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A review by bibliophage
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
“'I don't know what to do with what I've learned,' she said. 'I can't fix your pain, and I can't take it away, but I can see it. And I can work for the rest of my life to make sure your children don't have to experience the pain of racism.'
And then she said nine words that I've never forgotten: 'Doing nothing is no longer an option for me.'”
“But reconciliation is not about white feelings. It’s about diverting power and attention to the oppressed, toward the powerless. It’s not enough to dabble at diversity and inclusion while leaving the existing authority structure in place. Reconciliation demands more.”
📚📖📚
Brown's memoir is not just a reflection on her experiences of racial injustices, but it's a memoir of action––what she's done, what those around her have done, and what we can and should be doing. I loved this piece and I think it's one of the stronger antiracism reads that I have come across so far. Just as the individual stated in Brown's experience, after this piece and all the antiracism reading and study of the past year and a half, "doing nothing is no longer an option for me" either. I'm still learning, learning, learning, and I have a long way to go, but just attending events and webinars, and just reading books, is not enough. I must be active in dismantling the racial injustices in the larger structures I live and work in. I must be a stone catcher--as Bryan Stevenson describes in Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Thank you Austin Channing Brown for this excellent piece. PS For some reason this book is tagged as a teen read, and while accessible and a great read for teens, I'd say this is absolutely for adults too.
And then she said nine words that I've never forgotten: 'Doing nothing is no longer an option for me.'”
“But reconciliation is not about white feelings. It’s about diverting power and attention to the oppressed, toward the powerless. It’s not enough to dabble at diversity and inclusion while leaving the existing authority structure in place. Reconciliation demands more.”
📚📖📚
Brown's memoir is not just a reflection on her experiences of racial injustices, but it's a memoir of action––what she's done, what those around her have done, and what we can and should be doing. I loved this piece and I think it's one of the stronger antiracism reads that I have come across so far. Just as the individual stated in Brown's experience, after this piece and all the antiracism reading and study of the past year and a half, "doing nothing is no longer an option for me" either. I'm still learning, learning, learning, and I have a long way to go, but just attending events and webinars, and just reading books, is not enough. I must be active in dismantling the racial injustices in the larger structures I live and work in. I must be a stone catcher--as Bryan Stevenson describes in Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Thank you Austin Channing Brown for this excellent piece. PS For some reason this book is tagged as a teen read, and while accessible and a great read for teens, I'd say this is absolutely for adults too.