Me and White Supremacy
How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World
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Me and White Supremacy
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Layla Saad
About this listen
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 catalysed a worldwide awakening for thousands of white-privileged people to begin to take ownership of their personal antiracism 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 and further resources. Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change. The numbers show that listeners 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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Layla Saad (P)2020 Quercus Editions LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Behind the scenes
Layla Saad discusses her new book in the Audible Studio.Brilliant, well thought-out workbook!
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such an eye opener
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rather than the colour of their skin which fundamentally defines them and their relationship to the world and having read Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race I anticipated something similar here. Layla Saad is more challenging than Reni Eddo-Lodge. Whilst I cannot say that I was able to complete the 28 days challenge outlined in this important book that was originally devised on Instagram, it did make me think deeper about white privilege and consider the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation and to think more positively about people who use AAVE (African American Vernacular English).
Toolkit for an anti racism backpack
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This is an extremely challenging, thought-provoking and timely book on how to promote anti-racism but the tone is quite preachy (it is a workbook after all) and ultimately leaves more questions than answers.
The first question is: what exactly is “white supremacy”? Google the term and you will get a lot of information about a movement (predominantly in the US) which believes in the superiority of the white “race” and which aims to protect whites from perceived attack and perpetuate the 'white race' in the US and Europe.
Saad does define what she means by White Supremacy and she emphasizes that while the term appears to only apply to white extremists such as the KKK or neo-Nazi groups, actually “White supremacy is an ideology, a paradigm, an institutional system, and a world view that you have been born into by virtue of your whiteness.” She then goes on to make the statement that “white supremacy continues to be the dominant paradigm under which white societies operate”. Dominant paradigm? What about Capitalism and Globalization? And can any society really be defined as a “white society”?
In my own country of South Africa, the birthplace of that terrible, white supremacist system and ideology of apartheid, can we really talk about a “white society”? We have a black majority government, we have complex social systems involving many “racial groups”. Yes, South Africa is still grappling with many instances of subtle and even overt racism. Also, the economic wealth of the country is still largely in white hands despite more than two decades of BBBEE and the presence of a growing, affluent and well-connected black middle class. But South Africa is hardly a ‘white society”.
Saad herself identifies strongly with the experience of being black in the United States and the US audience appears to be her main target market. She, however, is much more international. “As an East African, Arab, British, Black, Muslim woman who was born and grew up in the West (United Kingdom), and lives in the East (Qatar),” she writes, “I have always sat at a unique intersection of identities from which I am able to draw rich and intriguing perspectives.“
However, what I and other readers found frustrating is that she doesn’t explore some of the contradictions and complexities of this “unique intersection” but chooses rather to focus on the black, American experience. As a Muslim she is noticeably silent on the topic of Arab racism. One reviewer commented that there are more modern-day slaves in her residential county of Qatar than almost any other country on Earth. Qatar is also extremely hostile to the rights of the LGBTQ community.
And what about the differing experiences of racism in different states in the US not to mention countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and also France (home of the parent company of Quercus who publishes this book)? Saad has also never lived in the US and so her take on the racism and white supremacy there seems a bit opportunistic.
Quercus means “oak” and the philosophy behind many of their titles is to publish acorns which will grow up to be mighty oak trees and provide shelter and comfort to generations to come. This book has certainly created huge ripples and will continue to do so. Ultimately, however, one of the tests of a book for me is whether I will purchase another book by the same author. That seems unlikely, unless Saad does some really uncomfortable introspection on her own (complex) intersectionality and writes about that.
Powerful but flawed
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An excellent, up-to-date manual
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