This book is Jenny Potter's honest story of moving from a colorblind mindset into a justice focus as an ally in this world. I really enjoyed reading this book, and was drawn to it after reading Austin Channing Brown's book in 2020: I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. when I saw she had written the introduction I was curious to check this book out. Potter does a great job at sharing both personal stories and examples from her own life of her her antiracism journey. I thought I'd sit down and read this in a day but I found myself slowing down to read this one. I highlighted portions, went back to them, and found that sparked conversations with those around me about growing up around words like colorblind. I found conviction and inspiration for my own anti-racist journey. A fantastic read!

I think this is a really important book and should be read by a wide audience, particularly white readers. It is one thing to be not racist, it is another to be actively anti-racist. There are great lessons and insights in this book and it really makes you think of how you can do better in for your life and for society as a whole.. very action counts

Great mix of memoir and guidance for others, this very personal story of a white woman’s reckoning with racism was both engaging and encouraging.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5

Doing Nothing Is No Longer an Option is the story of Jenny's journey of becoming involved in antiracism work. It reads like a memoir but has enough practical advice included to leave you feeling inspired and empowered to take another step (or three) on your own justice-walking path as well.

I did not realize before I started reading this book that Jenny is the woman mentioned in Austin Channing Brown's book I'm Still Here. When I came across that story again in this book, this time told from Jenny's perspective, the connection between the two books and their authors was a happy discovery.

This is a great book and a quick read (4-6 hours of reading, perhaps).

Here are a few quotes from the book:

"He was afraid of not doing it perfectly, so he did nothing at all. Except it wasn't nothing. His inaction was a powerful act of centering his own comfort, his own timeline, and his own agenda over what justice required of him in that moment."

"We have gotten so good at finding common ground that we have little practice at what to do when a person's experience confuses us or is one we haven't had. It's not a problem of finding enough in common. It's an issue of getting curious about what we don't have in common and then believing those differences are real."

"Writer and activist Audre Lorde laid it out quite simply when she said, "I am not free while any woman is unfree, even if her shackles are very different from my own.""

There were so many other passages I highlighted as I read that it was difficult to choose a few short ones to share here. I recommend picking up a copy so you can read it in full yourself. The book is reflective, challenging and inspiring - well worth the read.

The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of a full 5 stars is because there were a couple of chapters that focused primarily on raising children. I don't have children or spend much time around children, so while those sections seemed sound and good, they were just less relevant for me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was first introduced to Jenny Booth Potter by reading Austin Channing Brown's book (I'm Still Here -- also a must-read), and she consistently provides guidance, resources, and tangible ways to join in the work of antiracism. Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled when I found out she was writing her own book about her journey into antiracism as a white woman. This book, like the rest of her content, is fantastic.

Jenny shares her experiences, realizations, and lessons learned about pursuing antiracism as a white woman, and offers research, guidance, and words of encouragement for fellow white people to join in the work, reminding us that we can't do nothing.

One of my favorite parts of this book is that Jenny's not afraid to share the times she wishes she would have handled situations differently. It's a vulnerable reminder that we won't always get it right, but we will get it better -- together.

It doesn't matter where you are on your own pursuit of antiracism; you'll find this book incredibly helpful, validating, and inspiring.

In this profound book, Jenny Booth Potter invites the reader into the story of a bus ride that changed her life. In college, she participated in a trip to learn about racism. While only a couple days, this trip changed her life trajectory. She realized that racism in all of its forms could no longer be tolerated, and on that bus ride she decided that “doing nothing is no longer an option.” She did not know what to do, but she knew she had a lot to learn. Jenny invites the reader in on her journey.

This book is not a “how-to” manual on how to fight racism, although Jenny does provide great ideas and real-life examples along the way. Jenny does not award herself or anyone a “certificate of congratulations” for no longer “being racist.” This book is her story— her journey of learning, making mistakes along the way, but continuing to learn, repent, and to keep trying. Do we want to learn along with her? Do we want to dare to realize that sometimes the stories we have grown up hearing, reading, or watching actually have a different version to them? Do we want to listen to some different voices?

As a mother of two young children, Jenny also offers reflections on what it means to be raising two white boys. She shares some of her learnings of how to teach children about racism and start combating it from a young age.

Throughout the book, Jenny weaves in the image of a moving walkway (you know, like they have at the airport). Racism is like a moving walkway, if you are not actively fighting it-walking against the flow of the walkway, you will end up being complicit in it nonetheless. She invites us to run— to dare to turn our lives in the direction of the brown Jesus, who cares for the downtrodden, the broken, and the oppressed.

Thanks to Netgalley and IVP for the E-Arc to read in exchange of my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed reading this book, especially after loving Austin Channing Brown's book in 2020: I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness , when I saw she had written the introduction I was curious to check this book out. Potter does a great job at sharing both personal stories and examples from her own life of her victories and her speed bumps on her antiracism journey. She gave many examples to consider, questions to ponder, and next steps to help the reader out on their own journey. I think these two books would make a fantastic match-up for a book club, a small group of friends, etc. to read in conjunction and discuss.

Practical and approachable, this is one I'll recommend. I do wish that it weren't so heavily focused on parents, though. The entire middle section is geared entirely toward those raising children in their home, and that is woven throughout the book, which certainly feels like an oversight as 1/3 of the book overlooks the role of everyone else as well as all other relationships that are not parent/child. As a single woman, I could have skipped that entire section, though I read it hoping to learn from the stories. I also found the Dear Abbi chapter to be quite uncomfortable, as it seems to paint Potter in the light of "I'm the expert, let me give you a ll the correct answers." Nonetheless, I'm glad I read this and appreciate what Potter shared in the book as a whole.

"Doing Nothing is No Longer an Option", by Jenny Booth Potter, is a narrative of the author's own journey into living a life of anti-racism. Potter draws on her experience as a young person traveling the country to visit several unfortunately well-known locations in the civil rights world. Upon experiencing this history in real life, she spoke the titular line, "doing nothing is no longer an option." Since that time, she has lived her life in such a way as to not only be kind to those of other races, but also to further their progress towards equality. Potter insists that we have to look back in order to move forward, and she does a great job of giving practical suggestions and ideas. I was particularly struck by several of the activities she has facilitated among groups to help them see their biases, and it really made me think about my own biases. I particularly liked this quote she included by Paul Kivel, "Whiteness is a constantly shifting boundary separating those who are entitled to have certain privileges from those whose exploitation and vulnerability to violence is justified by their not being White."

While there are many books about anti-racism on the market these days, this one felt the most practical and accessible to me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

It seems like a constant war reading books on racism. It's a happening topic which cannot be neglected. Also, it's a very sensitive topic which can turn out to be either very wrong or very subjectively okay.

Opposition towards a certain community or agreeing to a certain opinion is not the issue here.

Though I appreciate the issues brought up in this book, I would have considered the contents a little more considerate if the references made were more towards a general view for the rest of the readers around the world like myself. This is my personal issue though. I did find the first section a little more confusing because of the local News channel and place/people references. I know it's kind of a memoir and I should not focus in these areas but focus on the main important issue of race and antiracism.

However, I just couldn't go beyond the first section. There are many things which I feel like I couldn't understand the issues brought up in this book. I left it there.

Instead of writing a negative review for a book I cannot relate much or understand deeply (as a very sensitive issue is concerned here), I left the book halfway.

Nevertheless, thank you InterVarsity Press, for the advance reading copy.