DO BETTER

A holistic how-to guide for people of all backgrounds willing to look inward in their fight against racial injustice.

White supremacy is a systemic issue, but it starts and is perpetuated in “hearts and minds,” writes Ricketts, a queer Black woman and “trained racial justice educator, attorney, grief coach, and spiritual activist.” The battle for justice must be fought on both fronts, but White people typically fight racism as something outside of themselves, as a matter of comfort. Ricketts, however, refuses to coddle readers. Those who most need her guidance to do the “deep inner work” of anti-racism may be the least willing to stay the course. Her righteous, “loving anger” shines through on every page. She warns White women, in particular, that they will not like what she has to say. But it is to their advantage to keep reading this challenging but hopeful extension of the author’s in-person workshops, designed for “all those who are ready to fight for a more equitable world, in which everyone, most notably Black and Indigenous women+, can finally find freedom.” With a 20-page glossary of terms to help meet readers where they are, the book is exhaustive in its breadth and depth. Ricketts examines the consistent insidiousness of racism, from “friendship fails” to inequity in the workplace. She unpacks concepts such as prejudice, privilege, anti-Indigeneity, and decolonization, and she explores the differences among anti-Blackness, racism, and White supremacy. Ricketts speaks directly to readers via blunt, infectious, and at times humorous prose, including deeply personal anecdotes of her experiences of racism, which began in early childhood. Practical action items—e.g., meditations, affirmations, writing prompts, and “heart check-ins”—will get readers “spiritually activated” and able to work through the defensiveness and fear that can hinder growth beyond the superficial.

A soulful, essential boot-camp-in-a-book that raises the bar significantly in the field of anti-racism training.