Roxanne reviews Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
The end of the year brings an introspective and retrospective mood. To that end, I read Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by ESPN Announcer and former NFL Player Emmanuel Acho.
When blatant racist situations arose again this spring, a plethora of race related books were increasingly in demand. While two of BookStore1's bestsellers were White Fragility and How to be an Anti-Racist, I chose Emmanuel Acho’s book as my new learning experience regarding race.
Emmanuel’s book is well laid out with each chapter breaking down a race question by looking through a historical lens, to where we are now and to what solution oriented approaches are best practices.
The book helped me understand the history of racial identifiers. I like Emmanuel’s highlight of the late great Gwendolyn Brooks’ choice of ‘black’ with the option to ask anyone I engage with regularly with which identifier she/he prefers.
I also appreciated the legacy of the angry black man stereotype and how police actions should focus on protecting people from injustice and harmful actions rather than policing someone’s emotions.
Even if you feel you already have a handle on race relations, this book will bring clarity and offer you a personal plan of action.