Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Stay Woke lays out clearly, with examples, the very real racial problems embedded in American society - but not only that, the book gives concrete steps that we can take to work towards dismantling them. If you've ever been met with "ALL LIVES MATTER!" when trying to explain why Black Lives Matter, this book lays out an eloquent and easy-to-understand explanation that you can use in these situations in the future. Well-written in digestible sections, this book is a must-read for our modern times.

This was a very good and important read. Anyone that is interested in politics or activism should definitely pick it up. It teaches you a lot of how to be a better ally and about the Black community. The Black Lives Matter is such an important movement and at a time like this, we should all be more aware of how to stand in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters.

“I am really glad this book was written,” is what I kept thinking while I read it. Stay Woke by Candis Watts Smith and Tehama Lopez Bunyasi was smart, powerful, and most of all, actually educational. They even go so far as to include a fantastic glossary in the book, which I thought was a great way to make sure that everyone, even those who are unfamiliar, can “show up” to the conversation happening in this book. Each chapter was informative and written with heart and ended with the inclusion of even more resources for the reader. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who may be less familiar with conversations about race or the Black Lives Matter movement. Given what’s happening in our country today, I think a lot of people could benefit from giving this a read. x

I will be DNFing since the format goes against my health. I have bad eyesight and having to read on a phone without being able of making the font bigger won't be benefitial for me long-term and I don't want to risk it because of a book.
What I read was okay, but didn't get to page 20.

So I read this book a while back when I got it via NetGalley. I honestly just wasn't in the mood to review it though. Not because it wasn't a good primer about systematic racism and why black lives matter. But because I am just sick of justifying my existence to people out there. I don't know how many people have heard about the 1619 Project that the New York Times published. But the number of white men and women who screamed reverse racism and how black people need to get over slavery was just exhausting to see online. We could get over it if our country acknowledged it. We have the historians fighting the good fight out there, but we as a country don't want to hear about the ugly things we have done. We are Americans and therefore we are always on the side of truth and justice, except when we are not. Go read about how we treated the First Nation people in the United States, how many lies we told, how many people we massacred. Go read up about the Chinese Exclusion Acts. Or you know, the fact that we locked up Japanese Americans during World War II.

"Stay Woke" is a really good book that dissects race and the history of racism in the U.S. I have to say as another reviewer said, the things that this book touches upon were not surprising to me. I think though that it definitely will be great reading material for any man or woman out there that wants to read about about racial equality and how and why black lives matters started back in 2013.

This book also has a glossary that I thought was good to include so people can become more knowledgeable about certain terms. I also loved that each of the chapters links to resources if a person reading wants to find out more. The illustrations that comes with the books that get into statistics around hate crimes and money earned for African Americans was eye-opening as well. Hate crimes are going up post Trump being elected in 2016, and I would be interested in seeing the final analysis on that after 2020. I had to do some digging to find some for you all to review since I got this via an electronic ARC though and found these on the book's Amazon page. I can't embed them in my Goodreads review unfortunately, if you want to see them though, check out my Booklikes page, see Obsidian Blue's Stay Woke Review

I thought that Candis Watts Smith and Tehama Lopez Bunyasi did a great job of breaking things down and actually giving readers facts. A lot of things get obscured online due to trolls or just inaccurate reporting. So it was very good to me to just read this book.

Stay Woke is a powerful and important exploration of social issues related to ethnicity and identity. The book is logically arranged and is well-developed. Stay Woke has the potential to form the basis for transformative conversations and I recommend it for study groups, multicultural education courses, and personal reading. I'll say it again: Powerful.

#StayWoke #NetGalley
Comes with a disclaimer of sorts that not everyone will believe what's written inside.
Racism makes people, particularly those who perpetrate, benefit from or turn a blind eye to it, very uncomfortable when it's called out.
And they should be uncomfortable.
This book should make you uncomfortable. The systemic racism won't change until everyone is uncomfortable with the status quo.
This book is a good eye opener and a great starter for anyone who wants to know more about #BlackLivesMatter
Its full of websites, book titles, podcasts to listen to if you want to delve further.
Activism is a touchy subject, especially in America where there is a wide gap between the left and right sides of any issue. But being an ally isn't about being comfortable or being appreciated and supporting #BlackLivesMatter includes supporting black businesses, charities and standing up when you see injustice happening.
Whether that means you video black men and police interactions or you take a knee.
There is a great section in the book, a glossary of terms used in and around the #BlackLivesMatter movement to avoid talking about the issues.
For example, many call Colin Kaepernick unpatriotic because he kneels without learning where he got the idea or exploring why he kneels.
Racism is learned behaviour. It can be unlearned. For human on this planet to have any chance at peace, it needs to be unlearned.
Get woke. Stay woke.

This is the perfect book for anyone - new or otherwise - who is invested in furthering racial equality. A lot of the information was not new to me, however sometimes we lose sight of just how deeply entrenched racism is in our society and how much it touches everything from schooling to jobs to incarceration and legislation. These are all things that are verifiable and true, but seeing it all laid bare in one book, side by side with every other institution that has racial inequality in it's midst, is both a stark reminder that feel-good slogans are just a rallying cry to enacting real change.

The concept of systemic racism is complicated - partly because it's one people automatically flinch away from because it's uncomfortable (at best) but also because it requires us to look beyond the surface. To see how historical racism has been at the root of every facet of society and compounded over time and with modern developments to continue persisting. Looking deeper often means complex terminology and a nuanced understanding.

This book addresses that - it is written plainly, in the most accessible way possible. There is an extensive glossary of terms in chapter 2 to keep the later chapters focused on the concepts and message, rather than on obscure terminology. And that glossary, rather than just a list of terms and short definitions, includes concrete examples to help the reader facilitate a deeper understanding of them.

This book is perfect as a primer for people digging into racial justice for the first time as well as a powerful reminder for those of us who have been involved for a bit longer. It is all too tempting to think that being involved for years means we have nothing new to learn, and this book is a strong reminder of how much is at stake and of how far we have left to go.

However, we are not left wanting! This book not only sparks inspiration, but it serves as a guide, just as it claims. Each chapter wraps with resources - websites, books, podcasts, and media - that expand upon the ideas and concepts discussed in that chapter. Resources that can serve as tools to create action and build a deeper understanding of those concepts, which is an incredibly useful feature as this book falls more into the "breadth not depth" category - it touches on almost every facet of society that systemic racism influences, which is pretty much everything. That means each one can only be briefly touched on at a high level. No one book can discuss systemic racism in all it's forms in depth, and this book serves as a jumping off point for each of them.


*** Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***