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Me and White Supremacy Workbook
Part education, part activation, the Me And White Supremacy Workbook is a first-of-its-kind personal anti-racism tool for people holding white privilege to begin to examine and dismantle their complicity in the oppressive system of white supremacy.
133 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2018
About the author
Layla F. Saad
20 books521 followersLayla 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
February 7, 2020
Let me start out by saying, I am a person who is strongly anti-racist. I try very hard in my life to treat everyone with respect and as an individual, valuable person, regardless of anything that sets them apart from me. I am around people of color all the time in my neighborhood, city, and job, and have friends who are people of color. I am one of the only white people in my neighborhood. I try hard to understand other peoples' perspectives and put myself in other people's shoes. I couldn't say I have no racism in me (absolutely nobody could), nor that I don't notice people's race at all, but I generally go around living my life without thinking much about what race the people I encounter are, because I generally just see people as people (it turns out this is apparently racist, as you will see below). I looked into this book with honest curiosity and open-mindedness.
This book is a 28 day program wherein readers examine racism in their lives. It points out a number of common biases and behaviors of white people towards people of color, and advantages that white people, in general, are born with. None of that was all that surprising to me, as someone already familiar with literature addressing racism, and with self-analysis of racist attitudes.
On the surface, this, of course, seems like a good thing, doesn't everyone want to be less racist? But if you read between the lines (really not too far between the lines), it is a book that dehumanizes people of color and white people alike. It dehumanizes all people.
The basic premise of the book is that the number-one defining characteristic of any human being is the racial, sexual, gender, etc characteristics with which they identify or display. According to Saad, those aspects are the center of your existence. Nothing of your personality, character, personal interests, ambitions, etc are of any mentionable consequence. Society is a network of overlapping oppressive forces (no positive aspects of American society are ever mentioned). White people (yes, even you), are by default white supremacists, and support violence against everyone else, just by being alive and going about their daily lives (really, it says this, repeatedly, from many angles). Black people, are by default, hapless, blameless victims, with black women being the least valued (therefore most valued) people in society. Feminists are bad because they should be focusing on black women rather than women in general. People of color who pass as white are nearly, but not quite as bad, as white people because they reap the benefits of white people's oppression by looking like a white person.
I am somewhat familiar with the functional methods and tactics of cults. The book actually bares close resemblance to a brainwashing method (complete with instructions on how to create reading groups to further push the ideology). It is one month (extendable to an entire lifetime) of daily meditations on how guilty one needs to be for being white (it is like a new sort of original sin). The author attempts to find every possible angle to guilt white people for their very existence, with the antidote to that guilt being fanatically promoting anti-racist causes and sacrificing themselves for people of color, and specifically black women. Not only is one prompted to feel guilty about something one has no control over (the color of skin one was born into), but also many ways to feel guilty for the way one may attempt to fight racism (your methods are flawed, because you are white). One is encouraged to risk or abandon career ambitions, family ties, friends, status, etc, for the cause of "this work," as it is often referred, and to give preferential treatment to black people, regardless of other characteristics. Any objections you may have to the ideas in the book are anticipated, and labeled with names denoting their role as part of your white supremacist mentality (you wouldn't want to "tone police," now would you?)
I would encourage anyone who has read the book to look at common characteristics of cults; the philosophy of this book fits many of those characteristics (the author even claims to have been inspired and guided directly by God, to write the book, no joke!)
The book has an authoritarian and controlling undertone, and every statement is presented as an irrefutable fact, although no scientific studies are cited as support, anywhere. According to the book, questioning the ideas in the book is racist. Thinking to yourself that you have not done any particular one of the things it suggests all white people do is also racist. Attempting to play any role in a discussion about race with a person of color, other than that of passive subject, is racist. Appreciation of European standards of beauty is racist. Critically independently thinking in any way about race is essentially painted as racist. Total submission is required.
There are a number of direct conceptual contradictions in the book. As one example, the author suggests that to _not_ take note of someone's race is to dehumanize them, because race is a key part of who each person is. People of color NEED to be identified as people of color, or they are not really being seen. In a subsequent chapter, the reader is criticized for assuming that all people of a race share the same identity. More guilt please!
The book never addresses the psychological or possible biological/evolutionary reasons for racism (there is very good evidence which suggests there are such reasons, something we have to contend with if we are to realistically try to reduce racism, which of course I feel we should), nor the well established fact that all individuals who identify as part of a group feel a bias for other people of their group. The book, simply put, is not a realistic look at the big picture of racism or what can realistically be done about it.
