Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Disclosure - the publisher (Dottir Press) sent me a free copy of this book for the purposes of review with my online community. I RARELY accept and review free copies of books because I'm so picky, so I was nervous this was going to be more whitewashed 'we don't see color, love everybody!' kind of books. I hadn't planned on writing a review, but this was SO AWESOME. But this had me HOPPING, literally dancing around in the kitchen. It discusses issues and microaggressions I've had to explain over and over to people who don't face racial discrimination every time they leave the house. It had issues that Black women have told me breaks their hearts and frustrates them. It's a HARD read for many families, and my son (age 6, multiracial but white-presenting) squirmed through it uncomfortably even though we've educated him on some history of the civil rights movement and white supremacy in the US. This book really spelled it out for him though, and gave him space to ask questions. We can use pain to remember that we’re not alone. We can use it as a sign that something needs to change - we need to take action. We need to LEARN what the heck is going on. We need to MOVE, we need to RALLY, we need to FIGHT. Our kids can handle it. Every day, I see comments from friends, family, and even my readers that go something like this: “I’m waffling between educating my white kids about all the terrible things that happen to children of color and protecting them from the truth. They’re so young. I don’t want them to be traumatized.” This is a concern only white parents of non-disabled boys have to deal with. Those of us with daughters, children of color, and disabled kids have no choice but to teach our children about - so they can survive. Not discussing hard topics is a privilege, and staying silent is an act of supremacy. We need this book, and we need more like it. While I prefer to center #OwnVoices books - the onus on fighting systemic injustice shouldn't only be on people of color. That's why I'm delighted that Higginbotham (a white woman) took this on herself and made it clear that she has a responsibility to acknowledge our history and the way racism still plays a part in distributing power unequally. As for the negative review - arguing that racism is over because we had a Black President is stale tokenism, and it's transparently oblivious. It feels safe and comfortable to pretend racism doesn't exist, and that those of us with light skin don't have a host of invisible challenges removed from our path. It feels safe to pretend we don't need this kind of book - but it's cowardly.