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babewiththepower.bsky.social · @babewiththepower.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America 8/10

Reading Michael Harriot is always both entertaining and educational. I picked up this book mostly for the former since I figured I'd know most of what's covered inside. Which was true, but I still managed to pick up a few new-to-me nuggets of what-the-fuckery. That's not too surprising considering the well of hatred and inventiveness of racists that seems to be bottomless.<br/><br/>It took me a while to get through it, mostly because like many similar books I can only read so much before my level of anger requires I put it down before I rage so much I go insane. Equally infuriating is this group of people go back to the same playbook year after year, century after century and it works every time. If only their fellow people who look like them would actually hold them in check, but that seems too much to ask (I write on 6 January).<br/><br/>Subjectively, I wasn't a fan of the parts written as though they were written by someone else. I just found it distracting rather than entertaining. Also, after reading a couple of the "unit reviews" I just skipped them. Funny at first, not so much after that.<br/><br/>The final chapter is great in typical fashion of tying some childhood shenanigans with his sisters as an analogy/parable to whatever b.s. he's actually talking about in the greater world of American society. In this final chapter, it's the brilliant idea that non-POC decided we all need fixing when in fact everything would be better if they fixed themselves. I'm skeptical I'll ever live to see that day. But here we are, still trying.<br/><br/>Recommended for anyone who wants an intro to the myriad ways non-POC have been screwing Black people and other POC for centuries in a frequently humorous, often infuriating way.

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Published 2026-08-18 17:59 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere