The Lies Told About Black People Can Be Dangerous. This Author Wants To Do Something About It

Essence ^ | Aug 25, 2023 | Rayna Reid Rayford

[where's_the_Outrage?]

In Lies about Black People: How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why It Matters, author Dr. Omékongo Dibinga addresses common myths and misconceptions held about Black people, why they are so destructive, and how to defy these stereotypes.

“Whether those lies are pernicious, like the idea that ‘most Black people are criminals,’ or seemingly innocuous, like the notion that ‘Black people can’t swim,’ all of the lies and stereotypes…are rooted in hate” and bigotry.

In an excerpt from the book, racial justice expert, educator, and activist Dr. Dibinga writes “Oftentimes we as Black people dismiss these stories because we are so used to it…We may even laugh at it but sometimes, however, these situations can have dire consequences.”

Dr. Dibinga’s book is timely more relevant than ever, since lies about Black people continue to be perpetuated, including an educational video approved for use in Florida classrooms, depicting abolitionist Frederick Douglass saying that slavery was “a compromise to achieve something great” on top of new standards, which require students to be taught how slavery benefited the enslaved.......

“Given that Black students nationwide already do not receive an adequate portrayal of their history, we will see more Black students continue to disengage [from] an education system that has continually disengaged them,” Dr. Dibinga continued. "Black students are continually being shown that their existence does not matter, and this will have disastrous consequences in a school system that has never had a healthy respect for its Black students.”

[Vaduz]

Indeed your judged by the company you keep.