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Me and White Supremacy
Me and White Supremacy
Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
The New York Times and USA Today bestseller!"Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice."—New York Times...
The New York Times and USA Today bestseller!"Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice."—New York Times...
Reviews-
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November 15, 2019
An activist program for confronting white privilege and dismantling white supremacy. Building on a workbook downloaded by nearly 90,000 readers, multicultural writer Saad, born in Britain and now living in Doha, Qatar, delivers "a one of a kind personal antiracism tool" that is meant foremost to teach white readers how to recognize their privilege and "take ownership of their participation in the oppressive system of white supremacy." Many readers will likely recoil, protesting that they're not racist, are colorblind, have nothing but benevolent thoughts, and so forth. The author is ready for them: White supremacy, she writes, is not just a comprehensive system, but it also trains those who benefit most from it to "keep you asleep and unaware" of the power that whites hold relative to those of other races and ethnicities: "BIPOC," as in, "Black, Indigenous, and People of Color." Saad enumerates some of the features of that power: Pulled over for a traffic violation, a white motorist doesn't usually have to fear for their life; any stylist can cut their hair; popular culture considers people who look like them to be representative; and so on. The author's approach is at first confrontational and righteously indignant, but as she guides her readers--including BIPOCs who may for whatever reason benefit from systems of white privilege and supremacy--through a monthlong series of lessons, including self-critical journal prompts, one has the sense that her method is much like that of Marine Corps boot camp: Tear down in order to build up. A reader's guilt may rise and crest, buttressed by sweeping damned-if-you-do-or-don't condemnation for such things as "clinging to pink pussy hats, safety pins, and hashtags over doing the real work." At the end, however, that reader is assured that even though they may be part of the problem, "you are simultaneously also a part of the answer." A bracing, highly useful tool for any discussion of combating racism.COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Starred review from January 1, 2020
Saad has written an important book about taking ownership of racist behavior and making changes that are not easy, convenient, or comfortable. The book, with a foreword by Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility) was inspired by Saeed's Instagram challenge, #meandwhitesupremacy, and her digital Me and White Supremacy Workbook. Saeed offers steps for beginning work towards antiracism that feel as honest, straightforward, and actionable as they are difficult. She lays out courses of action over the span of 28 days that are designed to help readers slowly and intentionally unpack white privilege, acknowledge their participation in the oppressive system of white supremacy, and begin dismantling the system for themselves and within their communities. The book is organized first by week and then by day, with quotations, definitions, examples, and journal prompts designed to set a strong foundation for enduring, ongoing antiracist work. VERDICT This groundbreaking book should be required reading for people ready to acknowledge their behaviors, whether intentional or not. It will make a strong addition to both public and university libraries where it will equip scholars, activists, and allies with real tools to promote systemic change.--Emily Bowles, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison
Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from February 1, 2020
In the summer of 2018, writer, speaker and podcast host Saad launched the 28-day Instagram challenge: #MeAndWhiteSupremacy. She never expected it to go viral or for the free workbook to be downloaded by over 90,000 people. Two years later, her initial challenge has been updated and expanded into this small but intense book which provokes readers to take personal ownership of the effort to dismantle systemic racism. As an East African, Arab, British, Black, and Muslim woman, Saad delivers an informed perspective on issues such as white fragility, cultural appropriation, and color blindness. She confronts the assumption that racism only operates outside of polite society and reveals itself in racial slurs and outward attacks, which is discussed with special focus in "Day 6: You and White Exceptionalism." The fact is, white supremacy is far more insidious, manifest in nuanced ways, such as the idea that racism is a problem for Black, Indigenous, and people of color to solve. This book is not for the oppressed or the marginalized, but rather for those whose privilege, when left unchecked, has harmful consequences. Saad has created an insightful and necessary contribution to the work of combating racism and becoming good ancestors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.) -
Robin DiAngelo, author of New York Times bestseller White Fragility
"Layla Saad's Me and White Supremacy is an indispensable resource for white people who want to challenge white supremacy but don't know where to begin. She moves her readers from their heads into their hearts, and ultimately, into their practice. We won't end white supremacy through an intellectual understanding alone; we must put that understanding into action.
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Anne Hathaway
"She is no-joke changing the world and, for what it's worth, the way I live my life.
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Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Love Warrior and founder of Together Rising
"Her work is personal, practical, reflective, applicable, difficult, effective, and imperative. For the millions of us beginning to know where to begin — where to begin to counteract our ugly history, and where to stand during this historical moment of polarization and hate — Layla answers: Begin with me. Begin with you.
" - Rachel Cargle, activist, writer, and lecturer "As an educator and writer in this space, I well understand the difficulties of productive discourse on topics like white supremacy, white fragility, and complicity. In Me and White Supremacy, Layla not only engages readers effectively she hands them the tools they need to change themselves so that they can better the lives of millions of people worldwide."
- Sophia Bush, award-winning actress and activist "Allyship means taking action. How? Layla Saad's Me and White Supremacy teaches readers exactly how to get past the paralysis of white fragility so that they can build bridges, not walls. Read the book, look deep within yourself, sit with your discomfort, and then act. This is how we can truly say we are doing everything we can to combat white supremacy."
- Latham Thomas, Wellness Maven, Celebrity Doula, Best-selling author of Own Your Glow and founder of Mama Glow. "Layla Saad's pioneering work Me and White Supremacy is a rallying call, for those humble enough to answer, to stop and examine how dominant systems shape how white people see themselves, see others and how they move through the world. Saad takes readers by the hand and holds a mirror up for readers to confront everything conscious and subconscious, that lies within their beliefs. She invites readers to dive deeper and do reflective exercises to cement the work. I applaud Layla for putting to paper this truly transformative work. Me and White Supremacy summons forth a new type of leadership and accountability that this time so desperately calls for and is the pathway to a greater healing that generations of people and communities so desperately need."
- New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "America needed this book yesterday. In fact, America has always needed this book. Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice. With keen intelligence and tireless patience, she is working to remove our collective cultural blind spots and to help-at last-change minds and transform society. I have the deepest respect for her. Buy this book for yourself, your family, your students. Don't put it off and don't look away. It's time."
- Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author "Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice."
- Reema Zaman, award-winning actress, speaker, activist, and author of I Am Yours "With equal parts love, brilliance, and vulnerability, Layla F. Saad has given us a guidebook for healing and transformation for the self and the world... I want to press this book into everyone's hands, to urge, Read this. This is one of those rare books where the author has given us the profound gift of her entirety poured into pages, attaching additional meaning to the phrase, "The book of a lifetime." It is indeed a book belonging to multiple narratives: yours, mine, hers. The book of a lifetime that will transform lives."
