She observes: "Our only chance at dismantling racial injustice is being more curious about its origins than we are worried about our comfort."
A few pages later, Channing Brown states, "In the mind of whiteness, half-baked efforts at diversity are enough, because the status quo is fine." And a few sentences later, perhaps to help us understand her frustration, she writes: "It's hard to be calm in a world made for whiteness."
She is not shy about calling out racism for what it is. Nor is Channing Brown shy about expressing her annoyance with those who would point to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s as a hallmark of equity. "I do not consider it praiseworthy that only within the last generation did America reach the baseline for human decency."
She points to the heart of white fragility and how it gets in the way of true progress. "A great many people believe that reconciliation boils down to dialogue: a conference on race, a lecture, a moving sermon about the diversity we'll see in heaven. But dialogue is productive toward reconciliation only when it leads to action - when it inverts power and pursues justice for those who are most marginalized."
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| Austin Channing Brown |
And towards the end of I'M STILL HERE, Channing Brown suggests a hopeful road towards true healing. "In too many churches and organizations listening to the hurt and pain of people of color is the end of the road, rather than the beginning."
"Reconciliation is not about white feelings. It's about diverting power and attention to the oppressed, towards the powerless."
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