Racism

One function of this book is to provide insights into the history and persistent manifestations of racism in America; these salient dynamics often go ignored by white Americans, and this ignorance leads to perpetuation and exacerbation of racial injustice. For example, many Americans lack relevant knowledge about historical manifestations of racism. These historical manifestations directly inform the horrific forms of racism that persist in the present day. For example, the book provides many recent examples of violent police oppression against Black Americans. In one event recounted in the book, Billy Murphy gave a speech about the history of American racism, mentioning facts such as “the creation of slave patrols…[which] quickly spread and eventually became the first publicly funded policing forces in the nation” (169). The book’s focus both on modern racism and historical racism (and on the connections between them) help raise the reader’s awareness of...