Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor

Layla Saad begins by introducing herself as the reader’s guide during their upcoming 28-day antiracism journey. This 28-day challenge was originally a free PDF digital workbook she posted to Instagram and went viral. Her goal in writing this book is to become a “good ancestor,” or someone who sparks positive change today to ensure a better future for generations to come. White supremacy is not a new phenomenon, but a power dynamic “maintained and upheld by everyone who holds white privilege—whether or not you want it or agree with it” (3). The aim of the book is to ask those with white privilege to continuously hold themselves accountable for the ways in which they have upheld white supremacy over BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), implicitly and explicitly, and focus on ways they can help to dismantle it.

The journey laid out in the subsequent chapters is partially a movement towards intellectual understanding, but also toward emotional understanding. It is meant for those with white privilege who are willing and able to do the work to help confront white supremacy in their daily lives, and are open to considering the multi-faceted ways they are complicit in white supremacy and the unearned privileges that they have gained because of it.