Description
Are you biased?
Am I?
The short answer is yes. We all are.
Having bias isn't a choice. We can't avoid it. We prefer members of our religion, our country, our political party, and speakers of our native language. We're taught bias by people who aren't conscious of their biases, and we in turn unintentionally pass them on to others.
So it's not a "sin" to be biased. It's inevitable.
What matters is not allowing our unchosen biases to exert absolute control over our decisions and behavior.
To do that, however, we must recognize and accept them as real.
In Racism by Proxy, essayist Johnny Townsend pushes past shame, guilt, insults, and other useless approaches to show how all of us, even white people of varying privilege, benefit from increasing equity and social justice throughout our communities.
About the Author
A climate crisis immigrant who relocated from New Orleans to Seattle in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Johnny Townsend wrote the first account of the UpStairs Lounge fire, an attack on a French Quarter gay bar which killed 32 people in 1973. He was an associate producer for the documentary Upstairs Inferno, for the sci-fi film Time Helmet, and for the deaf gay short Flirting, with Possibilities. His books include Please Evacuate, Racism by Proxy, and Wake Up and Smell the Missionaries. His novel, Orgy at the STD Clinic, set entirely on public transit, details political extremism, climate upheaval, and anti-maskers in the midst of a pandemic.
Reviews
"Written in a conversational style that often uses stories and personal anecdotes to reveal larger truths, this immensely approachable book [
Racism by Proxy] skillfully serves its intended audience of White readers grappling with complex questions regarding race, history, and identity. The author's frequent references to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be too niche for readers unfamiliar with its idiosyncrasies, but Townsend generally strikes a perfect balance of humor, introspection, and reasoned arguments that will engage even skeptical readers."
Kirkus Reviews
Become an affiliate
