Summary of Emmanuel Acho's Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Emmanuel Acho's Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: In Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, Acho takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many White Americans are afraid to ask - yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever. With the same open-hearted generosity that has made his video series a phenomenon, Acho explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and “reverse racism”.

In his own words, he provides a space of compassion and understanding in a discussion that can lack both. He asks only for the listener's curiosity - but along the way, he will galvanize all of us to join the antiracist fight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638155188

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We can never allow ourselves as a society to forget that the majority of people in this country of African descent had ancestors who were stripped of their culture, language, and land, and forcibly taken to America as slaves. This went on for hundreds of years.

#2

Black racial labels have changed over time. Following the Civil War, colored was popularized. This was switched to Negro after progressive black figures like Booker T. Washington pushed for it. In the late 1960s, black became prominent, and in 1988 black leaders met and proposed the replacement African American.

#3

The latest two labels, African American and black, both have detractors and supporters. While the other options have long fallen out of favor, it is important to understand the history of these labels, as well as the conflict between the last two.

#4

The argument for African American is that it celebrates cultural heritage, whereas the term black was originally used by slave owners. However, some argue that black is more inclusive than