A black woman who was given a white man's name by her parents shares her journey to finding her own worth and what stands in the way of racial justice. (New York Times Bestsellerliste)
The author's first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when her parents told her they named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. She grew up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, and has spent her life navigating America's racial divide as a writer, a speaker, and an expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. While so many institutions claim to value diversity in their mission statements, many fall short of matching actions to words. Brown highlights how white middle-class evangelicalism has participated in the rise of racial hostility, and encourages the reader to confront apathy and recognize God's ongoing work in the world.
The author shares her experiences of growing up black, Christian, and female in white America, exploring the country's racial divide at all levels of society and how overcoming apathy and focusing on God's work in the world can heal persistent divisions.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER &; REESE&;S BOOK CLUB X HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK PICK &; From a leading voice on racial justice, an eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female that exposes how white America&;s love affair with &;diversity&; so often falls short of its ideals.
Austin Channing Brown&;s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, &;I had to learn what it means to love blackness,&; a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America&;s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.
In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America&;s social fabric&;from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.
For readers who have engaged with America&;s legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson,  I&;m Still Here is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God&;s ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness&;if we let it&;can save us all.
Table of Contents
1 White People Are Exhausting
11 (13)
2 Playing Spades
24 (16)
3 The Other Side of Harmony
40 (12)
4 Ain't No Friends Here
52 (15)
5 Whiteness at Work
67 (18)
Interlude: Why I Love Being a Black Girl
81 (4)
6 White Fragility
85 (14)
7 Nice White People
99 (13)
8 The Story We Tell
112 (7)
9 Creative Anger
119 (12)
Interlude: How to Survive Racism in an Organization That Claims to Be Antiracist
128 (3)
10 The Ritual of Fear
131 (7)
11 A God for the Accused
138 (10)
12 We're Still Here
148 (17)
Interlude: A Letter to My Son
161 (4)
13 Justice, Then Reconciliation
165 (10)
14 Standing in the Shadow of Hope
175 (8)
Acknowledgments 183