Book Discussion on “How We Ended Racism”

Can we end racism by the year 2050? Authors Justin Michael Williams and Shelly Tygielski tackle the question and offer to show us the way in their new book How We Ended Racism: Realizing a New Possibility in One Generation.

IMPACT’s mission is to advance racial equity and justice, so we couldn’t resist taking a deep dive into exploring the book’s ideas. We believe (and there are historical examples to back us up) that discussion and study groups can be powerful spaces in the struggle for equity and justice. To date, we’ve hosted two of a total of three in-person conversations about the book—each exploring a different section.

IMPACT’s Senior Organizer Lanita Whitehurst has been facilitating the book discussions with a focus on dissecting and grappling with the book’s main ideas. Participant Ken Maton shared that one of his key takeaways from the discussions has been recognizing that “we need to co-develop empowering community spaces where deep personal work is supported and our capacity is enhanced to fully and effectively participate in the work of dismantling racism.”  

The two book discussions hosted so far included 16 and 11 participants respectively (it’s a drop-in friendly space). The conversations were not only deep, but also lively and designed to build connections. When asked to describe the space, participant Janeen Williams said, “The one word that comes to mind is ‘heart.’ There was a lot of heart in the room.”  

Ultimately, these discussions are meant to offer participants solidarity, new ideas, and actionable strategies to help sustain their racial justice work.  The final discussion will be on Tuesday, March 19. Look for email announcments about the next discussion coming soon!