The author lives in Qatar, a monarchy ruled by Sharia law, and seems quite happy to be there, as she feels it is free from the system of white supremacy that the West suffers from (never mind women's rights or freedom of expression: the penalty for adultery in Qatar is 100 lashes and a woman's testimony in court is worth half that of a man, unwed mothers are imprisoned). Working conditions approximating slavery are still common in Qatar. Nowhere in the book is it acknowledged that many of the tools which have allowed the author to present the book (her education, the language she is using, the technology she is using, the social media platform through which the challenges in the book were originally presented, the concept that all people are deserving of dignity and rights, etc...) are at least in part, products of the Western system of total oppression she seems to believe in. She seems to be oblivious and ungrateful for everything she has in life. I found her shameless mention of the use of her iPhone (as the prelude to her diatribe on her ultra-oppressed status within a culture of white supremacy in the west) to be delightfully ironic.
According to the book, I am right now perpetrating an act of violence against the author and all people of color by writing this critical review. The author would also say this critical review is my "white fragility" on display (critical thinking is not an option).
Other criticisms:
• The author has no academic credentials to my knowledge (if she does, they are not mentioned). She does not cite any sources or scientific studies.
• The book starts with multiple separate chapters about the author (you just want the book to start and she keeps going on about herself).
• The first twelve chapters of the book need editing, badly. In fact, aside from the instructions on how to run a group "circle" for the program, they are mostly fluff/filler and probably don't need to be in the book at all.
In summary, I find this book sort of frightening. The author has nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram (most of her posts are selfies, by the way). If you look at the other reviews, you can see that people read it think they are doing something constructive, because it seems challenging, and "rewards" the believer with feelings of piety (relief from the guilt that has been well established through the "education" you receive in the book). People are going into this unsuspecting, intending to help make a more harmonious world, but that is not what you really get here. It promotes a repressive and authoritarian philosophy (as ironic as that may seem for a book written, supposedly, to combat racism). I would not be surprised if the author or one of her followers would attempt to have this review removed.
This is a "wolf in sheeps clothing," in one of the worst ways.
This book is a 28 day program wherein readers examine racism in their lives. It points out a number of common biases and behaviors of white people towards people of color, and advantages that white people, in general, are born with. None of that was all that surprising to me, as someone already familiar with literature addressing racism, and with self-analysis of racist attitudes.
On the surface, this, of course, seems like a good thing, doesn't everyone want to be less racist? But if you read between the lines (really not too far between the lines), it is a book that dehumanizes people of color and white people alike. It dehumanizes all people.
The basic premise of the book is that the number-one defining characteristic of any human being is the racial, sexual, gender, etc characteristics with which they identify or display. According to Saad, those aspects are the center of your existence. Nothing of your personality, character, personal interests, ambitions, etc are of any mentionable consequence. Society is a network of overlapping oppressive forces (no positive aspects of American society are ever mentioned). White people (yes, even you), are by default white supremacists, and support violence against everyone else, just by being alive and going about their daily lives (really, it says this, repeatedly, from many angles). Black people, are by default, hapless, blameless victims, with black women being the least valued (therefore most valued) people in society. Feminists are bad because they should be focusing on black women rather than women in general. People of color who pass as white are nearly, but not quite as bad, as white people because they reap the benefits of white people's oppression by looking like a white person.
I am somewhat familiar with the functional methods and tactics of cults. The book actually bares close resemblance to a brainwashing method (complete with instructions on how to create reading groups to further push the ideology). It is one month (extendable to an entire lifetime) of daily meditations on how guilty one needs to be for being white (it is like a new sort of original sin). The author attempts to find every possible angle to guilt white people for their very existence, with the antidote to that guilt being fanatically promoting anti-racist causes and sacrificing themselves for people of color, and specifically black women. Not only is one prompted to feel guilty about something one has no control over (the color of skin one was born into), but also many ways to feel guilty for the way one may attempt to fight racism (your methods are flawed, because you are white). One is encouraged to risk or abandon career ambitions, family ties, friends, status, etc, for the cause of "this work," as it is often referred, and to give preferential treatment to black people, regardless of other characteristics. Any objections you may have to the ideas in the book are anticipated, and labeled with names denoting their role as part of your white supremacist mentality (you wouldn't want to "tone police," now would you?)
I would encourage anyone who has read the book to look at common characteristics of cults; the philosophy of this book fits many of those characteristics (the author even claims to have been inspired and guided directly by God, to write the book, no joke!)
The book has an authoritarian and controlling undertone, and every statement is presented as an irrefutable fact, although no scientific studies are cited as support, anywhere. According to the book, questioning the ideas in the book is racist. Thinking to yourself that you have not done any particular one of the things it suggests all white people do is also racist. Attempting to play any role in a discussion about race with a person of color, other than that of passive subject, is racist. Appreciation of European standards of beauty is racist. Critically independently thinking in any way about race is essentially painted as racist. Total submission is required.
