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| Adam Smyer |
America continues to confront the ever-growing demands for greater accountability toward racial justice, in the aftermath of the tragic murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and countless other unarmed Black people at the hands of police. The summer of racial reckoning has evolved to a movement that calls upon White people and non-Black people of color to learn how to be better people and better allies in defense and honor of Black lives. Working toward racial justice is a serious and often somber affair, requiring resolve and commitment to unlearning the mechanisms of race and racial hierarchies.
Enter Adam Smyer’s latest release “You Can Keep That to Yourself: A Comprehensive List of What Not To Say to Black People, for Well-Intentioned People of Pallor” (Akashic Books, 2020)
Yes, indeed that’s the full title; here’s the book cover:
Using humor, Smyer relays harsh truths about U.S. race relations through the persona of Daquan, the Black co-worker who also doubles as that one Black friend. In exposing the Black point of view, Smyer doesn’t mince words and he is very intentional about its purpose and audience. Even the physical size of the hardcover first edition book suggests that Smyer expects his reader to carry it around and consult the pages before speaking with a Black person.
With a tongue-in-cheek tone, Smyer offers an accessible critique of Whiteness in America. “You Can Keep That to Yourself” explains – from Daquan’s point of view – the racialized words and phrases that White people use to explain their views on racial relations, betraying White supremacist beliefs in the process. From “articulate” to “not all white people” to “uppity,” many of the terms in Smyer’s book are racial microaggressions, racial dog whistles, or bullhorns and Daquan’s explanations serve as witty and dignity-restoring clapbacks.
Smyer reads passages from the book:
Based on my own lived experiences as a non-Black person of color, I can personally relate to many cringe-worthy encounters with Whites. Often, people of color serve as a confessional for White people who are trying to prove their goodness and open-mindedness. So, they end up saying back-handed compliments. As a foreign-born woman of color working in communications, I cannot tell you how many times White people have complimented me on my “American accent” or my impeccable “handle of the English language.” It’s a microaggression heard time and again, and to which I’ve failed to retort: “B*tch, did you know our people were colonized by Americans? In fact, your military troops are still there! Read up on the U.S. history of imperialism sometime before you label another Asian as the perpetual foreigner.”
Reader, please forgive that sudden outburst. Back to my review of Smyer’s book.
For someone like me, a non-Black woman of color who works in diversity, equity and inclusion, the volume is both informative and instructional. Smyer models for us how to use humor and candor to fight back against the microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations suffered by marginalized and racialized communities of color. So many of the explanations are relatable, because people from minoritized ethnic, racial and linguistic backgrounds have endured similar assaults. It also serves as a mirror, an opportunity to reflect about how Asian Pacific Islander, Latinos, and other non-Black people of color participate in Whiteness.
For Smyer’s work, I feel an enormous debt of gratitude. Again, here we are, as non-Black people of color, taking from the wisdom of struggle to make meaning of our own experiences with being othered. Black people name the issues; and we use their creative work to serve as a template of how best to make sense of and confront our racist encounters with well-meaning White people, perhaps wholly unaware of their skin privilege.
Diversity trainers emphasize the difference of intent versus impact: knowing the difference is a first step toward deepening one’s cultural self-awareness, in order to avoid causing harm. Smyer underscores this lesson for White people and, if I may identify a secondary audience: non-Black people of color who enjoy proximity to Whiteness. Oftentimes, when addressing Black people, it’s best for uninformed and unvetted ideas and thoughts to remain unspoken.
Resist the urge to become defensive. If something in the book has you feeling some kind of way, use it as an opportunity to reflect upon the root cause of the irritation.
Finally, when people tell you what they need, listen and honor their request. It’s really not that hard to be a decent human being.
Smyer discusses the book on WGN Morning News:
Sign up to hear Smyer discuss the book in any/all of the following virtual talks:
Sept. 17, 7pm ET
Adam Smyer in conversation with Deesha Philyaw
Hosted by Belmont Books
Oct. 1, 7pm ET
Hosted by the Book House
Adam Smyer in conversation with Lisa Deaderick
Hosted by Warwick's Books