Racial Justice Reads

“White Women Cry and Call Me Angry” is neither a call out of white women nor a call in. It is about the author’s ability to name what happened to her during the decade she spent fighting for racial justice in the DC philanthropic sector. It is about her ability to find community with others who have had similar experiences, regardless of where they work. It is another step toward healing.

This 90-minute session will explore racism in the workplace—interpersonal, institutional, and structural. We will also do a deep dive on three of the book’s most important themes—weathering, mental health, and pleasure. Weathering describes the accelerated aging of Black women’s bodies due to racism related stress. Mental health implications of that stress will also be discussed as well. Audre Lorde’s “Uses of the Erotic” as a way to undergird our discussion of the theme of pleasure.

In the second half of the conversation, we will discuss the writing and self-publishing journey; the role of Black women in the author’s decision to publish; and the need for more stories by Black women and other women of color. We will close by talking about the response to the book; how books influence narratives and can lead to spaces for collective discernment and healing; and what’s next for the author as a facilitator of healing spaces. The author will share a short sizzle reel of the film adaptation of the book, which is currently in production.

Women of color leaders are the backbone of most social justice movements, and have been responsible for many of the most significant social justice and environmental victories of our time. Remarkably, they’ve accomplished this despite conditions—in their fields and organizations—that make leadership uniquely treacherous for them.

Unrig the Game (Random House, March, 2025), asks the question: How much more could humanity be winning if we unrigged the system that hinders women of color leaders? What might be possible, in this clutch moment of history, with so much on the line, if movements stopped benching our best in ways that negatively impact the scoreboard for everybody? What if these leaders were unencumbered by barriers like: the assumption of incompetence, the demand that they mammy/mother and prove likability, a zero-tolerance policy for failure, and abandonment when they are attacked? It draws on interviews with nearly 50 prominent women of color social justice leaders to explore how to support effective women of color leaders so we can all win.

LaTosha Brown calls Unrig, “Essential reading for everyone who wants progressive movements to win.” Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson calls it, “An immeasurable gift to anyone trying to understand movement today.” Linda Sarsour says, “I didn’t know how much I needed this book,” and Ai-Jen Poo shares it is, “like sitting in a sister circle with some of the greatest movement leaders of our time.” This session features Daniel in conversation with Race Forward’s own Eric Ward, preceding a discussion with participants about key themes in the book.