There are a number of direct conceptual contradictions in the book. As one example, the author suggests that to _not_ take note of someone's race is to dehumanize them, because race is a key part of who each person is. People of color NEED to be identified as people of color, or they are not really being seen. In a subsequent chapter, the reader is criticized for assuming that all people of a race share the same identity. More guilt please!
The book never addresses the psychological or possible biological/evolutionary reasons for racism (there is very good evidence which suggests there are such reasons, something we have to contend with if we are to realistically try to reduce racism, which of course I feel we should), nor the well established fact that all individuals who identify as part of a group feel a bias for other people of their group. The book, simply put, is not a realistic look at the big picture of racism or what can realistically be done about it.
The author lives in Qatar, a monarchy ruled by Sharia law, and seems quite happy to be there, as she feels it is free from the system of white supremacy that the West suffers from (never mind women's rights or freedom of expression: the penalty for adultery in Qatar is 100 lashes and a woman's testimony in court is worth half that of a man, unwed mothers are imprisoned). Working conditions approximating slavery are still common in Qatar. Nowhere in the book is it acknowledged that many of the tools which have allowed the author to present the book (her education, the language she is using, the technology she is using, the social media platform through which the challenges in the book were originally presented, the concept that all people are deserving of dignity and rights, etc...) are at least in part, products of the Western system of total oppression she seems to believe in. She seems to be oblivious and ungrateful for everything she has in life. I found her shameless mention of the use of her iPhone (as the prelude to her diatribe on her ultra-oppressed status within a culture of white supremacy in the west) to be delightfully ironic.
According to the book, I am right now perpetrating an act of violence against the author and all people of color by writing this critical review. The author would also say this critical review is my "white fragility" on display (critical thinking is not an option).
Other criticisms:
• The author has no academic credentials to my knowledge (if she does, they are not mentioned). She does not cite any sources or scientific studies.
• The book starts with multiple separate chapters about the author (you just want the book to start and she keeps going on about herself).
• The first twelve chapters of the book need editing, badly. In fact, aside from the instructions on how to run a group "circle" for the program, they are mostly fluff/filler and probably don't need to be in the book at all.
In summary, I find this book sort of frightening. The author has nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram (most of her posts are selfies, by the way). If you look at the other reviews, you can see that people read it think they are doing something constructive, because it seems challenging, and "rewards" the believer with feelings of piety (relief from the guilt that has been well established through the "education" you receive in the book). People are going into this unsuspecting, intending to help make a more harmonious world, but that is not what you really get here. It promotes a repressive and authoritarian philosophy (as ironic as that may seem for a book written, supposedly, to combat racism). I would not be surprised if the author or one of her followers would attempt to have this review removed.
This is a "wolf in sheeps clothing," in one of the worst ways.
December 11, 2018
This is a book I believe everyone should work through. Our culture, our world is set up with a white bias. Just fact. Those who are white are beneficiaries. What I didn't understand was how it not only "didn't benefit" BIPOC - but that it was so very harmful. From my privileged place of white, cisgendered, middle class America - I just didn't understand. The part that was so hard for me to wrap my head around was that I thought I was trying really hard. However, without understanding what you are dealing with, it is truly impossible to address the needed changes. The best place for everyone to start - is with themselves. There is a free download of this book available on line - and I would strongly encourage you to download it and begin the work. And then make a donation to Layla F. Saad to thank her for her gift to the world!
Shelved as 'on-hiatus'
March 14, 2019I was reading this workbook with a group online and then the facilitator linked to this FB post and said:
It came to light that several BIPOC female activists, have been critiquing and criticizing Layla Saad’s workbook. These critiques and complaints seem to fall into two categories: 1)that Layla is not African-American, she lives in Qatar and is therefore not subjected to the same kind of racism, or quantity of racism that most BIPOC encounter living in the United States. Additionally to this point is the issue that she does not live in a white supremacists society.
The second critique, which is equally if not slightly more troubling is the accusations that parts of the workbook may have been lifted from other works and in fact there are accusations of out right plagiarism.
February 5, 2019
This was one of the most difficult books I've read, but also one of the most influential books. There were several times where I just wanted to quit reading and writing because being faced with the truth was extremely difficult for me. However, I'm glad I stuck with the workbook until the end. This workbook required a lot of introspection through journaling and helped me realize where I need to improve with my efforts towards anti-racism. This book gave explanations on subjects such as white privilege, white fragility, tone policing, white silence, and more, and helped me see how I as a white person use these things to my benefit (sometimes without even realizing it) and how that can harm black and indigenous people of color. Through the prompts in the workbook, I was able learn about the tools that white supremacy thrives on, how I feed into that as a white person, but also how I can change and make personal goals toward anti-racism work. This book was extremely helpful, practical, and life changing. I highly recommend this workbook.
