Amanda Johnson

“You need to emphasize [for white people] to listen to people of color and black women and brown women. You are not the expert, you are amplifying the expert.”

Amanda Johnson is a fairly average suburban white woman. She works in education tech, is a single mom to an “ausome” seven-year-old, and has only been learning (like, REALLY learning) about racism and white supremacy since November 2016. Though she suffers from both hero worship and foot-in-mouth syndrome, Amanda also possesses a genuine desire to do better and a sort of snarky charm that help many people find her just north of tolerable.      

• The Truth About My Election Reaction by: Shannon Barber
• When You Walk Into the Valley: On Allies Asking to be Taught About Race by: John Metta
• White People, Stop Asking Us to Educate You About Racism: Signed Every POC You’ve Burdened with This Question by: Real Talk: WOC & Allies
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by: Isabel Wilkerson

These are other links that I share with people (and regularly reread myself)

• The Case for Reparations by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Why It’s Not Racist When People of Color Point Out White Supremacy in White People’s Actions by: Andrew Hernández
• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by: Peggy McIntosh
• When We Are Serious About Racism, People Won’t Die Like This: Because Racism is Deadly by: Sam McKenzie, Jr.
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism by: Robin DiAngelo (the essay that eventually turned into the book)
• No We Won’t Calm Down — Tone Policing Is Just Another Way to Protect Privilege by: Robot Hugs
• White People: Yes, It Is Difficult for You to Talk About Race–That’s Part of Racism’s Design by: Eric Anthony Grollman
• Oww, Ouch!: How to Apologize by: Killing Georgina