California Educator

June/July 2020

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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism (Robin DiAngelo, Beacon Press, 2018) White fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. DiAngelo examines how this serves to maintain racial inequality and prevent meaningful cross-racial dialogue, and looks at what we can do to engage constructively. From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Haymarket Books, 2016) The author surveys the historical and contemporary ravages of racism and the per- sistence of structural inequality such as mass incarceration and black unemployment, arguing that this new struggle against police violence holds the potential to reignite a broader push for black liberation. Who Do You Serve? Who Do You Protect? (Edited by Maya Schenwar, Joe Macaré, Alana Yu-lan Price; Haymarket Books, 2016) This collection of reports and essays explores police violence against black, brown, indigenous and other marginalized communities, miscarriages of justice, and failures of token accountability and reform measures. It also explores alternatives for keeping communities safe. So You Want to Talk About Race (Ijeoma Oluo, Seal Press, 2019) How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend? Oluo guides readers through subjects such as intersection- ality, affirmative action and "model minorities" to help lead to honest conversations about race and racism. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (Austin Channing Brown, Convergent Books, 2018) In a time when nearly all institutions, including schools, claim to value "diversity," I'm Still Here is a powerful account of how and why our actions so often fall short of our words. 's stories bear witness to the complexity of America's social fabric. B r o w n The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race (Jesmyn Ward, Scribner, 2016) Ward gathers original thinkers and writers to speak on contemporary racism and race, including Carol Anderson, Jericho Brown and Edwidge Danticat. The book shines a light on the darkest corners of our history, wrestles with our current predicament, and imagines a better future. " One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of 'not racist.' The claim of 'not racist' neutrality is a mask for racism." ―Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist 49 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 0

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