*This is an online workbook that anyone can access for free at https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/
*This is an online workbook that anyone can access for free at https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/
May 17, 2019
Part of a well balanced toolkit of becoming a less shitty white person.
February 4, 2019
Reading these truths and journaling responses to the prompts in this workbook was so much harder than I had imagined. It is never easy to look inside yourself and face the ugly things that have lived in there for so long, so many of them unconscious. When we live in a society built on white supremacy, and when we are steeped in racist ideology from the time we are born, we cannot help but internalize it. But we can absolutely do the necessary work to recognize it, call it what it is, root it out, and actively seek to do better. I cannot emphasize enough how important this work is, and how necessary active participation in anti-racism is. We are in charge of our own education and training in this work, and I am extremely grateful to Layla Saad for taking the time to provide this outline for self-reflection, honesty, and impetus for change.
You can access this free workbook at https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/
You can access this free workbook at https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/
March 3, 2019
My boss at the Harry Potter Alliance encouraged white (& passing) volunteers to do this workbook in the month of February, and needless to say I have learned a lot. The questions didn't allow for any shying away, and I know now that, though I have a lot of work to do, I have a direction.
Nonetheless, I'm afraid I still fall into a couple of the "why did I read this?" categories Saad mentions at the end of the book: "There will be those who read this book because they want others to think they are a good white person. There will be those who read this book because they genuinely want to do the work, but they tap out after a few days because it challenged them too much and required too much of them."
I am going to go back and look at my highlights and notes and answers and I am going to listen and learn and be anti-racist. No matter what it takes.
This workbook is free online, so please do donate to the author, Layla F. Saad, via PayPal if you can.
Nonetheless, I'm afraid I still fall into a couple of the "why did I read this?" categories Saad mentions at the end of the book: "There will be those who read this book because they want others to think they are a good white person. There will be those who read this book because they genuinely want to do the work, but they tap out after a few days because it challenged them too much and required too much of them."
I am going to go back and look at my highlights and notes and answers and I am going to listen and learn and be anti-racist. No matter what it takes.
This workbook is free online, so please do donate to the author, Layla F. Saad, via PayPal if you can.
February 15, 2020
This workbook opens your eyes in many ways. I recommend everyone to do this workbook. I'm commited to do this anti-racism work, and will therefore again and again come back to this workbook.
February 14, 2020
I downloaded this in the immediate aftermath of the diversity blow-up in the knitting world, early in 2019, because it was being recommended by various people and it sounded like it might be useful.
I’m glad I read it, but I can’t say that I found it especially helpful, in a practical sense. Part of this is because I was a history major in college, and I wound up studying the African slave trade quite a bit. This gives me a somewhat broader perspective than some people, I gather (many are surprised to learn how many more slaves went to South rather than North America, for example). Of course everybody was complicit in the slave trade; of course it happened in places other than the American South; of course racism continues in modern times. None of this seems newsworthy to me, but given people’s reactions maybe I’m out of step.
My professors were very matter-of-fact in addressing the racism that underlay the events. One gave us a specific warning never to use the term “natives” in our own papers, saying, “It was the term used for centuries, so you’re going to read it a lot and it’s going to start seeming normal to you—but it’s not, and you can’t. Don’t fall into that trap.” Now that was a useful reminder, not only from a practical sense but also as a warning about how easy it can be to absorb attitudes and assumptions without noticing.
I’ve long been keenly aware of my privilege, which is enormous but far more economically based than anything else (in fairness, when I was studying history I did tend to lean toward economic interpretations). I got a terrific education, which is priceless, but the most important parts came from my parents being strict about language and encouraging me to read anything and everything. But once I’ve “checked” my privilege, then what? It’s right here, as part of me, but being aware of it doesn’t change anything; it’s not like I can make myself less educated.
My other problem with this workbook was that I’m both white and Latina, and it does not handle “mixed” sorts particularly well. I’ve been collecting ethnicities for years; I’ve been taken for white, Latin, Jewish, black, and (my personal fave) Filipina. I don’t honestly know how new people are going to perceive me in any given context, which seriously undercuts the message of a book which is so focused on people’s reactions.
I’m glad I read it, but I can’t say that I found it especially helpful, in a practical sense. Part of this is because I was a history major in college, and I wound up studying the African slave trade quite a bit. This gives me a somewhat broader perspective than some people, I gather (many are surprised to learn how many more slaves went to South rather than North America, for example). Of course everybody was complicit in the slave trade; of course it happened in places other than the American South; of course racism continues in modern times. None of this seems newsworthy to me, but given people’s reactions maybe I’m out of step.
My professors were very matter-of-fact in addressing the racism that underlay the events. One gave us a specific warning never to use the term “natives” in our own papers, saying, “It was the term used for centuries, so you’re going to read it a lot and it’s going to start seeming normal to you—but it’s not, and you can’t. Don’t fall into that trap.” Now that was a useful reminder, not only from a practical sense but also as a warning about how easy it can be to absorb attitudes and assumptions without noticing.
I’ve long been keenly aware of my privilege, which is enormous but far more economically based than anything else (in fairness, when I was studying history I did tend to lean toward economic interpretations). I got a terrific education, which is priceless, but the most important parts came from my parents being strict about language and encouraging me to read anything and everything. But once I’ve “checked” my privilege, then what? It’s right here, as part of me, but being aware of it doesn’t change anything; it’s not like I can make myself less educated.
My other problem with this workbook was that I’m both white and Latina, and it does not handle “mixed” sorts particularly well. I’ve been collecting ethnicities for years; I’ve been taken for white, Latin, Jewish, black, and (my personal fave) Filipina. I don’t honestly know how new people are going to perceive me in any given context, which seriously undercuts the message of a book which is so focused on people’s reactions.
February 12, 2019
Phenomenal resource for engaging white people in anti-racist thinking and action.
"The primary force which drives my work is my desire to become a good ancestor. I know that my soul work is to help create change, facilitate healing, and seed new possibilities for those who will come after I am gone. This workbook is a contribution to that purpose. It is a resource which I hope will help you do the internal and external work needed to become a good ancestor, too." -- layla f. saad
"The primary force which drives my work is my desire to become a good ancestor. I know that my soul work is to help create change, facilitate healing, and seed new possibilities for those who will come after I am gone. This workbook is a contribution to that purpose. It is a resource which I hope will help you do the internal and external work needed to become a good ancestor, too." -- layla f. saad
January 21, 2019
4.5⭐️ required reading.
February 2, 2021
I understand the necessity for books like this, and as a mixed-race person who has experienced racism since childhood, I appreciate any efforts to help people become less racist. However, I don't feel that this book was particularly effective in doing so.
Firstly, the title is only likely to appeal to those who want to become aware of and eradicate any racist beliefs and behaviours in themselves, not the extremely, openly, unashamedly racist people in society who arguably need more help to become less racist. The kind of people who really need to read such a book will not, because the approach does not address the psychological or cultural issues that lead them to be racist, nor gives them the tools to overcome it.
Secondly, the content only seems to help people recognise their white privilege and not do anything to actually improve outcomes for PoC. Awareness is a start, but what then? Give people practical, realistic suggestions on what they can do to change things, especially when most people are products of their upbringing and culture (which they could not control any more than we can control the colour of our skin). Moreover, what can they do to fight against structural injustices through which the majority of humans suffer in one way or another?
Thirdly, and my major problem with most of the books that I've read on race, is the treatment of mixed-race people. Of course, this is a topic close to my heart and riles me easily, but I also wish that writers on race spent more time trying to understand this complex issue rather than boiling it down to one simple issue (in Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Race, it's suggested that the issue is the white side of the family rejecting the mixed-race person).
In this book, Saad seems to suggest that mixed-race people are nearly as bad as white people if they are pale enough to be perceived as white, which is a huge over-simplification. I have a non-white name, nobody can tell where I'm from, and I don't fit comfortably into either culture. The majority of the racism I've experienced in my life (and it IS racism even if race writers try to claim it's not, as the hatred and rejection is entirely based on race), has been from the non-white side of my family. Saad fails to acknowledge the many issues that mixed-race people face, generalising us down to "well, you look kinda white, so you haven't experienced racism and you're almost as bad as a white supremacist."
Finally, I struggled with the book's structure. The opening section takes forever to get started and seems to be a huge amount of preamble. By contrast, the actual workbook lacks content, explanation, detail, research, and citations. I felt that it was hugely lacking and kept feeling "am I missing something?" because it was so vague and made so many generalisations.
On the whole, I find it concerning that a book on race could make so many generalisations about people of every race (black, white, mixed, etc.) when one of the issues inherent in racism is generalising about race. If you take the view that every white person is a white supremacist and that every pale mixed-race person is almost a white supremacist, how does that make you any better than someone who assumes that every black or Asian person is X, Y, or Z?
