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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
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
A brilliant, affirming, clear, and concise primer on antiracism.
Notes: I wouldn't equate being bullied for wearing 'ridiculous' Pentecostal garb with Islamophobic aggression, nor imply that headscarves represent nothing but religious oppression. Crystal also seems to have a grudge against the idea of an immigrant work ethic as if it's a dominant paradigm that erases the hard work of others?
Also: This is Dr. Fleming's critique of Ta-Nehisi Coates' work. In her own work I admire that she's humbly open about her path of continuous learning, that she's started a conscious process of decolonising her scholarship, that she walks the walk and is ready to adjust her ideas with expanded information, and—she doesn't pull any punches.
Notes: I wouldn't equate being bullied for wearing 'ridiculous' Pentecostal garb with Islamophobic aggression, nor imply that headscarves represent nothing but religious oppression. Crystal also seems to have a grudge against the idea of an immigrant work ethic as if it's a dominant paradigm that erases the hard work of others?
Also: This is Dr. Fleming's critique of Ta-Nehisi Coates' work. In her own work I admire that she's humbly open about her path of continuous learning, that she's started a conscious process of decolonising her scholarship, that she walks the walk and is ready to adjust her ideas with expanded information, and—she doesn't pull any punches.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Fleming's book is remarkable. It is honest, open, and accessible. She does such an incredible job layering in her personal experience with research, literature and other works, as well as the experiences of others. My list of people and events to research has grown, and I'm grateful for it. Fleming's voice shines through in every paragraph, and it is a welcomed sound.
“First: white supremacy is, most fundamentally, a system of power designed to channel material resources to people socially defined as white. Second: white supremacy is not just neo-Nazis and white nationalism. It’s also the way our society has come to be structured, such that political, economic, and other forms of capital are predominately maintained by elite whites.”
Fleming made me angry while I was reading this book. I was really ticked because she has a lot of negative things to say about Barak Obama. I don’t believe that Obama’s presidential terms created a post-racial United States, but I really like him and was glad that he was President. Once I caught my breath and read carefully what Fleming says in her chapter about racial stupidity in the Obama era, I realized that she has a point and that I need to listen.
I admit that I want my presidents, Kennedy, Carter, Clinton and Obama to be without blemish. If you push me, I will admit that the first three have had lots of problems. In my head, I know that Obama was not perfect, but my heart hasn’t given up on him. Probably because number 45 is so bad as a president.
Because Fleming has no idols, because she is willing to call things as she sees them even if it goes against popular opinion and because she is an excellent writer who knows how to use the data before her, more people should read this book. There is a desire to read anti-racist materials right now. (May white people stick with this long after the election in November.) My local library has waiting lists for the titles by Kendi, DiAngelo, Anderson and Oluo, but the two copies they own of Fleming’s incredible book are sitting on the shelves.
Fleming has hard things to say as do all the other popular anti-racist authors. She wants us to admit that our society has made us stupid about race. That there is a group of people that white supremacy benefits and until we take those white privileges away, they will keep trying to keep us stupid. We should pay attention to Fleming. I will be watching to see what she does next. I suspect it will be as challenging as this book and as necessary.
Fleming made me angry while I was reading this book. I was really ticked because she has a lot of negative things to say about Barak Obama. I don’t believe that Obama’s presidential terms created a post-racial United States, but I really like him and was glad that he was President. Once I caught my breath and read carefully what Fleming says in her chapter about racial stupidity in the Obama era, I realized that she has a point and that I need to listen.
I admit that I want my presidents, Kennedy, Carter, Clinton and Obama to be without blemish. If you push me, I will admit that the first three have had lots of problems. In my head, I know that Obama was not perfect, but my heart hasn’t given up on him. Probably because number 45 is so bad as a president.
Because Fleming has no idols, because she is willing to call things as she sees them even if it goes against popular opinion and because she is an excellent writer who knows how to use the data before her, more people should read this book. There is a desire to read anti-racist materials right now. (May white people stick with this long after the election in November.) My local library has waiting lists for the titles by Kendi, DiAngelo, Anderson and Oluo, but the two copies they own of Fleming’s incredible book are sitting on the shelves.
Fleming has hard things to say as do all the other popular anti-racist authors. She wants us to admit that our society has made us stupid about race. That there is a group of people that white supremacy benefits and until we take those white privileges away, they will keep trying to keep us stupid. We should pay attention to Fleming. I will be watching to see what she does next. I suspect it will be as challenging as this book and as necessary.
Dr. Fleming is witty and brilliant. The work of being anti-racist is tough but the book is highly accessible.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced