Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
Layla F. Saad
Me and White Supremacy teaches readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of colour, and in turn, help other white people do better, too. When Layla Saad began an Instagram challenge called #MeAndWhiteSupremacy, she never predicted it would spread as widely as it did. She encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviors, big and small. more
238 pages, Hardcover
First published Sourcebooks
4.35
Rating
28995
Ratings
3401
Reviews
Layla F. Saad
20 books 504 followers
Layla Saad is a globally respected writer, speaker and podcast host on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation and social change.As an East African, Arab, British, Black, Muslim woman who was born and grew up in the West, and lives in Middle East, Layla has always sat at a unique intersection of identities from which she is able to draw rich and intriguing perspectives. Layla's work is driven by her powerful desire to become a good ancestor; to live and work in ways that leave a legacy of healing and liberation for those who will come after she is gone.
Community reviews
I think white people with good intentions need to hear this from another decent person: those hunches that "something seems off" you had when you read this book weren't just your "white fragility" speaking. You aren't a white supremacist for being suspicious of the ideas in this book. I say that because you weren't given the option of considering that when you read this book, which told you how race works in western culture without ever actually feeling the need to prove it was true. When it comes to tackling social issues, if an author thinks she is going to show realistically what the problems are and what their solutions might be, she first needs to frame them properly within their broadest context: universal human social behavior. Saad fails to do that. more
I did this for the full 28 days. I found it poorly written and not actually helpful. 'How to be an Antiracist' by Ibram X Kendi is highly recommended and is the most thoughtful book I've ever read on this subject, read that instead. His other book 'Stamped from the Beginning' is a very educational history book. Also recommend the YouTube channel ‘For Harriet’ which dissects topics of race and culture with greater insight. more
I'm not necessarily the target audience of this book since I'm not white, but I wanted to check it out anyway. I'd seen friends doing the challenge on her Instagram, so I had a sense of what this was. I'd highly recommend this for the white liberal who's ready and willing to take a hard and uncomfortable look in the mirror. People who read American Dirt and didn't think about why this white author is on the bestseller list for telling a brown story when there are plenty of brown people whose books are overlooked. People who think they're helping by buying Toms or donating their clothes to kids in Africa without realizing they're crushing economies in their white saviorism. more
This review applies to this book and a few others like it: I have a few issues w/ some of the books that everyone is recommending that are meant to teach white people how not to be racist:A lot of them (though not all) assume that doing "the work" of dismantling white supremacy is about "listening to POC," "speaking out" and generally not thinking certain things, not saying racist things, bringing POC to the table, not stereotyping, not fetishizing, not bringing your hurt feelings to the fight, recognizing privilege, not culturally appropriating etc. A lot of the books talk about the discomfort of dealing with white privilege and the hard emotional work required. So far so fine, BUT. every white person could do all of this stuff and all the hard emotional work and we would still have different credit systems, race-based home values, differences in school funding, employment disparities, different life expectancies, massive and growing racial wealth gap. None of this stuff needs racism to be perpetuated. more
From now on, when White people ask me what they should do to combat racism and White supremacy, I’m going to tell them to read Layla Saad’s book. This book is based upon Saad’s Instagram challenge #meandwhitesupremacy, which took White people through a 28-day series of guided reflections about what racism is, how they have internalized and embodied it, and how they can begin to reconstruct their identities and their relationship to white supremacy. This is not a primer on racism and it is not for the feint of heart. If you’re going to read this book without doing the exercises, you’ll miss the point. I wouldn’t recommend this as the starting point for white people to learn about racism, but it is a great starting point for white people who are ready to do the work of deconstructing their internalized racism. more
I wasn't expecting this to be more of a workbook (each chapter ends with anywhere from 3-9 questions to reflect on and journal about), but I really enjoyed that aspect. It allowed me to engage with the text, rather than just passively read it and feel I'd accomplished something by the time I turned the last page. But the work doesn't end with finishing this book, and I'm looking forward to discussing and working through this book again in July with a group of people. And while it's still worthwhile and important work to do on your own—in fact, I think you have to start with yourself in working toward antiracism—I think this book will facilitate great conversations. Would highly recommend this one. more
This book just doesn't do what it sets out to do, to me anyway. It's a 28-day workbook aimed at helping white people understand their role in white supremacy. If I were to parse each sentence, I’d probably be down with 99% of them — but I literally know of no one who this book would help to be less racist. For people not in a frame of mind to learn, it's too easy to make fun of. For people who are open to it, it is confrontational but without the context to absorb and utilize the strong language. more
