Speaking of Race: How to Have Antiracist Conversations That Bring Us Together

by Patricia Roberts-Miller, Robin Miles (Read by)

Overview

It’s easy to say that racism is wrong. But it’s surprisingly hard to agree on what it is. Does a tired stereotype in your favorite movie make it racist? Does watching it anyway mean you’re racist? Even among like-minded friends, such discussions can quickly escalate to hurt feelings all around—and when they do, we lose valuable opportunities to fight racism.

Patricia Roberts-Miller is a scholar of rhetoric—the art of understanding misunderstandings. In Speaking of Race, she explains why the subject is a “third rail” and how we can do better: We can acknowledge that, in a racist society, racism is not the sole provenance of “bad people.” We can focus on the harm it causes rather than the intent of offenders. And, when someone illuminates our own racist blind spots, we can take it not as a criticism, but as a kindness—and an opportunity to learn and to become less racist ourselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665068383
Publisher:	Experiment
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Patricia Roberts-Miller, PhD, is professor emeritus of rhetoric and writing, and the former director of the University Writing Center at University of Texas at Austin. She has been teaching the subject of demagoguery since 2002 and is the author of Voices in the Wilderness, Deliberate Conflict, Fanatical Schemes, Demagoguery and Democracy, Rhetoric and Demagoguery, and Speaking of Race. She lives in Texas.

Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.

Editorial Reviews

11/09/2020

Roberts-Miller (Rhetoric and Demagoguery), a professor of rhetoric at the University of Texas, breaks down the reasons why disagreements about racism go off the rails so quickly, and explains how to get them back on track, in this useful and well-articulated guide. The core issue, according to Roberts-Miller, is that many people “misunderstand what racism is and how it works.” She contends that “liking or saying something racist doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a horrible and hateful person,” and compares systemic racism to wheelchair-inaccessible buildings (“a sort of bigotry that is so widespread that participating in it doesn’t require conscious thought—it can rely on thoughtlessness”). By finding common ground on the idea that racism can be unintentional, Roberts-Miller writes, people can avoid the first mistake in arguments about racism: “making it about how stupid/misguided/ignorant the other person is for having the position they do.” She also discusses how confirmation bias and in-group favoritism lead to racist stereotyping, and advises readers on how to “consider context” and “understand the role of privilege” when interrogating their own beliefs and actions. Packed with helpful examples and analogies, this lucid account takes a meaningful step toward “reducing racism in our world.” (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Packed with helpful examples and analogies, this lucid account takes a meaningful step toward ‘reducing racism in our world.’”—Publishers Weekly

"Readers of all levels and backgrounds will appreciate the clarity with which Roberts-Miller approaches a topic so often driven by powerful emotion."—Choice
 

From the Publisher