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185 reviews for:
How to Be Less Stupid about Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide
Crystal M. Fleming
4.36 AVERAGE
185 reviews for:
How to Be Less Stupid about Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide
Crystal M. Fleming
4.36 AVERAGE
This was the first anti-racist book I read to start to educate myself on the racial injustices in our society. It was hard for me to get into at first because it was written in a way a textbook might be, but once it got into the modern reality and the history behind it, it became easier to follow. This book really helped me realize that no matter how hard (white) people try to pretend racism isn’t in our world, it has been built for us to succeed, and for people of different races to fail for centuries.
The biggest takeaways I got from this book is that no amount of studying is going to give you the experience of the negative effects of white supremacy, but it is important to know they exist and how to recognize them and address them. I also learned that everyone plays their own part in addressing it and how that role can change over time. Finally I got uncomfortable thinking about how things in my life have helped play into this white supremacist society we live in and how ignorant I was to not see it or acknowledge it.
The biggest takeaways I got from this book is that no amount of studying is going to give you the experience of the negative effects of white supremacy, but it is important to know they exist and how to recognize them and address them. I also learned that everyone plays their own part in addressing it and how that role can change over time. Finally I got uncomfortable thinking about how things in my life have helped play into this white supremacist society we live in and how ignorant I was to not see it or acknowledge it.
challenging
funny
informative
fast-paced
It’s not personal: everyone is stupid about race. We exist in structures of white supremacy like fish live in water, and the hard work to become aware of it all around us never ends. The goal each day is to get less stupid about race than I was the day before. Reading this book turned out to be the most aggressive deconstruction of my stupidity to date. I was wrong about so much! I was angry about the wrong things. I admired the wrong people. I sought the wrong solutions. And I was so, so smug about being a progressive liberal. As painful as it is to get knocked off the pedestal I didn’t realize I was on, I am deeply thankful for the course correction. I’ve got a lot to think about.
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia
This is one of the best books on race that I’ve read this year. Everyone should read it with an open mind, and be ready to learn.
A stellar, important, fascinating, sobering, necessary read.
I took copious notes and am now revisiting those and trying to really cement these concepts and ideas so that I can learn, recognize, call out, take action, and see this systemic racism and my inherent privilege within. My duty to learn and then take action.
V good read.
I took copious notes and am now revisiting those and trying to really cement these concepts and ideas so that I can learn, recognize, call out, take action, and see this systemic racism and my inherent privilege within. My duty to learn and then take action.
V good read.
informative
medium-paced
Very good, I thought it would be a sort of introduction to racism based on the title, but it was a lot more comprehensive than I expected and I learned some new things.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
I don’t feel qualified to offer much comment on this book. But know this - it is another important entry into the growing field of literature aimed at naming and dismantling systemic racism. However, be aware that this title is more academic in flavor and may not be as accessible to the average reader (at least without a dictionary).