“Our people deserve the world we envisioned, and that world requires us to birth and build it”
-Ash-lee Woodard Henderson
We all dream of a utopian world, but the idea of the ideal is subjective. Perhaps the only objective idea of utopia which exists is one painted with all the colours. In an uncomplicated world, such a blending of colours to form one whole would be identified as a strength. However, the reality that we live in today is one governed by power hierarchies where this union is not seen as a sign of solidarity, but largely as its final product, the colour white. Despite white not being able to exist without the other colours, somehow our twisted minds have come to associate each colour as inferior to white itself. While society and human lives are much above simply colour theory, it is perhaps a reflection of how our communities have become increasingly about keeping the status quo intact for those who benefit from the oppression of others.
Kenya Rankin in her introduction to “Anti-Racism: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas” illustrates the concept of white supremacy as a ladder where white is obviously at the top and all the other colours fall lower as they get darker. An individual’s position on the ladder impacts the life they get to live. The introduction is followed by a carefully curated collection of striking quotes that attack the very heart of racism and marginalism.
This book is perfect for an introduction to what it means to be racist, as well as anti-racist. A short book that packs a punch, the quotes coupled with pictures and biographies of the speakers, inspires the readers to be better versions of themselves than they currently are. While it would have been nice to hear more of the author’s own views, “Anti-Racism: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas” is a much-needed book for the 21st century.