Lies about Black People

May 1, 2023
How to identify and resist some of the most common and insidious racial prejudices. "This book is designed for activists," writes Dibinga, a professor of intercultural communication, and dedicated to "those who want to know not only what lies they were told about Black people but also why those lies were told and why those lies continue to be told." The author provides a mix of analyses of the lineage of particular racial stereotypes, interviews with those who have endured discrimination, exercises for readers who want to assess their own biases, and even poetry articulating the author's passionate take on the impact of bigotry and enduring faith in the power of education and love to overcome the evils of irrationality and hatred. One of the greatest strengths of the book is Dibinga's frank engagement with the everyday expression--and destructive consequences--of racial assumptions. The author accessibly frames the features of contemporary stereotypes via historical precedents, and we never lose sight of the topic's intimate, urgent relevance to the psychological and physical well-being of Black Americans. Access to health care and fair treatment by the judicial system, for instance, are critically shaped by racial assumptions, and these assumptions are formed, in part, by the media we consume and its overt or covert insinuations about racial being. The author's discussion of cinematic depictions of race is particularly incisive. Dibinga also provides illuminating commentary on the need for an evolving understanding of what genuine inclusivity would look and sound like. He reminds us that Blackness is a fluid social construct brought into being in relation to other racial categories. With serious, loving care, the author demonstrates, we can do much better in constructing that identity and in seeking a more just and vital social understanding. Michael Eric Dyson provides the foreword. An astute, provocative survey of toxic assumptions about race and how to effectively challenge them.

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August 21, 2023
Dibinga (The Upstander’s Guide to an Outstanding Life), a lecturer on Intercultural Communication at American University, investigates in this passionate study the roots of negative stereotypes about African Americans. Drawing on interviews with people across the racial, social, and economic spectrum, Dibinga shows how deeply these stereotypes have affected perception, communication, and understanding. He addresses stereotypes regarding Black people’s pain tolerance, intellectual ability, and criminality, and highlights prejudice toward African Americans in finance, housing, and the media. Dibinga demonstrates the devastating consequences of such stereotypes by focusing on policing and the justice system. For example, he recalls the “reign of terror” unleashed by Boston police against the city’s Black community, including his own family, after the 1989 murder of a pregnant white woman, Carol Stuart, allegedly by a Black man (this was later proved to be a false story invented by the murderer, Stuart’s white husband). Dibinga also showcases stories of hope and reconciliation, noting that Carol Stuart’s family started a foundation in her name to give scholarships to high school students from the neighborhood where she was slain. With useful tools for educators, including activity prompts, this is a worthwhile new antiracist workbook. Readers of Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist should take note.