Loved, loved, loved this book. Tore through it. Mr. Kendi does a wonderful and hugely personal job of explaining the Black experience and drawing conclusions from it. In addition to better understanding life from the point of view of a Black person in America, it brings true humanity to the stories told. Unlike "White Fragility" it is a book which mostly avoids the blame-and-shame tactics and drills down into facts, drawing ideas and thoughts from the facts, and weaving them into solutions. In other words, it's not a book about complaints, it is a book which encourages readers to do more than think. It pushes readers to act. The book is thoughtful, powerful, gentle. I could read it over and over. The main premise, one I have espoused for a long time but never articulated as well as Mr. Kendi, is that "we" are a "we". Not "us" and "them", but simply humans. People, who are as unique and special as any individuals. The challenge of the book is to step away from ever referring to Blacks as a monolithic group. To see each person as a human being who has their own stories, their own backgrounds. We are challenged to stop assigning any kind of attributes to a person based on race and culture. Which can be difficult, even for the most enlightened. Even for Mr. Kendi himself. This is also a book which pushes the idea of intersectionality. We have more in common than we are different. Paradoxically, Mr. Kendi also brings up the essential inequities of those who are Black, explaining structural racism. He explains it very well and uses data (my favorite thing in the whole world) to support his statements. It's a simple, clear book. You read it (and then read passages over and over again, as I did) and see so much. It's like Haiku. Every word, every phrase is understandable, but together they provide something which is so much "more". Yes. Read it. Re-read it. And reflect on it, as I did. What is it really saying? And why does it scare people so much?
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