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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
This is a book I feel like everyone should be reading in today's world.
Probably very interesting I just never ended up finishing it
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
I recommend reading the edition that has the 50th anniversary afterword.
There was a lot to be desired about how Griffin went about his experiment, but how things unfolded afterwards, as well as the afterword which detailed Griffin's life and career in equality movements. really put it in perspective.
There are ideas in this this book that feel painfully backwards, and yet aspects of it are alive and thriving today. What he wrote about how racism lives under a thin veneer of tolerance is dishearteningly accurate.
There was a lot to be desired about how Griffin went about his experiment, but how things unfolded afterwards, as well as the afterword which detailed Griffin's life and career in equality movements. really put it in perspective.
There are ideas in this this book that feel painfully backwards, and yet aspects of it are alive and thriving today. What he wrote about how racism lives under a thin veneer of tolerance is dishearteningly accurate.
This book is seriously a life-changer. It gives an authentic perspective of attitudes amidst segregation in America. It helped me see how far we've come.
challenging
medium-paced
I've learned to read books about race by only BIPOC authors. However, the last book I read about race by a BIPOC author had this one on their list of further reading. I didn't know what it was about, but was disappointed it was written by a white man - until I started reading it, and I was floored. This book had me scared, worried, jubilant, relieved, reflective, depressed, sick... all the feels, as was intended. I took copious notes (here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-5cxdFF9QiIrDiSBqwSNtuSNnkeQGcEldVlvgp0WRjU/edit?usp=sharing), and it's still not enough. So many things were reiterated here as in the other books I've been reading on in order to be a better ally or advocate for BIPOC. I'm glad this book sold so many copies, and I'm angered that it took a white man to say what the black man HAD ALREADY BEEN SAYING in order to be heard by white readers.
I have know about this book since high school, but I doubt that I would have understood it as completely as I do now, decades later. It should be part of every American History class and it saddens me that over 50 years later racism is still alive and well in this land of freedom.
I think it’s interesting that this book is still so divisive. This man literally took the advice to “walk a mile in another man’s shoes,” and people disregard that and look at too many other aspects of the issue of racism to appreciate the fact that he lived up to the maxim that few are willing to do. No white person will ever truly understand what black people have dealt with and deal with continuously. They see injustice and want to relate and help but are afraid to engage. There is a disconnection at play because white people know that they can never experience what the author experienced, but, through this book, they can live an experience in the safety of their own homes.
Many white people are immobilized by the fear that their attempt to try to be vulnerable and empathize will be met with hostility or rejection by black and white people alike. So, these types of experiences are what white people crave because it does validate their ideas that racism is still an issue, and they want to engage but have no idea how to. This book acts as a bridge, as limited as it may be, and invites connection.
It is totally fair to say that this book is limited because it absolutely is, but there is a reason for its praise. It was brave for him to do what he did. Black people who live and see racism daily have to learn how to survive. That bravery, unfortunately, is born out of necessity. The author’s bravery stems out of the fact that he did something unprecedented, unorthodox, and unnecessary. But he did it as a means to discover a fraction of the truth. A truth that white people will never fully understand, but there are many that truly, deeply want to do something about it.
The epilogue of this book speaks volumes. It outlines so many of the issues that many people bring up in this experience. The author understands how limited his project was, but that does not deter him from continuing to fight the good fight, so to speak. People say that it isn’t enough, but no one person can bring about the change of an entire society. He, however, did attempt to bring us all closer together. We should not disregard that but, instead, should bolster it by continuing to seek out more of these types of connective experiences. You cannot bring about change by discussion alone. Connections must be made between peoples. The author allows for a connection to be made, and that is significant. It is true that it is not enough, but change comes about by far more than what only one person can do.
Many white people are immobilized by the fear that their attempt to try to be vulnerable and empathize will be met with hostility or rejection by black and white people alike. So, these types of experiences are what white people crave because it does validate their ideas that racism is still an issue, and they want to engage but have no idea how to. This book acts as a bridge, as limited as it may be, and invites connection.
It is totally fair to say that this book is limited because it absolutely is, but there is a reason for its praise. It was brave for him to do what he did. Black people who live and see racism daily have to learn how to survive. That bravery, unfortunately, is born out of necessity. The author’s bravery stems out of the fact that he did something unprecedented, unorthodox, and unnecessary. But he did it as a means to discover a fraction of the truth. A truth that white people will never fully understand, but there are many that truly, deeply want to do something about it.
The epilogue of this book speaks volumes. It outlines so many of the issues that many people bring up in this experience. The author understands how limited his project was, but that does not deter him from continuing to fight the good fight, so to speak. People say that it isn’t enough, but no one person can bring about the change of an entire society. He, however, did attempt to bring us all closer together. We should not disregard that but, instead, should bolster it by continuing to seek out more of these types of connective experiences. You cannot bring about change by discussion alone. Connections must be made between peoples. The author allows for a connection to be made, and that is significant. It is true that it is not enough, but change comes about by far more than what only one person can do.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced