediocre [review]

Sarah

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Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
Published by Seal Press on December 1, 2020
my rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Goodreads avg: 4.46 (as of 2022-01-16)
Spoiler-free review

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The people who need to read this the most are those whose minds will be most closed to its message. That being said, I appreciated the macro-to-micro approach Oluo took with each chapter of this. She chose a topic, spoke about it on a broad scale, and shared individual instances of each. I learned SO much through this; from the storied history of football to the origins of the SATs. Oluo’s writing is conversational and easy to follow; this isn’t a dry history book by any means. I think its greatest downfall will be its lack of hand-holding — if you don’t already understand the downfalls of white supremacy to some extent, Oluo’s unapologetic and self-assured tone (fully warranted, by the way) is unlikely to convince you. Sadly, the truths in here will seem impossible to many, who will run away with their fingers in their ears finding it impossible to believe there could be this level systemic racism even though segregation just barely ended.

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Book Reviews, Bookworm Blogging

Surviving the White Gaze [review]

Sarah

This post contains affiliate links; if you use these links to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Thanks for reading!

Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll
Published by Simon Schuster on February 2, 2021
my rating: ★★★ ★ (4 stars)
Goodreads avg: 4.02 (as of 2020-04-06)
Spoiler-free review

Goodreads | Bookshop | Author’s Website

Rebecca Carroll is a very impressive writer and I found her memoir difficult to put down. As a white person from rural New Hampshire, the complete lack of diversity and the perpetual casual racism became very visible to me once I had moved to more urban areas and began to learn about race. Carroll, the only Black person in her town, didn’t have that luxury. She’s raised by two white adoptive parents and in late childhood meets her white birth mother; she doesn’t meet her Black father until well into adulthood. Her familial relationships are charged and her journey to form her identity is long and eventful. Overall, I found this incredibly powerful and compelling; my only complaint is that it feels a bit jumbled in certain areas and the timeline isn’t always clear. I think this is a really important read, particularly for those from primarily white areas and/or parents who have or plan to adopt a child of another race.

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Book Reviews, Bookworm Blogging

How to Be an Antiracist [review]

Sarah

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Published by One World on August 13, 2019
my rating: ★★★.5
Goodreads avg: 4.55 (as of 2020-06-27)
Spoiler-free review

Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America—but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.

In this book, Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism. How to Be an Antiracist is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society.

Goodreads | IndieBound | Author’s Website

The problem of race has always been at its core the problem of power, not the problem of immorality or ignorance.

This book is part memoir, part instruction manual for how to be antiracist, as the title states. The personalized pieces of Kendi’s life help to provide context for the concepts he shares and demonstrates how racism functions in the lived world.

As a White person, there was a lot for me to learn here. While I was familiar with some of the concepts and histories, others were new to me. The experiences Kendi had as well as his internal struggle as a Black man were obviously things I could not relate to and were often things I was not aware of. It was helpful to have this all shown to me so I could better understand what Black people in the US have been dealing with for years.

My only complaint was that it could get pretty repetitive at times. I understand repetition can be helpful in learning new ideas, but it felt more like filler in some parts. I think shortening it a bit, or expanding more on his personal experiences, could have made it a more engaging read and more accessible for some folks. I did also disagree with his assertion that Black people can be racist against White people, but also acknowledge it’s not really my place to speak. I still definitely recommend this and am quite excited to pick up Stamped from the Beginning sometime soon.

I am a White woman and my review is written through that lens. If you are an ownvoices reviewer who would like your review linked here, please let me know!

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Book Reviews, Bookworm Blogging

The End of Policing [review]

Sarah

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale
Published by Verso on October 10, 2017
my rating: ★★★★
Goodreads avg: 4.25 (as of 2020-06-14)
Spoiler-free review

Goodreads | IndieBound | Author’s Website

PSA: The ebook version of this is currently FREE on the publisher’s website and can be delivered in multiple formats!

A kinder, gentler, and more diverse war on the poor is still a war on the poor.

this is a really great primer on criticisms of the police as well as alternatives. the book has 10 parts and covers topics such as the school-to-prison pipeline, race, homelessness, sex work, and the war on drugs. it was really helpful to see such a breadth of topics laid out, as it is clear that the current policing system fails many people within our society and in a plethora of ways. it’s certainly more of an introduction and i was left wanting further information, but i think in that way the book accomplishes what it’s set out to do. i definitely recommend it to those who are interested in the current discussion of police reform/abolition and are not sure where to start.

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