THE BLACK AGENDA: Bold Solutions for a Broken System, more urgent now than ever

THE BLACK AGENDA: Bold Solutions for a Broken System
ANNA GIFTY OPOKU-AGYEMAN (intro. Tressie McMillan Cottom)
St. Martin's Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$14.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: "The Black Agenda mobilizes top Black experts from across the country to share transformative perspectives on how to deploy anti-racist ideas and policies into everything from climate policy to criminal justice to healthcare. This book will challenge what you think is possible by igniting long overdue conversations around how to enact lasting and meaningful change rooted in racial justice." —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped From the Beginning

From ongoing reports of police brutality to the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on Black Americans, 2020 brought a renewed awareness to the deep-rootedness of racism and white supremacy in every facet of American life.

Edited by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, The Black Agenda is the first book of its kind—a bold and urgent move towards social justice through a profound collection of essays featuring Black scholars and experts across economics, education, health, climate, and technology. It speaks to the question "What's next for America?" on the subjects of policy-making, mental health, artificial intelligence, climate movement, the future of work, the LGBTQ community, the criminal legal system, and much more.

Essayists including Dr. Sandy Darity, Dr. Hedwig Lee, Mary Heglar, and Janelle Jones present groundbreaking ideas ranging from Black maternal and infant health to reparations to AI bias to inclusive economic policy, with the potential to uplift and heal not only Black America, but the entire country.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: What better time to start this conversation than now? We've seen the real agenda of the ruling regime laid bare; we have seen how deeply unpopular it is with regular people; we're in the run-up to elections in just a bit under a year. Let's get our agenda for that election under construction by gathering information to get the broadest grouping of people's ideas on it.

Concerns and ideas around social organization, responses to tech hegemonism, ideas on ways and means to enact fairer distributive policies are all treated in these essays. It's clear that, even in reliably conservative-voting states, there is discontent with the radical remaking of the US into a more stratified and less fair social polity. Now is the time to open that genuine, heartfelt disgruntlement to greater inclusivity why the pain and its accompanying anger at those doing the disordering are at their most acute.

When dealing with baked-in social ills like misogyny and racism, the time to make the connection to justice and inclusion is when the privileged are feeling the bite of having their "rightful" place denied them from above...it's quite clear who is doing the denying and who is causing the pain, because it can only be those in power. It's the ultimate refutation of "Their" austerity/affordability lie; we've just seen that argument refuted with great political success in New York City. Adding more voices to the calls to undo "Their" greed is a practical way to strengthen the argument's political power.

I don't think most Black people will find much new in these pages, but I do think all my fellow white folks will. I'm encouraging all y'all to get these ideas in your heads.

We *can* prevail in these political battles if we refuse to accept that "They" are on our side, and are telling us the truth in our own best interest. Acquaint yourselves with new-to-you thinkers, and their thoughts; you can only benefit from the effort, whether you agree or disagree with any given idea. We need to build coalitions, so we need to know what our friends and fellow citizens are thinking.

I'm strongly urging this read on everyone involved in society. That means everyone.