Firstly, the title is only likely to appeal to those who want to become aware of and eradicate any racist beliefs and behaviours in themselves, not the extremely, openly, unashamedly racist people in society who arguably need more help to become less racist. The kind of people who really need to read such a book will not, because the approach does not address the psychological or cultural issues that lead them to be racist, nor gives them the tools to overcome it.
Secondly, the content only seems to help people recognise their white privilege and not do anything to actually improve outcomes for PoC. Awareness is a start, but what then? Give people practical, realistic suggestions on what they can do to change things, especially when most people are products of their upbringing and culture (which they could not control any more than we can control the colour of our skin). Moreover, what can they do to fight against structural injustices through which the majority of humans suffer in one way or another?
Thirdly, and my major problem with most of the books that I've read on race, is the treatment of mixed-race people. Of course, this is a topic close to my heart and riles me easily, but I also wish that writers on race spent more time trying to understand this complex issue rather than boiling it down to one simple issue (in Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Race, it's suggested that the issue is the white side of the family rejecting the mixed-race person).
In this book, Saad seems to suggest that mixed-race people are nearly as bad as white people if they are pale enough to be perceived as white, which is a huge over-simplification. I have a non-white name, nobody can tell where I'm from, and I don't fit comfortably into either culture. The majority of the racism I've experienced in my life (and it IS racism even if race writers try to claim it's not, as the hatred and rejection is entirely based on race), has been from the non-white side of my family. Saad fails to acknowledge the many issues that mixed-race people face, generalising us down to "well, you look kinda white, so you haven't experienced racism and you're almost as bad as a white supremacist."
Finally, I struggled with the book's structure. The opening section takes forever to get started and seems to be a huge amount of preamble. By contrast, the actual workbook lacks content, explanation, detail, research, and citations. I felt that it was hugely lacking and kept feeling "am I missing something?" because it was so vague and made so many generalisations.
On the whole, I find it concerning that a book on race could make so many generalisations about people of every race (black, white, mixed, etc.) when one of the issues inherent in racism is generalising about race. If you take the view that every white person is a white supremacist and that every pale mixed-race person is almost a white supremacist, how does that make you any better than someone who assumes that every black or Asian person is X, Y, or Z?
March 25, 2019
Saad's workbook gave me a great space to think through my own white supremacy. I wish I had participated in the 28-day Instagram challenge instead, to see other responses. I would like to revisit this workbook every few years - hopefully with new knowledge and experiences.
April 26, 2019
All white people need to do this work. Honestly, truthfully, openly, thoroughly, do this work. And compensate ($$) Layla Saad for the emotional and practical work she has put into creating this workbook for us.
September 3, 2019
Layla Saad's workbook is a vital text that guides the reader through hard-hitting questions to uncover personal, internalized white supremacy. It's easy to acknowledge personal biases, but none of us should stop there. It is up to us to unlearn and undo the lessons that we have consciously and unconsciously learned. I was challenged and convicted by the questions and my own responses to them. Even though I finished the 28-days, I know that I am not truly done the work, and this is just the beginning of unlearning my own unconscious racism and joining the anti-racism work that is going on now.
I highly recommend this, specifically her newly-published edition. However, you have to be prepared to be challenged and be uncomfortable. Really seeing your own failures and the ways you've been complicit is not easy, so don't bother picking this up if you are not going to really engage.
I highly recommend this, specifically her newly-published edition. However, you have to be prepared to be challenged and be uncomfortable. Really seeing your own failures and the ways you've been complicit is not easy, so don't bother picking this up if you are not going to really engage.
March 5, 2019
Important anti-racism work being done here. For white people who know “this current state of affairs isn’t right but where can I start” the starting point is here. Unlike the many great books I’ve read on being anti-racist, this one doesn’t let you keep the work at an academic/arms length distance, it puts the reader in the work. Doing the journaling prompts is an essential part of this work, reading alone won’t do it. I recommend it highly to those white people ready to look at themselves, their beliefs, and becoming a vocal anti-racist advocate.
March 29, 2019
Three-line review: I spent lots of time over the past 28 days working through a myriad of journal prompts that helped me understand my own racism and white supremacy in my life. This workbook should be required work for every white person as it walks through all the ways whiteness in general (and the reader's whiteness, in particular) harms BIPOC. I'm giving it four stars because, though I have a better grasp on the work I need to do, I still don't feel fully equipped with the tools I need to address white supremacy; I wish I had a handful of resources to use to move forward from this point.
October 5, 2019
100% recommend this book to everyone willing to do the work in understanding their role in how our systems reinforce white dominance/supremacy. It provides prompts at the individual level to understand the role we play in upholding systems of oppression, how we can change our own behavior to improve inclusion, and how this work is a lifelong process - particularly for those who hold a lot of white privilege.