Excellent primer on white supremacy and what folks, especially white folks, can do to fight it. About halfway through reading this book I thought to myself, hm, hopefully most people already know and practice this content. , then I remembered the white woman and the gay white man, both self-identified liberals/progressives, who tone policed me and tried to gaslight me when I called them out/in on their racial microaggressions. Anyway, I think Layla Saad writes with great intelligence and eloquence about topics such as white fragility, white exceptionalism, and white silence, as well as anti-Blackness and how people can hold themselves accountable to engaging in anti-white supremacist action. She includes interesting prompts for self-reflection and tangible action steps throughout the book. more
Are we meant to be believe a homeless White single mum and her child are more privileged than a multi-milionaire Oxford educated Pakistani Oxbridge graduate. Do you know left feminist 'diversity and equality'' enforcers in the UK have harassed and attacked White teen girls who have been trafficked, gang raped and tortured by muslim men that they are racist for speaking about their experiences. And even one middle class leftwing feminist tweeted ''they might have been raped but at least they have their White privilege;I studied colonialism day in and day out at university. but what about disussing the horros of the industrial revolution suffered by the British proletariat, thsi is what no one wants us to discuss. neither the post modern left because it destroys the myth of white privilege in Britain or the free market libertarians because it shows the what wad fone by the industrialists as cruel as anything done in any communist state. more
“You will be called out/in as you do antiracism work. Making mistakes is how you learn and do better going forward. Being called out/in is not a deterrent to the work. It is part of the work. ”This is an engaging and thought provoking book. more
As a whole, Me and the White Supremacy is a thought provoking book, and the questions it presents worthy of contemplation. I did have some issues with it for similar reasons I had problems with White Fragility, though Layla Saad writes from the perspective of a Woman of Color, and is thus entitled to make observations and assertions I felt Robin DiAngelo was not. There were chapters I found really interesting and topics she raised with led to important conversations and reflection. However, other chapters made me feel concerned that Saad's approach of painting all white people as inherently racist supporters of the white supremacy and all POC as inherent victims may, on certain levels, be counter-productive and prevent the open dialogue and changes, both in mindset and in impactful legislature, that are truly needed for a more equitable society. Of course, white supremacy was not created by one person, nor will it be dismantled by one. more
For a book that so strongly and repeatedly rails against gaslighting, Me and White Supremacy sure does a lot of it. You may not think you do anything to harm and degrade people of color (POC), but you do. You may not think you consider yourself better than POC, but you do. It doesn't matter if every interaction you can think of that you've had with a POC has been positive, friendly, respectful, or (gasp. ) treating them like you'd treat anybody else, you still harbor deep-seated prejudices about POC being lazy, ignorant, violent, etc. more
Why white people combating racism by giving black people black privilege. I’m Asian and want my yellow privilege lol. more
This was a re-read of sorts since I finished Layla’s workbook last summer. She’s right about the value of coming back to it with fresh eyes—just 6 months later, I’ve already found myself ending each chapter with new self-awareness than what I found last time. I study race academically, which means that segments of this book were things I was so familiar with that it took every impulse not to skim, but it also means that some of the self-reflective prompts were even more urgent and necessary than they would be for non-academic readers. Layla’s in-depth, journaling approach to antiracism is like nothing I’ve seen before, and I think it’s crucial to the development of emotional intelligence on race for all white people. This is the book I’m going to recommend the next time a white person asks me, “what can I do. more
This book made me feel empowered, emboldened, and capable of interacting with racism in a way I haven't felt before. One of my biggest weak spots seems to be during family/friend interactions, and Layla's advice gave me tools and language to make me more comfortable responding to various forms of racism in a meaningful way instead of being silently complicit. It's far from the only book on race out there, but it's a worthy place to begin. It's short, powerful, and worth reading over again. What's covered:1: You and White Privilege2: You and White Fragility3: You and Tone Policing4: You and White Silence5: You and White Superiority6: You and White Exceptionalism7: Week 1 Review8: You and Color Blindness9: You and Anti-Blackness against Black Women10: You and Anti-Blackness against Black Men11: You and Anti-Blackness against Black Children12: You and Racist Stereotypes13: You and Cultural Appropriation14: Week 2 Review15: You and White Apathy16: You and White Centering17: You and Tokenism18: You and White Saviorism19: You and Optical Allyship20: You and Being Called Out/Called In21: Week 3 Review22: You and White Feminism23: You and White Leaders24: You and Your Friends25: You and Your Family26: You and Your Values27: You and Losing Privilege28: You and Your Commitments. more
With all the civil unrest going on, I really wanted to gain a new perspective about racism in current times. I thought reading this book and others (White Fragility-also reviewed on Goodreads) would help me understand. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Me and White Supremacy is written from the Critical Theory worldview which views reality through the lens of power, dividing people into oppressed groups and oppressor groups. She states, “this book is to help people with white privilege understand and take ownership of their participation in the oppressive system of white supremacy. more
