#Non-fiction All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep

JUNE

by Andre Henry (no photo)

 

Finish date: 12 June 2022
Genre: nonfiction
Rating: A++++

All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep (2022)  (ISBN: 9780593559109)

 

Good news:
The cover tells you the core message: Andre Henry had to cut off white friends …for his own mental health. He tells us in his very personal and passionate book that he has come to some conclusions: a small minority of white people (WP) were really interested in genuine equality — he calls out the scope of the problem of white supremacy — he calls out WP’s lack of interest in solving racism/fascism in USA. What impressed me was his statement that …whenever WP were put off about something about race it fell to him to follow up and manage the relationship.

 

Good news:
Andre Henry gives one of the most original “hooks” I’ve ever seen: “Warning from Author” – this is the story of a political shift in my life. He reveals: “These thing were difficult to relive I writing this book and I’m certain they will be hard to read.”

 

Personal:
Yes, parts of the book were hard to read.
I cannot imagine how it must feel when a “friend”
tells Mr Henry (pg 189)…white supremacy is a figment of his
imagination!

After the horrific events in May 2022 (Buffalo NY, Uvalde TX) WP also have the audacity to say ….this isn’t who we are…and clutch their pearls. As one mother of a survivor of the mass shooting at Topps supermarket told Congress hearing just last week. “Yes, this is exactly who you are…”

There is so much to digest in this book. Get through the first few chapters…don’t give up on this book
because ch 7-8-9 are very powerful.

 

In conclusion, this is a book that I will take with me for a long time.
It will help me connect the dots when I read about USA and it’s current
political situation (NO meaningful gun legislation….NO Votings Rule Act)
….why?  Because the current system in USA was built to oppress.

I want to end on a positive note. I was reading the NYT yesterday and saw a young black student…accepted by Yale and 15 other colleges (including 3 Ivies) she told her mother at graduation: “I’m going to Spelman in Atlanta Georgia” Many in the college age generation are embracing Black colleges and universities. Yes, as Andre Henry said (pg 252) “Building Black-led institutions can provide a power base from which our people can work.” #Bravo to this young woman who chooses a nurturing environment instead of the “Ivies” where you feel like:
— they didn’t invite you there.
— they tolerate you.
— and every day you have to prove your existence has value.

 

Read:  All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep
….educate yourself

 

Andre Henry