Hello everyone and welcome back to another book review!

Title: Black and White
Author: Stephen Dorsey
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Non-fiction, social commentary, human rights
Review:

Systemic racism is essentially racism that is rooted in the history of society. Racism within the system, the government, healthcare, law and policing, education, are all barriers to opportunity. This book seeks to prove that systemic racism does, in fact, exist, and that change is possible in Canada and the rest of the world. It also discusses another topic like White Advantage, which I found extremely interesting.

In choosing this book, I knew what I was getting into. I had a very good idea of what this book was going to be about, and I think that I liked what I found. I liked the information presented, and I greatly value the topics that it discusses. I think this is a subject that I might not know as much about, or I’m not 100% up to date on these things. This book offers a perspective into the world that I don’t have, and I loved getting a chance to view the world in this lens. I want to expand my knowledge when it comes to topics like race and racism, especially since I am considered a person of colour myself. In a way, I can relate to the author in the aspect of being half white. While I have not really experienced racism because I am mixed, I can empathize with the author of Black and White because he paraphrased Martin Luther King Jr. here, “I wanted to be judged not by the colour of my skin but by the content of my character”.

In reading this book, it took me quite a long time to finish because it isn’t just one of those books where you can switch off your brain and read. Your brain must constantly be turned on, ready to soak up information and be ready to evaluate it. That’s how I approach most things nowadays, absorbing any and all information and then evaluating it for myself and seeking the truth. I believe that this book states the truth for the most part. I believe that there is systemic racism in Canada and America like what this book discusses. I believe that there are problems with our policing system and I also believe that two-tiered policing is a problem. If you read my Camp Courage blog post that I wrote recently, you’ll read that I’ve stated that I have a lot of respect for the kinds of people that do first responder jobs, because I saw and tried for myself just some of the physical tests that first responders like firefighters and police are put through. While my statement remains true, reading this book also introduces me to two-tiered policing and how police are trained mentally. Outside of this book I can also see the impact that this has on real life. Our real lives, and the real Canada that we live in. It’s truly eye opening and meaningful to the cases that Dorsey presents in this book.

My copy of Black and White has a lot of tabs, and I mainly tabbed the parts that I felt interesting, wanted to learn more about, or felt that these things were inaccurate. For example, I was curious to learn from this book that in 1785, the city of Saint John, which is where I live in Canada, “amended its charter to specifically exclude Blacks from practicing a trade, selling goods, fishing in its harbour, or becoming freemen until 1870”. I found that bit in Black and White on page 32, but it cites this article. I also gained a better understanding of white privilege. With white privilege, you’re not exposed to certain things as you would be if compared to a Black person, for example. White privilege enables you to be unaware of certain things happening in the world, you’re not impacted by racism, and you don’t really face any consequences for living in your own little bubble. I think this is interesting as it prompts us to be self aware. Even though I am a person of colour, I don’t really experience racism on a daily basis, and I’m very grateful for that. Another thing that I was interested to read about was how the author of this book doesn’t feel like the French language is under attack. There is a chapter titled Systemic Inequality: Quebec Exceptionalism, and in this chapter he discusses Quebec, and also states that he disagrees with the idea that French is under attack, as someone who grew up in Quebec and is bilingual. This stood out to me because I find that a lot of people make it out to be this way, my Canadian school system included. I believe I had to write a paper on this once, and I was a bit surprised to learn that the French language is dying out in Canada from the perspective of my school.

This brings me to my final conclusion for this book. This book poses some questions for the reader at the end that I would like to answer here:

What matters to me? As a Christian girl, I want for people to see Christ in me. I want to be a light to others as Jesus did and live by his rules. Although I’m not perfect, I can try my best to be.

What do I stand for? I stand for a lot of Digitally Lit’s Core Values, creativity, integrity, equity and collaboration, critical thinking and empowerment, as well as some of my own, like being respectful, communicating with others well, being self-controlled and disciplined, and always willing to learn new things.

What am I willing to put on the line for my family, and for my fellow citizens? I want to be a more self-less person rather than a selfish one, and I want to put others before myself, so I would be willing to put a lot on the line if it means that I can serve other people and play a part in helping them.

What will inspire me to move to do better? I would live by Jesus’ example. He certainly didn’t discriminate, and he definitely stood up for others.

What values do I live by that compel me to take action to fight for what’s right, to help a friend, a family member, a stranger, people who think differently than you? I believe this would echo what I said in my previous answers, I want to live by the values in the Bible. Isaiah 1:17 says: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” John 15:12 says: “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” As for people that think differently than me, much like the author of this book, I want to approach someone like this with a genuine interest and respect. Just because I might disagree with a certain worldview, doesn’t mean that their thoughts and reasoning isn’t valid.

What commitments to ending systematic racism are you willing to make based on your values-the commandments by which you live? I would like to just focus on loving others. I really want to be able to identify systematic racism in situations that I know I’ll be able to change it. I think that’s the most important thing: being able to recognize how it’s happening. Then, once that’s done, you can proceed to take action.

How are you standing up for members of the BIPOC community in your everyday life? I think this is the one question that I can’t really answer because I live in Mexico. Pretty much everyone here is Mexican, and therefore people of colour, so they’re not really a minority here. I can’t face issues that I don’t see in my everyday life.

In this book the Golden Rule is also referenced,
“Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31, and I think that’s a great way to end this book and this book review. I thank you very much for reading this long review, and I really hope that you check out Black and White by Stephen Dorsey, so that you too can learn.