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A review by neilrcoulter
How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby
5.0
After reading a number of books on the topic of race in the US, I had exactly the question Jemar Tisby writes about in How to Fight Racism: What do I do? I'm pretty familiar with the statistics and history proving the depths of racism in this country, but practical suggestions for moving forward in a good way tend to be scarce. As a white person who cares about race, I can sometimes feel like there's little I can do other than just stay out of the way and not be obnoxious. Tisby's writing fills this gap with a book that eschews another recitation of all the stats and instead suggests a framework for reflecting on our racial identities, and then recommends good ways to begin (or continue) to incorporate antiracism into our everyday lives.
The structure Tisby uses to guide this book is what he calls "the ARC of racial reconciliation": Awareness, Relationships, Commitment. Each of us is probably naturally drawn more to one of these areas than the others, but Tisby encourages us to intentionally spend time in all of them. Awareness is reading and learning about race issues; relationships involves seeking out friendships that take us out of the monocultural spheres that are easiest for us; and commitment is actively getting involved in social change for antiracism.
For me, my default area is definitely awareness; I could read all day long about any topic, and especially about race. It's the other two areas that Tisby challenged me the most. I'm in a phase of life where I barely have any friends at all—I love being with my family, and most of my time is spent at home with them, not out building other friendships—and most of my closest friends are white, and quite a lot like me. Tisby gave some good ideas for modifying that situation, and I'm already thinking through how I might broaden the scope of my friendships. For "commitment," I often feel that I have no influence to make any changes anywhere; mostly I sit in my house staring at my computer screen, editing other people's writing. Not very exciting or influential, though it suits me. Tisby's advice in the book is helpful, though figuring out what I should be doing in this area is still percolating in my thoughts. I'm not sure where it will end up, but I'm open to anything.
As the subtitle implies, the book is targeted particularly at Christians. But the jargon here is not too "insider-only," and because, as I mentioned, there are so few books that attempt to guide practical steps for antiracism, I think this book is worth anyone's time, not just Christians. But it is definitely recommended reading for all Christians and all churches. I hope churches, Sunday schools, and Bible studies will decide to read this book together and discuss how they'll respond to Tisby's encouragement.
How to Fight Racism assumes that the reader already knows the basics about racism in the US, so it's not the only book on the topic that a person should read. But pairing this with other books I've read recently, such as How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, or Reading While Black, by Esau McCaulley, is perfect.
The structure Tisby uses to guide this book is what he calls "the ARC of racial reconciliation": Awareness, Relationships, Commitment. Each of us is probably naturally drawn more to one of these areas than the others, but Tisby encourages us to intentionally spend time in all of them. Awareness is reading and learning about race issues; relationships involves seeking out friendships that take us out of the monocultural spheres that are easiest for us; and commitment is actively getting involved in social change for antiracism.
For me, my default area is definitely awareness; I could read all day long about any topic, and especially about race. It's the other two areas that Tisby challenged me the most. I'm in a phase of life where I barely have any friends at all—I love being with my family, and most of my time is spent at home with them, not out building other friendships—and most of my closest friends are white, and quite a lot like me. Tisby gave some good ideas for modifying that situation, and I'm already thinking through how I might broaden the scope of my friendships. For "commitment," I often feel that I have no influence to make any changes anywhere; mostly I sit in my house staring at my computer screen, editing other people's writing. Not very exciting or influential, though it suits me. Tisby's advice in the book is helpful, though figuring out what I should be doing in this area is still percolating in my thoughts. I'm not sure where it will end up, but I'm open to anything.
As the subtitle implies, the book is targeted particularly at Christians. But the jargon here is not too "insider-only," and because, as I mentioned, there are so few books that attempt to guide practical steps for antiracism, I think this book is worth anyone's time, not just Christians. But it is definitely recommended reading for all Christians and all churches. I hope churches, Sunday schools, and Bible studies will decide to read this book together and discuss how they'll respond to Tisby's encouragement.
How to Fight Racism assumes that the reader already knows the basics about racism in the US, so it's not the only book on the topic that a person should read. But pairing this with other books I've read recently, such as How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, or Reading While Black, by Esau McCaulley, is perfect.