Lies about Black People
How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why It Matters
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- £20.99
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- £20.99
Publisher Description
From the Black Lives Matter movement to the health and economic disparities exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have been forced to reckon with our country’s fraught history – and present – of racial bias and inequality. Now that we have scratched the surface on courageous conversations about race, many are wondering: what is the next step towards healing and justice? Lies About Black People: How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why it Matters is designed for anyone who wants to examine their own biases and behaviors with a deeper critical lens in order to take action, make change, and engage positively in the fight for racial equality.
In this honest and welcoming book, diversity and inclusion expert, professor, and award-winning speaker Dr. Omekongo Dibinga argues that we must embark on a massive undertaking to re-educate ourselves on the stereotypes that have proven harmful, and too often deadly, to the Black community. Through personal anecdotes, nuanced historical inquiry, and engaging analysis of modern-day events and their historical context and implications, this invaluable guide will break down some of the most powerful lies told about Black people. Whether those lies are pernicious, like the idea that “most black people are criminals,” or seemingly innocuous, like the notion that “black people can’t swim,” all of the lies and stereotypes combatted in this book are rooted in hate and continue to undermine not only Black people in America, but our society as a whole. Beyond combatting these harmful lies, Dr. Dibinga also provides readers with powerful insights on our racial vocabulary, reflective hands-on exercises that will allow readers to confront and change their own biases, and an honest discussion about how to move beyond misplaced shame and use privilege to serve others.
Featuring personal surveys alongside real-life interviews with those who have been affected by racial biases first-hand, this open and thoughtful guide will lead readers on a path to understanding, action, and change.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dibinga (The Upstander's Guide to an Outstanding Life), a lecturer on Intercultural Communication at American University, investigates in this passionate study the roots of negative stereotypes about African Americans. Drawing on interviews with people across the racial, social, and economic spectrum, Dibinga shows how deeply these stereotypes have affected perception, communication, and understanding. He addresses stereotypes regarding Black people's pain tolerance, intellectual ability, and criminality, and highlights prejudice toward African Americans in finance, housing, and the media. Dibinga demonstrates the devastating consequences of such stereotypes by focusing on policing and the justice system. For example, he recalls the "reign of terror" unleashed by Boston police against the city's Black community, including his own family, after the 1989 murder of a pregnant white woman, Carol Stuart, allegedly by a Black man (this was later proved to be a false story invented by the murderer, Stuart's white husband). Dibinga also showcases stories of hope and reconciliation, noting that Carol Stuart's family started a foundation in her name to give scholarships to high school students from the neighborhood where she was slain. With useful tools for educators, including activity prompts, this is a worthwhile new antiracist workbook. Readers of Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist should take note.
