Sharing Our Stories: Roseanna's Review of "How to Fight Racism" (book by Jemar Tisby)

Review by Roseanna M. White of Jemar Tisby’s book, 

How to Fight Racism: 

Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice

I can honestly say that reading The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby had a profound impact on how I understand the history of racism within the American church. 

So when I saw that Mr. Tisby had a new book out, I was quick to order it—especially when I saw that this one was meant to be a practical guide to overcoming racism in one’s personal life as well as where it appears systemically.

Tisby approaches the question with what he has termed “the ARC of racial justice.” The book is broken down into three main categories to correspond with that ARC: Awareness, Relationships, Commitment. 

In the Awareness section, he leads the reader into methods of understand one’s own racial story—not only in terms of what one’s own race is, but in how one has interacted with the very concept of race from childhood on up. Those who are Black or people of color most likely have a very different story than those of the white majority, but everyone has lived with race. Becoming aware of how we were each taught—through others or through experience—to view race, how it has become part of our current understanding, is a crucial first step. Once we become self-aware, then we can take steps to move toward true equity and understanding.

While Tisby is careful to point out that relationships alone cannot solve racism—that it is bigger than individuals and must be addressed on a system-wide level—he knows that for most of us, true racial reconciliation begins with Relationships. It’s as we become friends with and come to care about individuals from other races that we can truly come to see what others suffer. With that empathy comes understanding and the desire to see change for their sake.

But from that first desire, we then must move to Commitment. We must take active steps on social levels to support or instigate change—in our churches, in our communities, in our businesses, and in our government.

Of the two books, I still prefer The Color of Compromise solely because it focused on history and the stories of people who lived it, and this is always how I’m best engaged.

How to Fight Racism was a more clinical, academic approach to the question of racism, which is no doubt preferred by others. The advice he gives is well rounded, and I was pleased to see that he addresses people in many different circumstances.

Coming from a rural community with a very un-diverse population, I’m often left feeling like all the opportunities and advice offered in books doesn’t apply to me, since those opportunities simply don’t exist where I live. Tisby actually addresses how people who live in areas like mine can still engage meaningfully with the question, which I really appreciate.

By the end of the book, I was left with a list of possible actions I, my church, and my community could take…and also with the heavy certainty that fighting racism could easily become an all-consuming task. Something so big, so engrained in our culture, can’t be undone by wishing or making a few friends. It must be dismantled with the same care with which it was built. That’s an intimidating task…but also one that so clearly needs to be tackled, especially by people of faith who should be seeking the good of their neighbor, loving their neighbor above all.

How to Fight Racism invites the reader to be well versed in why this is a fight we all must take on…and then equips us to determine how best to do it wherever we are.

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Reviewer’s Bio:

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. 

When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing for WhiteFire Publishing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. 

Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books … to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.

You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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Connect with Roseanna:
Blog: https://roseannamwhite.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/roseannamwhite/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roseannamwhite/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoseannaMWhite
Website: https://www.roseannamwhite.com

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Blurb for How to Fight Racism:

Racism is pervasive in today's world, and many are complicit in the failure to confront its evils. Jemar Tisby, author of the award-winning The Color of Compromise, believes we need to move beyond mere discussions about racism and begin equipping people with the practical tools to fight against it.

How to Fight Racism is a handbook for pursuing racial justice with hands-on suggestions bolstered by real-world examples of change. Tisby offers an array of actionable items to confront racism in our relationships and in everyday life through a simple framework — the A.R.C. of Racial Justice — that helps readers consistently interrogate their own actions and maintain a consistent posture of anti-racist action. This book is for anyone who believes it is time to stop compromising with racism and courageously confront it.

Tisby roots the ultimate solution to racism in the Christian faith as we embrace the implications of what Jesus taught his followers. Beginning in the church, he provides an opportunity to be part of the solution and suggests that the application of these principles can offer us hope that will transform our nation and the world. 

Tisby encourages us to reject passivity and become active participants in the struggle for human dignity across racial and ethnic lines. Readers of the book will come away with a clear model for how to think about race in productive ways and a compelling call to dismantle a social hierarchy long stratified by skin color.

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Buy How to Fight Racism on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

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Author Bio:

Jemar Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Color of Compromise, president and co-founder of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, and co-host of the podcast, Pass The Mic.

He grew up just north of Chicago and attended the University of Notre Dame. He went on to join Teach For America and was assigned to the Mississippi Delta Corps where he taught sixth grade at a public charter school and later went on to be the principal. 

He received his MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary and is presently working toward his PhD in History at the University of Mississippi studying race, religion, and social movements in the twentieth century.

Jemar and his family call the Deep South home and especially love the weather, people, and food! His new book, How to Fight Racism releases in January of 2021 and is available for pre-order now.

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Connect with Jemar:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JemarTisby1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemartisby/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JemarTisby
Website: https://jemartisby.com