{"id":6309,"date":"2022-09-29T11:57:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T11:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=6309"},"modified":"2022-09-30T19:09:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T19:09:37","slug":"courageous-discomfort-how-to-have-important-brave-life-changing-conversations-about-race-and-racism-by-shanterra-mcbride-and-rosalind-wiseman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/29\/courageous-discomfort-how-to-have-important-brave-life-changing-conversations-about-race-and-racism-by-shanterra-mcbride-and-rosalind-wiseman\/","title":{"rendered":"Courageous Discomfort: How to Have Important, Brave, Life-Changing Conversations about Race and Racism by Shanterra McBride and Rosalind Wiseman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"c.2022, Chronicle Books $24.95 208 pages<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Terri Schlichenmeyer<\/em>
\nThe Truth Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

About a size seven.<\/p>\n

That’s how big your mouth must be, because you just stuck your size-seven foot into it\u00a0\u2013 which is\u00a0great,<\/em>\u00a0because now things are awkward and\u00a0you never meant harm.\u00a0You want to have the\u00a0right<\/em>\u00a0conversation\u00a0about race,\u00a0you strive to be respectful, and\u00a0Courageous Discomfort<\/em> by Shanterra McBride and Rosalind Wiseman<\/strong>\u00a0can help.<\/p>\n

So your foot is back on the ground now and that didn’t feel good, did it? Probably not, but McBride and Wiseman say that discomfort is necessary for\u00a0(eventually) doing good in\u00a0order to make change. Recognizing that everyone has a right to dignity and\u00a0acknowledging\u00a0their worth is the first step.\u00a0The next is reading the series of “questions” or might-happen scenarios that the authors present and getting\u00a0some ideas on how to\u00a0be a good ally.<\/p>\n

Should you speak up, for instance,\u00a0if a teacher says something racist in class, even if it might mean trouble for you? What if it’s a friend, or a family member who says\u00a0something offensive? Should you apologize for what others have done, even it was a long time ago \u2013 and if so, how? You say you don’t “see color,” but when do you\u00a0actually\u00a0need<\/em>\u00a0to see it?<\/p>\n

Everyone has biases, the authors say,\u00a0but\u00a0curiosity is natural for learning,\u00a0so\u00a0take care that microaggressions don’t get in the way. They acknowledge that being curious is tricky, but that you should never be afraid of it.<\/p>\n

Don’t be offended if someone doesn’t trust you; there’s a reason for it, and it goes way back.\u00a0Likewise, don’t be mad if they don’t always include you\u00a0in every event. Be willing to listen if someone has a gripe with you, a post, a statement, or something you did that hurt them. Be patient. Figure out what being an ally means to you. Leave a Black person’s hair\u00a0alone<\/em>. And finally, remember that taking ownership isn’t about shame, but about growth.\u00a0A step in the right direction is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

In its first few pages,\u00a0Courageous Discomfort<\/em> is a perky explanation of the friendship of McBride (who is Black) and Wiseman (who is white and Jewish).\u00a0It doesn’t linger; the book then takes a scolding tone before it settles in to the help it promises.<\/p>\n

When the authors advise readers to use caution, they mean it, though.<\/p>\n

There’s a little bit of talking-in-a-circle inside this book, and enough repetition that you’d notice. There’s some confusion in how readers should\u00a0act when meeting new people\u00a0\u2013 do you ask\u00a0them\u00a0about themselves, or don’t you dare? \u2013 and prompts to speak up when one sees injustices, but no good help on that for the quietest of readers.<\/p>\n

Conversely, and to be sure, the advice the authors give lays a great foundation for equality work, but nuances in the narrative mean that this is probably a book for older teens and young adults. If day-to-day activism is the goal, Courageous Discomfort<\/em> helps you put your money where your mouth is.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

c.2022, Chronicle Books $24.95 208 pages By Terri Schlichenmeyer The Truth Contributor About a size seven. That’s how big your mouth must be, because you just stuck your size-seven foot into it\u00a0\u2013 which is\u00a0great,\u00a0because now things are awkward and\u00a0you never meant harm.\u00a0You want to have the\u00a0right\u00a0conversation\u00a0about race,\u00a0you strive to be respectful, and\u00a0Courageous Discomfort by Shanterra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[20],"class_list":["post-6309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book_review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6312,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6309\/revisions\/6312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6309"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=6309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}