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meredith_summers's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
katyjean81's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Important, valuable read. I’d love to see an update.
madamegeneva's review against another edition
4.0
I need to make more of an effort to read books by women of colour - Deepa Iyer was enthralling to read.
thoughtsfromtheafro's review against another edition
5.0
A must read for black and brown people within (or who want to become a part of) "the movement." There is a lot of talk about intersectionality between black, Arab, and Asian communities - of which more is needed. The topic of "model minority" status is just as important when discussing institutional racism and upholding white supremacy.
sunvts's review
4.0
at times a bit TOO ~academic~~ but otherwise a really great, thoughtful meditation/book of advice on racial activism and solidarity as our country ages. i especially appreciated the bits for asian american communities on anti-blackness, not focusing on solely east asian narratives, and resisting both the 'model minority' myth and the lure/lie of whiteness.
theeolian's review
Such a good book, but so dense. So many stats, etc. would be a great resource if I was doing research, but I couldn’t finish it for a bit of light reading lol
willande123's review
4.0
Activist Deepa Iyer has written a book that will inspire South Asian, Sikh, Arab, and Muslim (or brown for short) Americans to fight for racial justice and a more tolerant United States. Iyer presents the current trends of brown activism in America and proposes her vision for our increasingly multiracial society.
After 9/11, Muslim Americans were profiled and placed under constant government surveillance. They were subjected to sudden deportation and pervasive Islamophobia and xenophobia. Hate crimes against Muslim Americans, as well as non-Muslim Americans who "looked Muslim enough," spiked in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and were spurred by right-wing politicians who wanted to capitalize on the entrenched anti-Muslim atmosphere. The post-9/11 situation, as Iyer methodically details, has made life difficult for millions of brown Americans.
It's impossible to read Iyer's work without relating it to the current depressing political climate in the United States, dominated by Donald Trump's xenophobic, racist demagoguery. Reading about the physical and mental abuse that brown Americans have suffered throughout American history has made me even more worried about the consequences of Trumpism and its violent ideology. If that man is elected (God forbid), the activists will have to kick into overdrive to protect brown Americans' basic human rights.
Iyer rejects the characterization of brown Americans as a "model minority." Claiming that brown Americans as a singular category enjoy a relatively high status on the American racial hierarchy's scale from white to black is too simplistic. This categorization neglects to address the socio-economic, linguistic, and religious diversity that explains the vibrancy of America's brown communities.
Iyer's call to build cross-racial alliances to combat white supremacy is necessary, and with this work she is calling attention to a subset of Americans that are often ignored as a race, even if they are treated that way by society. For example, until very recently I had not known that Arab Americans were encouraged to put "white" as their race on government forms. As one young Muslim activist eloquently stated, she has never felt white, and instead identifies as a person of color. The racial and religious discrimination she has faced has made it clear that she can never be accepted as "white" by mainstream white society. Iyer emphasizes racial, religious, class, etc. intersectionality as the key to effecting real change in 21st century America. Her "race plus" approach will empower activists to think outside of their identity groups and find new allies to evolve their causes.
While We Too Sing America is not the most beautifully written book and sometimes lacks clear organization, Iyer's passion and expertise is desperately needed to retool the current struggle for racial equality towards a more inclusive, and therefore more effective, fight.
After 9/11, Muslim Americans were profiled and placed under constant government surveillance. They were subjected to sudden deportation and pervasive Islamophobia and xenophobia. Hate crimes against Muslim Americans, as well as non-Muslim Americans who "looked Muslim enough," spiked in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and were spurred by right-wing politicians who wanted to capitalize on the entrenched anti-Muslim atmosphere. The post-9/11 situation, as Iyer methodically details, has made life difficult for millions of brown Americans.
It's impossible to read Iyer's work without relating it to the current depressing political climate in the United States, dominated by Donald Trump's xenophobic, racist demagoguery. Reading about the physical and mental abuse that brown Americans have suffered throughout American history has made me even more worried about the consequences of Trumpism and its violent ideology. If that man is elected (God forbid), the activists will have to kick into overdrive to protect brown Americans' basic human rights.
Iyer rejects the characterization of brown Americans as a "model minority." Claiming that brown Americans as a singular category enjoy a relatively high status on the American racial hierarchy's scale from white to black is too simplistic. This categorization neglects to address the socio-economic, linguistic, and religious diversity that explains the vibrancy of America's brown communities.
Iyer's call to build cross-racial alliances to combat white supremacy is necessary, and with this work she is calling attention to a subset of Americans that are often ignored as a race, even if they are treated that way by society. For example, until very recently I had not known that Arab Americans were encouraged to put "white" as their race on government forms. As one young Muslim activist eloquently stated, she has never felt white, and instead identifies as a person of color. The racial and religious discrimination she has faced has made it clear that she can never be accepted as "white" by mainstream white society. Iyer emphasizes racial, religious, class, etc. intersectionality as the key to effecting real change in 21st century America. Her "race plus" approach will empower activists to think outside of their identity groups and find new allies to evolve their causes.
While We Too Sing America is not the most beautifully written book and sometimes lacks clear organization, Iyer's passion and expertise is desperately needed to retool the current struggle for racial equality towards a more inclusive, and therefore more effective, fight.