Anti-Racism 4REALS: Real Talk with Real Strategies in Real Time for Real Change

by Sheila M. Beckford, E. Michelle Ledder

How do you start today on the road to being anti-racist? As our country faces a long-overdue reckoning with racism and white supremacy, book studies, workshops, and discussions crowd the landscape. But not all activities with the name "anti-racism" are actually anti-racist. In Anti-Racism 4REALS, anti-racism trainers Beckford and Ledder contend much of the current education leaves out action steps for dislodging racism in real time, and even worse, perpetuates racism, causing further harm to Black, Indigenous, Pacific-Islander, Asian, Latino/x (BIPAL) people. Using the concept of "racial positionality" as the entry point for engaging anti-racist work, this groundbreaking book offers concrete tools to confront racism and bring about REAL change in REAL time. Written by two ordained women - one Black Latina, one white - this straight-talk, practical workbook provides dozens of ways to be truly anti-racist, including scripts and other practices for interrupting and dismantling racism. A video discussion guide and Leaders Workbook (in the works) will help facilitate small group discussion and ACTION-NOW Learning Engagements.

176 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Eric Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If used as intended, this book is the antidote to workshop hoarding. It is meant for individuals, but especially groups, to work through, discuss, and strategize for an antiracist environment. This can apply to churches, schools, workplaces, and society as a whole.

No more circular talk and info gathering, no. The authors insist upon real talk, which interrupts racism in the moment. They provide real strategies instead of nebulous plans for the future.

With calls to real action for both BIPAL and white people, this book will challenge preconceptions, misgivings, and complacency.