As the country grapples with racist division at a level not seen since the 1960s, one man’s voice soars above the rest with conviction and compassion. In his 2016 New York Times op-ed piece « Death in Black and White, » Michael Eric Dyson moved a nation. Now he continues to speak out in Tears We Cannot Stop―a provocative and deeply personal call for change. Dyson argues that if we are to make real racial progress we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted.
The introduction is long. Very long. The format is probably more adapted to Christian readers, and those who don’t know worship will have to be patient and wait for the meatier sections. Once we get there, though, the book has loads of valuable stories and insights to make us understand what’s wrong, and immediately after, Doctor Dyson starts listing ways we can help. The main one I wrote down was to keep an IRA, Individual Reparations Account – give a percentage of my monthly salary to people of colour to support them, pay service providers a bit more than I’d have paid someone who has their marketing work cut out for them, support kids who need help for holidays or for getting into college, and hiring black people if I can, rather than white people I know. Overall a great read that I’d highly recommend to people who are not put off by its sermon-wise format.