Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World—and How You Can, Too

Bestseller Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race) affirms that “everyone has different roles in this revolution” in these enlightening profiles of people who’ve put their anti-racist values into action. Each chapter highlights the tie between racial justice and some other topic—such as gender, disability, policing, education, and the arts—through detailed life stories of activists that center their changing understanding of the world and how they managed challenges. For example, a chapter on Richie Reseda relates how his encounters with Black feminist theory in prison led him to found Success Story, a workshop to help incarcerated men think about how internalized patriarchal ideas have shaped and harmed them. Throughout, Oluo showcases a variety of ways to promote anti-racism, many of them intended to be of use to people for whom anti-racist organizing is not necessarily a central focus of their activism. She also admirably demonstrates how she continues to grow through self-education and reflection, at one point frankly addressing earlier shortcomings in her thinking about disability. Readers will find inspiration and clarity. (Jan.)