What can we do about racism?
โDo the Work! An Antiracist Activity Bookโ by W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz
c.2022, Workman Publishingย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
$22.95ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
176 pages
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Youโre almost out.
Out of energy, ideas, motivation, totally depleted from all youโve been doing lately. Seeing racism, acting against inequality, speaking out against it, fighting for your friends and family, it all takes a toll and when youโre just plain tired, you need something to help you focus. You need โDo the Work!โ by W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz to energize you.
So youโve been fighting racism and, at this point, youโre simply โexhaustedโ over it all. This process isnโt easy and eliminating racism wonโt happen overnight, but take a breath. This book is meant to help you in many ways. For sure, itโll help white people โ but itโs also for anyone who needs ideas on fixing whatโs broken.
The first thing to do is to talk about it. Having a discussion on racism and why white people do this or Black people do that may seem scary, but conversation helps sort thoughts and foster an understanding. It also helps clear the air, if you talk respectfully.
Do you know your privileges? If youโre white, you probably grew up not even realizing that you have any โ but you do. Acknowledging that is hard โ these are the things that benefit you, after all โ and to โcheck your privilegeโ is necessary before moving forward. Youโll also want to know that privilege is fluid.
Learn how to spot racism when itโs hidden, because what you see every day is โjust the tip of the iceberg.โ Remember that you donโt hate history, you โhate history class!โ Get to know some heroes who already โdid the work.โ Learn how Jim Crow laws and redlining worked to entrench racism in the last century, and how gerrymandering does it now. Make a protest sign, play some games, take a quiz or two, color a page with markers or crayons. Know the history of policing Black people. โGet dirtyโ by being an ally. Remember that youโre going to make mistakes and you โmight not win.โ
The seriousness of both subject and effort aside, โDo the Work!โ is actually quite a fun book. Authors W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz use humor, facts, and (beware!) four-letter words to get their points across, but this book also offers breathing-room relief from the anti-racism job in the form of relaxing playtime, quizzes, places to draw or fill-in-the-blanks, slots for note-taking, and informative games to try.
That doesnโt make it fluffy, though. Surrounding the fun and games are firm words that white people and allies need to read, ideas to ponder, and statements to make you squirm, presented chaotically with an invite to dip in and out at will. Despite the occasional silliness and the feeling of running wild sometimes, then, it means business for the baffled, befuddled, and determined alike.
Judging solely on the swears and other language in here, this workbook is absolutely for older teens and adults only. You can bring small children along on your journey, but โDo the Work!โ is a book of which youโll want to keep them out.