I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
From a powerful new voice on racial justice, an eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America.
Austin Channing Brown's first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, 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, organizations, 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 who helps organizations practice genuine inclusion.
In a time when nearly all institutions (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claim to value "diversity" in their mission statements, I'm Still Here is a powerful account of how and why our actions so often fall short of our words. Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice, in stories that 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.
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Reviews for I'm Still Here
124 ratings14 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thought provoking and well put together. Thank undo much Austin! I enjoyed this
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was an excellent read. The conversation from the perspective of a black woman who can speak from the perspective of the business world, the church world, and one that understands the true roots of America is very important in 21st century western culture. This work will one day be required reading in universities.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I started listening and couldn’t stop! Excellent storytelling, personable, truthful, blunt, unapologetically black, well informed from both personal experience and research. I have a lot of notes and a lot of things to reflect on an I particularly liked when she talked about the moment she realized that she had to contribute to the cause & she couldn’t live her life without helping to seek justice for Black folk... Love the Christ motivation, “Jesus was incarcerated”! - must-read (or should i say a must-listen) I’m sure I’ll be back for another peak at some point.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A book with such a powerful message on being a black intelligent woman in the workplace that has to continue to affirm her identity and values. It was eye opening to the impact race still has in our society especially in the workplace.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a book that is beautifully written and doesn't hold back any truths.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Listen if you’d like to become an advocate for change
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spectacular and accessible. My Latine husband and I are grateful for the perspective and the quality of information, both personal and empirical, that gives a more complete picture of what our Black siblings need to navigate the United States.
I've learned more about what is important in my own fight for justice and, thanks to the wisdom found in this book, know how to be a better ally and where to direct my energies. Thank you, Austin. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Austin told her story with bravery and dignity and I am better for having the privilege of hearing it. Now to go and do!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Read! Austin has the unique talent of bringing you into her world! I laughed, got mad, re-thought about endless elements of our culture that still leave me stumped to this day but it was so comforting to experience it from this remarkable storyteller’s viewpoint! I highly recommend!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5There’s a space in her journey for all of us. School, church, work and the world at large , it’s so relatable. I didn’t laugh because it’s not trying to pull a “ there, there “ comedy blanket over reality. But I note with happiness that I did not cry, I simply took it all in and acknowledged the truth of her words. Loved the evocative, “day in the life” sequence- it was inspired.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must read, required reading for all. This gave voice to my spirit. I just loved it
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The black experience captured in a personal and yet textbook-like instructive manner. Grateful to have been able to soak up the authors voice and her inner stories and see myself in the mirror in her stories of white people.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is important and needs to be required reading, both for black women operating in white spaces and for the white people who want to know what it’s like to be black when everything else around you is white.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Powerfully written memoir, every white person should read this book.