This Book is Anti-Racist [Tiffany Jewell]

Like many, I’m sure, there have been numerous occasions in my life in which I have found myself feeling disheartened about change. I’ve been in moments where I was unsure what I could possibly do to fix the horrible things I saw in the world, moments where I felt like everything I tried was useless. I guarantee at some point or another we all end up in that space. The thing I love about This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell and illustrated by Aurélia Durand is that it offers an opportunity to move past those moments of feeling helpless and provides readers with actionable goals.

I will always be immensely grateful to resources like this. It is an unfortunate thing about this world and people in general that we often choose the easy path with nearly everything. This is actually rooted in our own psychology, the inclination that leads us toward taking shortcuts and not putting in the extra effort required for nearly everything. And while this is something everyone, including myself, need to work hard to combat every day it is nonetheless immensely helpful when books like this are put together. Not only do they bring the history and material to educate others on topics like racism and the difference between being not racist and being anti-racist, but they offer life-applicable goals and information to lead readers toward the next steps they must take.

This Book is Anti-Racist is an incredibly pertinent read, one that literally everyone can benefit from picking up. The fact of the matter is that when you don’t know everything and you’re not sure how to go about fighting for much-needed change, you have resources available and ready to help you. This book is one of those resources and I have high hopes that it will help many people develop a better understanding of racism and pave a path forward of purposeful action to bring about change.

And yes, while I did find the phrasing of folx distracting and unnecessary–I don’t know the history, but I’m pretty sure the word folks is gender-neutral–the most important take-away from this book has nothing to do with a single word choice. So, please, don’t let that one word pull you away from the broader importance of the message this book is sending.

I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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