Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts- Anti-Racism Recs

When it comes to teaching people about anti-racism, white privilege, and the horrific inequality in this nation things get tricky. It's not the responsibility of black people to teach people how to do something they should automatically do. I also think most, if any, white people are equipped to teach on these topics either. We have to be thankful and willing to listen when BIPOC do speak out and we also have to look inside and share what we, as white people, have learned and share (and be willing to accept criticism when are wrong). 

For me, I feel most equipped to disseminate knowledge through sharing the knowledge of others, through books. I also have come up with a few ways to counter-argue certain lines of thinking, since I think a lot of people do well with analogies:

For the BLM Movement:

Argument: "But all lives matter!"

Counterargument: "Yes, they do, but we're not looking at issues that effect ALL lives, we're looking at how injustice effects BLACK lives. You're not going to show up at a breast cancer fundraiser and cause a scenes because people aren't donating to color cancer or lung cancer or leukemia, are you?"

For white privilege:

Argument: "I don't feel privileged! I have had to deal with ______!"

Counterargument: "I get it, I know we all have obstacles. But, think about your obstacles and consider having to work even harder than you do to get around them, because of something you have no control over. Your whiteness is something you didn't necessarily choose, but it still often provides you with an advantage. It's like people who are born tall; it's not something they asked for, but it puts them at an automatic advantage to do a lot of things! And because of this privilege of height they should help short people."

For acting entitled to racial education from black people:

Argument: "If they want me to change they should tell me how to!"

Counterargument: "You don't know how to be a good human? How to be fair? How to recognize your bias? As a feminist I don't think I should have to tell a grown-ass adult how to treat women fairly, they should know how. If you need more information there are tons of websites and books out there."

Hey! Speaking of books! These are taken from my instagram stories, so there are lots! The original order also got all out of whack, but they're all here. I have ordered a few more and have a few that I haven't read yet, but here are ones I have read and can recommend!