Canada or the United States, there seems to be the same problems with race in both countries. I appreciated the authors & their viewpoints on from Canadian perspective. I so long go the day where we don’t have to entertain conversations about race & the impact of white supremacy. Unfortunately we’re not there yet. By covering whiteness with frequently asked questions, this book presents a working framework to improve race relations. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the authors & the publisher for this ARC.

In this book the authors put forth 10 questions that they have heard variations of in talks that they have hosted and explains each question in turn. This is an effort to give answers to the white people asking them and how to be an anti racist while not making racialized people shoulder the burden of teaching them those topics.

When I saw the title of this book on Netgalley I was super intrigued and decided that I had to read it. I’ve been reading more anti racist literature and this sounded like it would be an amazing read. I was right.

The book explores 10 questions related to structural racism and how to be an anti racist. Each chapter is short and succinct. Each chapter does an amazing job of explaining each topic in turn. I especially liked the summary at the end of each chapter to help readers get a better handle on what they have just read.

Overall highly recommend this boon for people of all ages and look forward to reading more by the authors.

Frequently Asked White Questions, by Canadian writers Ajay Parasram and Alex Khasnabish, both of South Asian descent, provides a handy concise guide to systemic racism and taking steps to becoming antiracist. The authors divide the book into 10 chapters, each addressing a key question, e.g. “How Do We Fix Past Wrongs Without Creating New Ones?”, “How Can I Talk About Social Justice Without Turning People Off?” I particularly appreciated the authorsʻ conversational tone and carefulness to de-jargonize and clearly define key terms used when conversing about equity, diversity, racism, and oppression, also their practical tips on how to engage in civil conversations, and the takeaway summation of key principles at the end of each chapter. As an American, I also enjoyed reading about how systemic racism manifests itself in the Canadian social context. As an AAPI woman, however, I disagreed with the authorsʻ assertion that “White people experience many forms of intersecting oppression, but they cannot experience racism because we live in a world structured by white supremacy”--really?! Yes, thereʻs no doubt that BIPOC folx experience racialized disparities to a much greater degree than those who are white, also have historically suffered under, and continue to be harmed by the pernicious effects of institutionalized oppression and policies, whether itʻs redlining, segregation, profiling, or higher statistical rates of incarceration. Yes, white cis-het males generally enjoy privilege and status that others in society do not. However, BIPOC individuals also do not get a “free pass”; sadly, all humans can fall prey to making judgments of superiority or inferiority based on race or ethnicity. Nevertheless, Parasram and Khasnabish’s book represents a valuable, readable, and accessible concise resource, which hopefully will encourage greater civil and hopefully productive dialogue about social justice.

The authors took the top 10 questions they've encountered from white people who attended sessions the authors conducted at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Each chapter of the book addresses one of the questions. In its intent to take the onus of educating well-intentioned white people off of already put-upon nonwhite people, I think its somewhat successful. It adds to the growing and ever-necessary foundation of resources that can help make conversations about social justice more fruitful.

This book is a distillation of common conversations that came up during conversations the authors hosted about race at the university they work at. I think it was a good overview in non-academic language of these ideas, and an excellent place for someone who is interested in learning more about race to begin. I also thought it was interesting to read a book about race that has a Canadian perspective rather than a U.S. perspective.

I wanted to like this book, but I felt like it was nothing that I didn’t know already. I’m not sure who doesn’t know these things in todays day and age.

I did not realize right away that this was based from the Canadian perspective. I thought the race issues that the United States is dealing with was unique to them. I knew about the indigenous people school kidnapping and issues like that, but I was not aware that the racism was as bad in Canada as it was in the United States. Besides the "racism is just as bad there as it is here" realization, it wasn't too much of new information for me. I did appreciate the glossary and the bibliography for more information for future reference. I think my favorite part of the book was learning the gender neutral term for your siblings child. I will be using that in the future.

Thanks you Netgalley and the publisher for an advance readers copy.

This book did not go where I thought it should or would. I was overall disappointed in the advice and answers.

Similar to Dear White Friend: The Realities of Race, the Power of Relationships and Our Path to Equity by Melvin J. Gravely II, this book is written as a gentle introduction into systemic racism and what white people can do. It isn't a sweeping manifesto and is written in a very open manner, very much aware that people with privilege quickly get defensive when they feel (incorrectly) threatened. For someone who is already working on themselves, this might not be a great resource, but more of a refresher or reminder of the basics. For someone who is just starting their journey, this can be an excellent starting point to check their own biases. As an American, it was refreshing to read a different perspective from another country as the authors are Canadian. I also appreciated that the discussion was not limited to the mistreatment of Blacks, but included may minority groups and the concept of intersectionality. The book is short and written is concise well thought out chapters. It would be good book to own, post-it note, and refer to again and again as one navigates being a more anti-racist member of society.

I didn't know this book was about racial in Canada until I started reading it. Much of it applies to the US however The two authors are Asian in heritage and have experienced much personal racism at the hands of whites too.
This book has helpful questions and answers on how white people can learn about racism and become allies of POC.

This book is a distillation of lived experiences and conversations had through Safe Space for White Questions (SSFWQ)--a place to have nonjudgmental conversations about people's questions on race structures and privilege. The book draws on 10 common themes that have occurred in SSFWQ over time.

As I read, I realized I need to be careful while reading and reviewing because I'm not A) Canadian nor have I ever lived in Canada; and B) I'm coming at this content from a place of white privilege. But I think--apart from the Canadian bit--I'm part of the intended audience. As I read it, part of the objective of the authors' work in general, including this book, is to help take the burden of educating white people off racialized people. And they really do break it down in the book! I found myself wishing I had a card copy of the book to apply tabs and color-coded highlighting to keep track of themes and important elements to come back and digest more later. It raises so many thoughts and questions in my mind that I wish had been covered also. And I found the Canadian perspective very useful, in that it helped me take a step back and see the same topic through a slightly different lens. This was also unique in my reading so far in another way, as it really breaks down what culture is, with call-out definitions of key terms like you would hope for in a textbook...but so much more readable. I appreciated the material so much--it was easy to read and understand (and it isn't too long), but the material was still deep and important. I plan to re-read it later, after I've processed it more internally, so I can settle it more in my consciousness.

It is a fair attempt at having a clear and broad perspective of some racial issues, however it was a disappointment to see how it addresses issues by misdirecting the response.

There is a lot to love about this book and somethings that certain people will find problematic but anything that tries to help us understand each other can only be a good thing and that is what the authors of this book is trying to do. It is always easy to blow off the opinion to others as nonsense or the wrong interpretation but to do that is to negate others experience and only hold true to your own. There was one thing I had issue with in the beginning it said they run workshops that are safe places for white questions and when a white guy stood up and said the N-word other white people in the class shamed him and made him feel bad but if this was truly a safe space shouldn’t the people running the workshop have stop those people because the author says he was not beinga-whole just expressing his opinion so why were others allowed to make him feel bad in this safe place? Besides that they also had graded bison this book and although I think the wording could’ve been different in a lot of the book overall benefit of this book is worth taking a look. In the everchanging world of race in race interpretation we should listen to everyone’s voice and try to understand where they are coming from. I do want to point out that the authors of this book are both from Canada and in reading it you can tell the slight differences but not so much that the book can’t make a difference. When I first saw the title I thought immediately I wouldn’t like this book but there were a few places I found myself laughing and others where I went I didn’t know that. And as I said no matter what you agree with her don’t agree with the book overall is a great benefit to a world struggling to find a new identity. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.