Me and White Supremacy
By Layla Saad
Reviewed by Meilee Anderson
I began reading the book “Me and White Supremacy” because it is part of my local library’s recommended reading list for Black Lives Matter. The words white supremacy makes me think of extremists, “skinheads” the Aryan Nations, radicals. I don’t associate myself with that. I was, still am uncomfortable with the title of this book. Even though the title made me uncomfortable I read it anyway.
I recommend people do not listen or read this book unless they also follow the journaling prompts. It’s the journaling and introspection which make this book a transformative work. Layla Saad talks about being a good ancestor which I find intriguing because it’s something I haven’t thought about before. I reflect on my life and my children’s lives but I don’t spend time thinking farther out. It’s that generational thinking as it pertains to being an antiracist that intrigues me.
Some of the other books I’ve read from the BLM list focused on the history of racism, what systemic racism is, types of racism, suggestions for activism, how to be an antiracist, white fragility, and tips for improving interpersonal racial relations. This book by Saad focuses more on the individual and their personal relationship with color blindness, tokenism, white privilege, white centering, white saviorism, and a host of other topics.
I’m glad I didn’t read “Me and White Supremacy” first in my journey as each of the short chapters give you a little bit of background on the topic and then launches you into a journaling prompt. Luckily, for me this is my eleventh book I’ve completed from the BLM reading list so I understood each of the concepts. I could do the journaling work with a firm grasp having more context on each of the topics.
This was my first time reading a Layla Saad book. If you listen to the “Me and White Supremacy” audiobook, you’ll hear Layla reading. She has a nice voice and I enjoyed her accent. Though it’s a short audio book (only 5 hours long) it took me about a month to work my way through the audiobook and to follow the journaling prompts. There are 12 copies of the audiobook available in the Tacoma Public Library system, there is currently an 8-week waiting list for the audiobook in Libby.
Author’s Bio: Layla Saad is an author, speaker & teacher on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation & social change. She is the the New York Times Best Selling Author of the ground-breaking novel “Me and White Supremecy”, the host of Good Ancestor Podcast, and the founder of Good Ancestor Academy. Layla unapologetically confronts the oppressive systems of white supremacy and patriarchy, while offering important teachings and tools for transforming consciousness, cultivating personal anti-racism practice and taking responsibility for our individual and collective healing.
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