I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

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Book Summary:

Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.

In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America’s social fabric—from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.

For readers who have engaged with America’s legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson, I’m Still Here is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God’s ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness—if we let it—can save us all.

Publication Date:

May 15th, 2018

Genre:

Non-Fiction/Memoir/Social Justice

Purchase Your Copy:

Amazon Link | LibroFM Bookstore Link

{You can get your first audiobook for free by using my LibroFM referral link HERE}

My Review:

{My booksleeve is from the amazing Beyond Booked Etsy shop}

I’m Still Here is the most impactful book I have read regarding race in America, thus far. I picked it up after listening to her powerful conversation with Brene Brown on her Unlocking Us podcast HERE. Author Austin Channing Brown powerfully shares her personal experiences and insights on growing up a Black woman of faith in a predominately white world and it is not to be missed.

Part memoir, part nuanced insight, Channing Brown masterfully shares the complexities of racial injustice that is still alive and well today. In addition to overt racism, there are many well-meaning white Americans who inadvertently make life more difficult for people of color.

This book offers the reader an accessible and succinct look at microaggressions, workplace interactions, and white fragility. Not only does she fuse personal stories but she also shares profound insight for anyone who thinks we are living in a post-racial America. This small but mighty book(it clocks in at just under 200 pages) is one I will never forget and I am still reflecting on it today.

“Most white people are more worried about being called racist than about whether or not their actions are in fact racist or harmful.”

-Austin Channing Brown, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness

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