This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work

Chapter 15 looks at the ways that people can use their privilege to “change perceived normality” (168). It reminds readers of the intersectionality of identity and reflects that most people have some kind of privilege that they can use to support other people. Jewell gives examples from her own life: her light skin gives her some “some access to whiteness” (167), and she strives to use this “adjacency to the dominant culture” to help “people who are on the margins” (167). She encourages people to “learn from folx who are outside the box of the dominant culture” (169). 

The activity for this chapter returns to the idea of the box that dominant culture calls for everyone to fit into. Inside a box, Jewell instructs readers to “write down the identities [they] hold that are a part of the dominant culture” (172). Outside the box, they should write down their marginalized identities.

This chapter examines the ways that people can be better allies to one another. Jewell lists some of the ways she herself is working on being a better ally and reminds readers that “being an ally is lifelong work” (178) that requires constant reflection and effort. She also gives examples of how