White supremacy is a violent system of oppression that harms Black, Indigenous and People of Colour and if you are a person who holds white privilege, then you are complicit in upholding that harm, whether you realise it or not. And if you are person who holds white privilege, the question you should be asking isn’t whether or not this is true, but rather, what are you going to do about it?
Between June and July 2018, Layla Saad ran a 28-day Instagram challenge under the hashtag #MeAndWhiteSupremacy, for people with white privilege to unflinchingly examine the ways that they are complicit in upholding the oppressive system of white supremacy.
The challenge quickly went viral, with thousands of people from all over the world (including USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Qatar, among others) diving deep for 28 consecutive days to examine and take responsibility for the ways in which they uphold white supremacy. The challenge catalyzed a worldwide awakening for thousands of white-privileged people to begin to take ownership of their personal anti-racism work.
The updated and expanded Me and White Supremacy takes the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources.
Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change. The numbers show that readers are ready to do this work – let’s give it to them.
This workbook was born out of that challenge and the results have been life-changing.
(P) 2020 Quercus Editions Limited
Between June and July 2018, Layla Saad ran a 28-day Instagram challenge under the hashtag #MeAndWhiteSupremacy, for people with white privilege to unflinchingly examine the ways that they are complicit in upholding the oppressive system of white supremacy.
The challenge quickly went viral, with thousands of people from all over the world (including USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Qatar, among others) diving deep for 28 consecutive days to examine and take responsibility for the ways in which they uphold white supremacy. The challenge catalyzed a worldwide awakening for thousands of white-privileged people to begin to take ownership of their personal anti-racism work.
The updated and expanded Me and White Supremacy takes the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources.
Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change. The numbers show that readers are ready to do this work – let’s give it to them.
This workbook was born out of that challenge and the results have been life-changing.
(P) 2020 Quercus Editions Limited
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Reviews
America needed this book yesterday. In fact, America has always needed this book. Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice. With keen intelligence and tireless patience, she is working to remove our collective cultural blindspots, and to help - at last - to change minds and transform society. I have the deepest respect for her. Buy this book for yourself, your family, your students. Don't put it off, and don't look away. It's time.
Discovering Layla's work was one of the most important, uncomfortable and pivotal moments in my life. It guided me back to my humanity.
For well-intentioned white people, it is near impossible to know where to begin unlearning our role in upholding white supremacy - because how can you address what you can't even see? White supremacy is the air we've breathed and the milk we've drunk since birth. Enter Layla Saad. Her work is personal, practical, reflective, applicable, difficult, effective, and imperative. For the millions of us begging to know where to begin - where to begin to counteract our ugly history, and where to stand during this historical moment of polarization and hate - Layla answers: Begin with me. Begin with you. Me And White Supremacy is an answer to a question every conscionable person is asking.
Layla is an extremely powerful communicator. From the first page, you will be glued to this book. It should be mandatory reading. The message is urgent and the book is actionable and practical. Buy this book for yourself, do the work, and then push more copies it into the hands of everyone you know.
Layla Saad's ME AND WHITE SUPREMACY is an indispensable resource for white people who want to challenge white supremacy but don't know where to begin. She moves her readers from their heads into their hearts, and ultimately, into their practice. We won't end white supremacy through an intellectual understanding alone; we must put that understanding into action. My fellow white people often tell me about the antiracism books they have read. My question is, "How will BIPOC know that you have read that book?" As Saad makes clear, if you have read and followed this book, BIPOC will know.
She is no-joke changing the world and, for what it's worth, the way I live my life.
What Layla has created here is essential to anyone committed to doing the right thing regardless of how difficult it may feel. We can not dismantle what we are unwilling to acknowledge. And this book is perfect for anyone who wants to start to build a better society for all.
Finally, books are among the most potent agents of change in the world. The work of Layla F Saad and her book Me and White Supremacy helped me learn a lot about the institutional racism of the world we live in, to realise a lot about my own biases and false assumptions, and helped to open my eyes to the extra barriers people of colour face
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It's only on reading this book that I've realised that being an ally involves constantly showing up. And that it's deeds, not words, that count.