What White People Can Do Next by Emma Dabiri

BIBLIORECC

So thrilled to have Aileen recommending us one of her favourite books today. Her beloved account @tindertranslators is known for highlighting with wit and sarcasm the have to be seen to be believed tinder profiles that always come with a complimentary side dish of misogyny. Raising other social issues and giving us some moments of sheer hilarity, Aileen has a book, Tinder Translator coming out in December so watch this space! Check out her amazing recommendation which is an important title we both loved:

“I will never stop going on about What White People Can Do Next by @emmadabiri . Lending her incisive thinking and indepth expertise (both theoretical and historical) to the current discourses on anti-racism, Dabiri cuts across much of the sloganistic, memeification of activism with both sharpness and wit. I first listened on audiobook and found myself nodding along and “mmmhmm-ing” aloud alone in my kitchen! I had to get a hard copy, though because this a book I’ll refer back to again and again.

Early in the book, Dabiri states that the title itself is a provocation, rather than a simple instruction. It is an exercise in the power of naming whiteness. She goes on to demonstrate that race is a product of racism, not the other way round, and outline the limits of “allyship”. Her thoughtful, nuanced approach to this subject is especially relevant, I think, to anyone who spends a lot of time in social media spaces. This book has given me insights that reach beyond anti-racism work, too. Somehow, Dabiri does all this in 150 pages! 

P.S. Yes, I may have strategically placed some other recommendations in the back of this photo because it was so hard to choose!

Order your copy here.