Dax-Devlon Ross — Letters to My White Male Friends
When:
Tuesday, Jun 22, 2021 6:00p -
7:30p
Tuesday, Jun 22, 2021 6:00p -
7:30p
Where:
Online event
Admission:
FREE
Categories:
Lectures & Conferences, Social Good, Virtual & Streaming
Event website:
https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/60886ea8eec62d2f00b3a423
Join the Boston Public Library for an online author talk with Dax-Devlon Ross about Letters to My White Male Friends. This program, which will be moderated by Boston Public Library President David Leonard, is part of the BPL's Repairing America Series. Please note that due to the BPL's observance of Juneteenth we have moved this program from the originally scheduled date of Monday, June 21.
This program will happen over Zoom webinar. People who are interested in attending are kindly asked to register on the following page: https://boston-public-library.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1ybX__NxQYGMJ7xONVH1gQ.
About Letters to My White Male Friends
After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, America’s on-going, systemic racism crisis was once again headline news. In the wake of mass protests, many white people started wondering what they could do to be better allies in the fight for racial justice. White men were—and are—finally realizing that simply not being racist isn’t enough to end racism. These men want deeper insight not only into how racism has harmed Black people, but, for the first time, into how it has harmed them. They are beginning to see that racism warps us all. Letters to My White Male Friends promises to help men who have said they are committed to change and to develop the capacity to see, feel and sustain that commitment so they can help secure racial justice for us all.
Ross explains how his and subsequent generations were educated with colorblind narratives and symbols that typically, albeit implicitly, privileged whiteness and denigrated Blackness. He provides the context and color of his own experiences in white schools so that white men can revisit moments in their lives where racism was in the room even when they didn’t see it enter. Ross shows how learning to see the harm that racism did to him, and forgiving himself, gave him the empathy to see the harm it does to white people as well. Ultimately, Ross offers white men direction so that they can take just action in their workplace, community, family, and, most importantly, in themselves, especially in the future when race is no longer in the spotlight.
“A compelling blend of memoir and call to action, Dax-Devlon Ross invites readers to reflect on their own racial socialization as he reflects on his and challenges them not to turn away from the reality of systemic racism but to listen, learn and take action for meaningful social change in their spheres of influence. Not one of those “White Male Friends”? Read it anyway. You’ll be glad you did.” —Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., Author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Conversations About Race
To order Letters to My White Male Friends from Frugal Bookstore, please visit this link to their website: https://frugalbookstore.net/products/letters-to-my-white-male-friends-by-dax-devlon-ross-author.
Dax-Devlon Ross is the author of five books and his journalism has been featured in TIME, The Guardian, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. He won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for his coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts and is currently a reporting fellow at Type Investigations. A New York City teaching fellow turned non-profit executive, Dax is now a principal at the social impact consultancies, Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, both of which focus on designing disruptive strategies to generate equity in workplaces and education spaces alike. Learn more about Ross at dax-dev.com and twitter.com/daxdev.
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The Repairing America Initiative is the Boston Public Library's pledge to focus its 2021 programming and services on bridging the gaps that divide America. By prioritizing economic recovery, civic engagement, COVID-19 recovery, racial equity, workforce development, and youth engagement, the BPL is working to help Americans rise above the challenges they face.
