White People and Black Lives Matter: Ignorance, Empathy, and Justice

by Johanna C. Luttrell

This book interrogates white responses to black-led movements for racial justice. It is a philosophical self-reflection on the ways in which ‘white’ reactions to Black Lives Matter stand in the way of the movement’s important work. It probes reactions which often prevent white people from according to black activists the full range of human emotion and expression, including joy, anger, mourning, and political action. Johanna C. Luttrell encourages different conceptions of empathy and impartiality specific to social movements for racial justice, and addresses objections to identity politics.

151 pages, Paperback

Published June 12, 2020

Reviews

[Adam]

...Or, what is wrong with White liberals. I was looking for an easy to read book detailing what White people get wrong about Black Lives Matter and what they can do to change to be better people regarding police brutality against Blacks. This book is not it. This book is dense like my mother's homemade bread. From the first sentence you are splashed into an academic philosopher's discourse. I can read that sort of thing. Many equally intelligent people cannot. it is written for other White liberal academics to read. And that is a problem with writing about social movements - it isn't for the movement's own use. As the author says, "Expertise on social movements comes from being involved in them." This book isn't for White people who are involved in BLM. It is for White people who think they have something to say about BLM without being involved. And they may very well benefit from reading it.

[Genine Franklin-Clark]

Four stars for ideas, information, one star for being just impossible for me to read - long incomprehensible paragraphs (poor writing? poor editing?) which made it impossible for me to continue. I regret this, as the ideas are more than worth reading and hearing.

Maybe a future edition will correct the problem?