May 9, 2019
Essential for all white people. Whatever makes you uncomfortable in journaling about this process is what you most need to examine.
August 8, 2019
essential work for all white & white passing folk - we can't really do the work on destroying white supremacy around us before confronting it within.
December 5, 2019
Such an important read in order to become ANTI-Racist. Being merely not racist leaves us complicit in maintaining white supremacy.
June 4, 2020
I’ve picked up the book on Kindle during the BLM protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police. It had been a recommended reading suggestion that popped up time and time again in my Instagram feed. I wanted to spend some time and reflect on the issues that were being raised by activists across the United States and beyond, including France. I did not know that originally this book was an Instagram journaling challenge, didn’t sign up mentally for a “28 day challenge”, so it was quite awkward when I got scolded repeatedly by the author if I didn’t keep my journal properly (which I fully admit, I didn’t). But that is a minor detail, with the fault fully on my side. The book did give me what I wanted. An overview of the common terms used yesterday and today by the BLM mouvement and beyond. The definitions and ideas behind the new words and phrases that will hopefully be at the base of a new social contract of justice, both as warning (white silence / fragility etc) as well as aspirational (being a good ancestor). It was not the first time I encountered the vast majority of terms, but it was necessary for me at this time to gain a deeper understanding on this subject.
I reflected particularly to the white privileged I have as a Romanian in relation to the Romani people. A particularly difficult subject to approach, even with young people nowadays in my home country. It is a subject I’ve been unpacking for the past few years alone and I find that the work of American activists on the subject of race is an incredible asset to finally acknowledge and address what happens in Romania. It is here that I encountered some difficult personal reflection moments.
However, by the deeper understanding this book gave me, I actually mean a basic one (a stark revelation of how work much I have ahead of me), which has to be completed by other books that explore these terms in more detail, coming from seasoned researchers, in various academic fields and beyond. The author is a good educator, an essential figure to spread knowledge to large groups of people, but the PHD in me needs more data and more nuance. So, this book is a great intro, excellent starting point but, not much more. I recommend it, I thank it, and I’ll go beyond it.
I reflected particularly to the white privileged I have as a Romanian in relation to the Romani people. A particularly difficult subject to approach, even with young people nowadays in my home country. It is a subject I’ve been unpacking for the past few years alone and I find that the work of American activists on the subject of race is an incredible asset to finally acknowledge and address what happens in Romania. It is here that I encountered some difficult personal reflection moments.
However, by the deeper understanding this book gave me, I actually mean a basic one (a stark revelation of how work much I have ahead of me), which has to be completed by other books that explore these terms in more detail, coming from seasoned researchers, in various academic fields and beyond. The author is a good educator, an essential figure to spread knowledge to large groups of people, but the PHD in me needs more data and more nuance. So, this book is a great intro, excellent starting point but, not much more. I recommend it, I thank it, and I’ll go beyond it.
May 6, 2020
I downloaded the free ebook last year (2019) and knew I wanted to be very intentional in reading and reflecting, so when shelter-in-place came in this spring (2020) I did the 28-day challenge. This admission in and of itself feels reflective of my waiting and wanting a "more convenient" time for increased comfort in facing the toxicity of White Supremacy and my part in it. I'm learning! And from this learning, commit to do better. This was (is) challenging and messy and necessary work. I'll be revisiting it as I continue on my journey of antiracism.
April 6, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised at how this book flowed so well between fact, theory, and personal experience. It was challenging to get through mainly due to the interactive aspects that picked at my brain. As someone who has studied racism/antiracism a fair bit during my degree, I found that there was a lot of information and ideas that I had read previously but for someone a bit more new to the topic it might be more informative. I didn’t manage to finish it in the 28 days recommended but I feel that I was still able to get a lot out of the writing prompts after each chapter.
February 27, 2020
Layla Saad’s workbook is a gift to white people. It offers a wonderful opportunity to spend 28 days actively engaged in self-reflection about our whiteness, the myth that we’ve internalized of white superiority, and how that affects both us and Black, Indigenous, People of Color. This workbook can be used by folx anywhere along the spectrum of racial knowledge.
February 14, 2020
MUST-READ for every white person in this world!
June 12, 2020
I did not like this book at all. I started out trying to cope with Saad's extremely ethnocentric narrow perspective and lack of subjective knowledge or research about the 'white people' she is supposed to be writing for.
Then it got worse and I found it to be opinionated in an underhand, guilt-inducing way. It's also very boring and constantly trying to persuade me I'm a racist when I am not.
