I'm not white. I read this book, thinking it would help me anyway, as anyone has room to grow when it comes to prejudice against other races. And it did, as she made some good points. However, I was put off by Obear's insistence that racism is only significantly directed towards people of color by whites. It is true that for the institutional definition of racism she uses, it makes more sense to focus on the white race, which holds more overall societal power at this point, but the book itself talks largely about bias and prejudice, not institutional structures. As for racial bias and prejudice, these can be and most definitely are held by members of every race, not just white, and every race is the victim of racial microaggressions and racially-motivated violence.

I believe Dr. Obear is doing the community at large an injustice by separating "whites" and "POCs" so distinctly. In order to solve the problem of racism in our society, we must ALL work together to overcome our biases. As a white person, perhaps Dr. Obear does not understand that POCs (at least those of us who are self-aware) don't want to be identified only as victims of racism. Dr. Obear mentions being a "white ally". But I don't want a "white ally". I just want an "ally"! It is as if Obear sees whites and everyone else on two sides of a fence, and white people have to reach over and help POCs. Isn't that a bit racist in itself? Why can't we just focus on helping each other in general? ( )

I purchased this book on Inauguration Day, 2017. I finished it the day after 45 said he was the least racist person. Those are just two recent reasons reading this book is important to me. The others have to do with hundreds of years of white privilege, combined with oppression of people of color.

I also don't perceive myself as racist. I'm married to an Asian-American. I didn't grow up in an overtly racist household. But until now, I haven't examined the depth of white privilege I've been afforded. This book has helped me do that. It's written in straightforward way that doesn't waffle or leave wiggle room for well-meaning whites to assume they're not part of the ongoing challenge. At the same time, the author offers a variety of options to make change and acknowledges that the process never stops.

I can identify overt expressions of racism, but this book offers me language to confront that racism in a way I haven't always felt comfortable doing in the past. Dr. Obear also explains a variety of micro aggressions used against people of color. This was tremendously eye opening for me, and helped me to see where I have plenty of room for improvement.

In her acknowledgments Dr. Obear says, "And to all those who are rising up now, thank you for teaching me how to organize, protest, and refuse to be complacent and complicit. I honor you and thank you for continuing to energize us all as we do our part to manifest racial justice in ourselves, our organizations, our communities, our world. Together, we rise!"

I think I'll return to this book many times, and I expect to also use it as a starting point for more educational experiences. ( )