Working Towards Ending Racism

  Dorothy Roberts’ KILLING THE BLACK BODY:   Race Reproduction and the Meaning of Liberty is a deep, challenging, excellent book, particularly for white men (and secondarily for white women).    For me it taps into the denial which I go into (thankfully less and less frequently over time) as a privileged white man, where racism, sexism and homo/lesbian/trans phobias don’t penetrate me deeply and I relax, seemingly oblivious to what others face in their daily lives. But the movement   to expand women’s reproductive options was marked by racism from its very inception in the early part of this century (note: 20 th century) .   The spread of contraception to American women hinged partly on its appeal to eugenicists bent on curtailing the birthrates of the “unfit” including Negroes.   For several decades, peaking in the 1970’s, government-sponsored family planning programs not only encouraged Black women to use birth control but coerced them into being...

Shelly Tochluk and Christine Saxman in BEING WHITE TODAY: A Roadmap for a Positive Antiracist Life have written an excellent “basics” book for a wide variety of white people who care about racism, as well as for others who aren’t “there” yet!    (As the author’s explain at the beginning of the book, the book may be useful for People of Color primarily where they work with white people on racism related issues.)   The book personalizes our (their) personal journeys (as white people), as well as providing pointed examples of what we, as white people, go through becoming deeply Anti-Racist, or finding the far simpler path of accepting racism. “ I’m so sick of this school making me feel guilty for being White.   I’m ready to join the alt-right and I’m Jewish” …   I take a deep breath prompted by the gasp.   I move closer.   “Tell me more about the school making you feel guilty” (p.1) “ We have successfully frozen their brand - ‘critical race theory’ -...