Then I am asked to be guilty of 'corporate' racism. No charge or evidence or trial - just 'guilty as a white'. Well...no, thank you, I don't have hidden racism either and disapprove of the charge of 'guilty because of skin colour'.
This is in itself, a Nazi-style belief, and why so many minorities were killed - why is this book supporting it?
Its not mentioned that white people also cope with many degrees of adversity, such as dying homeless on a frozen street, and that it's not all high achievers - I suspect she hasn't a clue how white people suffer and struggle, like all people. And if there is wealth and privilege, it should be shared out with everyone, and many people want this to happen and work for it all their lives. This author just wants it banished.
Fortunately I have black friends and neighbours who are just good and sincere and normal and not like this author at all and I'm sure they would not agree with her. Overall, I found it to be insensitive and derogatory to both white and black people, especially those who are fighting for unity, love and mutual respect and making progress too.
So overall, I found this a toxic and damaging book and do not recommend it.
Then it got worse and I found it to be opinionated in an underhand, guilt-inducing way. It's also very boring and constantly trying to persuade me I'm a racist when I am not.
Then I am asked to be guilty of 'corporate' racism. No charge or evidence or trial - just 'guilty as a white'. Well...no, thank you, I don't have hidden racism either and disapprove of the charge of 'guilty because of skin colour'.
This is in itself, a Nazi-style belief, and why so many minorities were killed - why is this book supporting it?
Its not mentioned that white people also cope with many degrees of adversity, such as dying homeless on a frozen street, and that it's not all high achievers - I suspect she hasn't a clue how white people suffer and struggle, like all people. And if there is wealth and privilege, it should be shared out with everyone, and many people want this to happen and work for it all their lives. This author just wants it banished.
Fortunately I have black friends and neighbours who are just good and sincere and normal and not like this author at all and I'm sure they would not agree with her. Overall, I found it to be insensitive and derogatory to both white and black people, especially those who are fighting for unity, love and mutual respect and making progress too.
So overall, I found this a toxic and damaging book and do not recommend it.
October 14, 2020
This is a hard, hard, hard read. Because it forced me to confront my own implicit biases when it comes to race. What more, it required the honesty and commitment to recognize and dig them out. It's exhausting work, it's never-ending work.
Not all topics were challenges for me, I freely admit my own white privilege for instance.
Some were obvious but hard to act upon, as I shy guy white silence is really tough. (I know, woe is me, eh?)
There were even some that I was surprised to discover within myself, I adhere to certain stereotypes such as the way some BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) people talk means they're less intelligent. I was really surprised by this one because I've listened to The Blues, which is rife with AAVE (African American Vernacular English) slang, for decades. I guess I'd always implicitly set myself above them intellectually.
I strongly, strongly, strongly, urge any white person to read this book. Even if you don't believe it or take it seriously enough, it's such a powerful book that you'll get something out of it whether you go in willingly or not.
Not all topics were challenges for me, I freely admit my own white privilege for instance.
Some were obvious but hard to act upon, as I shy guy white silence is really tough. (I know, woe is me, eh?)
There were even some that I was surprised to discover within myself, I adhere to certain stereotypes such as the way some BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) people talk means they're less intelligent. I was really surprised by this one because I've listened to The Blues, which is rife with AAVE (African American Vernacular English) slang, for decades. I guess I'd always implicitly set myself above them intellectually.
I strongly, strongly, strongly, urge any white person to read this book. Even if you don't believe it or take it seriously enough, it's such a powerful book that you'll get something out of it whether you go in willingly or not.
February 23, 2024
I wanted to educate myself by reading this book and I tried to be open-minded and receptive as I read it. But it left me feeling guilty and bad for being born a white person and with a feeling of “damned if I do, damned if I don’t.” According to this book, if I speak out against racism, I am making myself into a “white saviour” and if I don’t say anything, I am guilty of “white silence.” I guess I should just say sorry for existing? I have always loathed racism and spoken out against it but this book tells me that by being born into a white body which I didn’t even choose, I am inherently racist. It tells the reader what thoughts and feelings and beliefs they hold because they are white - and I have never had any of these racist thoughts, feelings or beliefs - I abhor them even more than I abhor this book.
June 15, 2023
I read the accompanying book in a book club at my job. I think the workbook is essential to the true reflection and learning intended by the author. Each day, for 28 days, there are reflections and questions for white readers to read and think through regarding white supremacy as it has infiltrated nearly every aspect of life. Those people in my book club who did not write out their answers seemed to have a different experience than those of us who did. I think it is essential, albeit challenging in so many ways, to truely reflect and challenge oneself to build the internal change that the author intends. Worth the work.
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