Play Book Tag discussion

A masterful book about racism and Antiracism. I liked this more than White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.

How to Be an Antiracists covers many aspects of race and society and shows how the opposite of racist is not not racist but instead is antiracist. And Kendi shows how from moment to moment we can shift from antiracist to racist and back. He shows how nuanced changes in your view can change your from racist or even not racist to antiracists.

Kendi uses his own examples in life and his own journey of progression from holding racist ideas to becoming an antiracist. Many of his journeys match or are similar to my own.

The major things I took away from this books
1) The different in perspective of looking at different topics that change you from not racist to antiracist.
2) Kendi needed help from other to see these differences. He needed guidance and correction from being racist against white people and people of color on his journey to antiracist. We all need help and guidance and direction also, like Kendi is providing.
3) Becoming anticracist is long journey that never stops. Are you better today than you were yesterday?

I totally agree with you. I liked that he shared his own journey. I also really like how he explains that it’s not about feeling bad, or good. And it’s not about being perfect. The analogy I thought of is with marriage. I committed to love my husband. Sometimes I realize that something I did or said wasn’t matching that commitment. I don’t decide I am a horrible person, or that this love thing is just too much work. I acknowledge what happened, apologize if needed, and recommit. But I don’t promise I will never ever do anything unloving again. I am human and will continue to mess up at times. Similarly, I will continue to do or say some things that support current stereotypes or structures but I will try to recognize and be responsible for them.