I really wanted to like this book and see it as valuable information but I did not. This author, while making a few good points will probably just piss off people who should read this book. I consider myself not racist and not a bigot at all but this book made me angry. Can we just start where people are and help them grow rather than calling them out. Granted, we white people don't know how some of our actions are seen but wow. more
"Welcome to the work. "Layla F. Saad's "Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor" is truly a gift to the world and especially to white people. This is someone directly affected by racism, misogynoir, and other oppressions (though she admits privileges of living outside the USA among others,) taking your hand, caring about your feelings, and also giving you an honest, no-nonsense education about how to combat white supremacy. I grabbed the audiobook version of this on a whim because it was available and was a racial justice book for white (and white passing) people that I had not read. more
After nearly 6 months on the wait list for my library. I didn't get what I hoped for out of this book. Decent book for self reflection on your journey to being a better human, but not as powerful as other work I've read. I feel like this needed more of her in the book to bring it home. She grew up in Qatar and lives in the UK so I was hoping for more of that perspective/challenges. more
My wife and I have been working our way through this one together. Full disclosure: we've not finished it yet. It's been a good conversation starter for the two of us in a lot of ways. It's been especially good for getting us thinking about the ways in which we've utterly failed to live up to the values that we claim to hold while enjoying a considerable level of white, middle-class comfort. At times, though, I find myself a little frustrated with this book. more
I didn't expect this to be a workbook, so honestly, audio isn't the way to go if you're going to do the work day by day unless you only listen to the audiobook on those days. That said, I didn't follow through the 28-day plan with the book but will certainly be revisiting the topics here and digging into them. The strength of this, I think, was how it ties together all of the pieces so many other anti-racism and race-themed nonfiction books that have released in the last few years together in a way that is directed exactly at and for white people. . more
I think this is a really great resource for White folks who really are open to getting down and dirty with the work of unpacking their whiteness. That being said, if you are new to antiracism concepts and in the early stages of recognizing there may be gaps in your knowledge, I think I would hold off on this until learning a bit more. The book is broken into 28 days of topics and each day gives some background info on that topic of the day and then follows with journal prompt questions but it's an overview and not the complete historical context, which I think is important for people early into this self work. I'd recommend a few more books (Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, The New Jim Crow, Lies My Teacher Told Me, White Fragility), a few podcasts (Seeing White, Teaching Hard History), just to name a few resources. I think then you'd be in a place to fully open to doing the work required/needed with this particular book. more
After reading some critiques about Layla Saad, I will not be reading this book. Unfortunately I had won a copy from a GoodReads giveaway, so apologies to the publisher for not doing my research about her ahead of time to know to steer clear. For those interested, check out L'Erin Alta's Facebook post. https://www. facebook. more
If you consider yourself a "good white person," you need to read this. I made a video about it, if you want more of my thoughts. more
This whole genre of critical theory (race, gender, fat studies etc) Have yet to produce even ONE readable book. Unless you're forced to read Kendi's, DiAngelo, this Layla Said, etc, for God's sake save yourself the time. Here are the points in every one of these books. 1) All white people are racist (lately the term white supremacist has been thrown in there to cause extra guilt and shame. )2) There is no such thing as not racist. more
This book has some good points. As a caucasian there are many things I've never had to worry or even think about in terms of racism. This helped me to understand what I take for granted and appreciate what others face more. Overall though the book is pushy and the author acts as if her program is the only way to overcome racism. It backs everyone into a corner though. more
As a white lady trying to hold up a mirror to my own privilege, these exercises were incredibly eye opening. I recommend this book to everyone who asks me how and where to start. . more
Me and White Supremacy was originally a 28-day Instagram challenge. At the beginning of 2020, Ms. Saad turned the Instagram challenge into a book as a way to reach a wider audience. Each section takes you through some tough hitting questions and also a time of reflection. The reader is challenged to figure out what to do with their newly gained knowledge. more
Ich habe dieses Buch schon häufiger auf englisch gesehen und auch da hat es mich schon sehr interessiert. Als ich jetzt auf deutsch erschienen ist, musste ich es also direkt lesen. Was an diesem Buch so spanned ist, sind die Arbeitsfragen, die am Ende jedes Themas folgen. Das Buch liest man also nicht nur, sondern man denkt nach jedem Kapitel über sein eigenes Leben nach und reflektiert, wie und wo Rassismus im Umfeld existiert. Die Autorin merkt häufig an, dass es ein unbequemes Buch ist, das man häufig Unbehagen fühlen wird - und das stimmt. more