It’s been a time for reflection and reading about racism. I would like to highlight these two books which I’ve found helpful, one written by a black man and the other by a white woman. Both books support some of the same issues but from different angles. Both underline the idea that anti-racism is the correct term because no one can claim to be non-racist or colour blind.
The most helpful thing I’ve learned recently from Ibram Kendi is that the opposite of racist is not not racist, but antiracist. “One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an antiracist.” Everyone has racial bias and prejudice, it’s not just ‘those other bad people’ who are the problem. “To claim non-racism is to be wearing a mask for racism, everyone is racist, it is not a pejorative slur, it is descriptive, and we have to work against it to identify, describe, and dismantle it.” In the same way that we are products of systems and social constructs that have embedded racism into them, we now need to contribute to the formation of a truly just and equitable society. We can’t leave this up to anyone else, it starts with you and me: these books have helped me think about how to embrace the awkwardness and find the courage to strive to actively interrupt racism and humbly learn how to be an antiracist.
Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergises and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in American and points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. He asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it. In this book, Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism.
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo explains why white people have a hard time thinking of themselves as racist or even prejudiced and why they get super defensive about it. DiAngelo illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility, an expression she coined in 2011. This term refers to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially. It is characterised by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviours including argumentation and silence. These behaviours, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. Even though this book has had mixed critical reviews, I found it helpful to know how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, how people put up barriers and use avoidance without even realising it, and what we can do to engage more constructively with the issues and with each other.
Joanne's Reading Blog 
The most interesting observation in White Fragility for me is the author’s observation that “white” = the standard. Every other skin colour is considered a deviation from white. I’m not articulating this very well, but it was a bit of a wake up call for me.