Being White Today - A Tremendous Book!
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’ - into the public conversation and are
steadily driving up negative perceptions,” wrote Rufo, a senior fellow at the
Manhattan institute… (p.8)
Saxman and Tochluk provide
excellent to-the-point examples of how racism has strong support among plenty
of white people. There are most visibly
those on the right appealing to our doubts, and those of us who take in their
messages easily.
Professor Janet Helms’ 1990 model
of white racial identity development is much of the authors’ path for us
as white people. Shelly Tochluk and
Christine Saxman delve deeply into the practical sides of it through “Ryan”,
a young white man, and others, they’ve “created”, to illustrate what we go
through, related to racism in our lives.
Much of the antiracist
messaging on social media highlighting systemic racism makes little sense to
White people in “Contact”because of their belief that bigotry is an individual’s
problem. (p.39)
To help Tyler consider
why people suggest that White people as a group are racist (without him
becoming defensive), Alex can offer personal stories. (p.42)
This book emphasizes our need to really
seriously listen to others we hope to help grow, and help them develop curiosity
that goes well beyond the pointed messaging of the radical-right’s appeals to
their fears. In each chapter the authors
ask us to reflect on both ourselves, and those we may be trying to reach.
“Do you ever notice that when you
talk about your students of color, you sound like you believe you’re the only
White person who can teach them?”
My pulse quickens as my
Black mentor asks me to self-reflect. I
Christine (note: one of the book’s authors), am in the false confidence of Pseudo-Independence. (p.142)
In “Pseudo-Independence”
while we now have a solid understanding of systemic racism and recognize that
we are part of the White group we still resist perceiving racism within
ourselves.
(p.143)
Being White Today strongly opposes the simplistic notion that we can become
strongly Anti-Racist, through simply reading a few excellent books. Being solely reflective, helps keep our
racist country continue on as it has for over 400 years. Doing our personal work usually necessitates
working with white allies, recognizing the lifelong process of the work, and accepting
and perhaps even embracing the discomfort we will be in at times.
There is no simple linear - path of
gaining knowledge in our journey. We
must recognize the complexities we face, learning and appreciating “Both /And
Thinking”, rather than “either/or”. Our
own doubts, and the doubts of those we engage with, can be confusing.
Through this book we learn that
listening to Black People, and other People of Color is often challenging. Also challenging is our important work of
deeply hearing other white people.
While we may develop the capacity to hear the words: “white people are
racist”, without getting defensive, it can still be challenging to hear
misplaced generalities, and nuanced perspectives that may conflict with our
life experiences.
As people in “Autonomy”
work to dismantle whiteness many speak as though systemic whiteness and White
identity are the same. The problem is
that most White people do not understand the nuance. Most who hear “be less White” or “abolish
whiteness” interpret it as meaning that it is not okay to be a person born with
light skin …” (p.210)
This book provides numerous references
to the writings of others, giving opportunities for the reader to deepen their
knowledge in many ways. The book is “crisper”
than Shelly Tochluk’s earlier Witnessing Whiteness…, most likely helping
some readers stay at the heart of the issues.
The quotes of life experiences of both authors helps personalize them
and helps me feel a deeper connection to their life experiences.
The “weaknesses”, if any, of the
book relate to what isn’t said/covered in the writing. Such additions probably would have made the
book much longer and not as clearly focused.
While I would not expect a “Marxist
Analysis” - there is relatively little focus on how class is manipulated
by wealthy interests, intersecting with right-wing ideology and practice.
There is no discussion, whatsoever,
of the complexities of engaging with cis-men, in contrast to engaging
women. We, the privileged white men, are
much more challenging to engage with, and much more present as the “seeming
enemy”.
Obviously, focusing upon white men
might be best done with at least one male author!
The book can’t and doesn’t cover “everything”.
Resmaa Menakem, addressing somatic
abolitionism, can readily complement, and supplement the messages in this
book. Other areas such as the carceral
state, policing and similar are best left to other books.
I believe that this is an excellent
book for a wide variety of people. It is
excellent for personal growth work for white people at varying levels of
connection to anti-racism work and practice.
It also should become a great resource in parts, or whole in training
and growth for groups of white people.
Both authors show: deep knowledge, a breadth of experiences, significant
personal growth, much compassion and a deep love and caring for us all!
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