White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Let me start by saying there is a reason why this title is on often near the top of many lists for anyone but especially white people who want to educate themselves on racism and racial inequality especially in the US. The author is up front about her being white herself, in fact she repeats that every so often throughout the book, often in order to point out that a lot of the things she has to say sound a little better to most other […]
Best for: Anyone interested in a compelling story about how a professional athlete lives his values. In a nutshell: Former (sniff) Seattle Seahawk and current Philadelphia Eagle team member Michael Bennett shares his prospective on a wide range of topics, including the NCAA, the NFL, racism, and sexism. Lines that sticks with me: “They also tell us to stick to sports when we speak out on issues. But they don’t seem to have a problem when we’re making commercials, selling their kids sneakers they can’t […]
Obviously books about rape aren’t the easiest reads in the world, but this one actually felt easier than most. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to get angry and be horrified about in here. It’s just that the authors presented their material in a way that wasn’t gratuitous or overwhelmingly gruesome. I felt like they walked the line between letting the reader know the full picture of what happened without going overboard on crime details. A few years ago, ProPublica and The Marshall Project […]
It’s kind of hard to review this book without sounding like a jackass. I really wanted to love it based on the salty cover and title, and I think I was just really prepared to be the “you” in question, get called on my bullshit, and, well, do better. Luvvie is a super likable and engaging writer, and parts of it were great. The first half was more about her views and anecdotes on life, people, friendship, money, dating. Nothing groundbreaking but there was some […]
Rebecca Solnit’s publisher was giving away free copies of “Hope in the Dark” in the days after the election, and I jumped all over it as fast as I could. I loved Solnit’s “Men Explain Things to Me” which, among other things, made it clear that she is an expert on many things besides misogyny and feminism. And boy, is she. “Hope in the Dark,” which is an examination of the history of civil disobendience and social change, was the salve, and the inspiration/kick-in-the-butt, and […]
I’ve been focusing a lot on social justice these past few years, because the rhetoric/composition course I teach at one of my universities (ah, the joys of rootless adjuncting!) has integrated social justice and care for others as part of its Jesuit curriculum. This year, my theme is Art and Protest. I’ve read Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and other related books to expand my knowledge base, as well as that of my students’. Goodreads recommended The South Side to me when it saw […]
