Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical

by Sikivu Hutchinson

Feminism and atheism are “dirty words” that Americans across the political spectrum love to debate—and hate. Throw them into a blender and you have a toxic brew that supposedly defies decency, respectability, and Americana. Add an “unapologetically” Black critique to the mix and it’s a deal-breaking social taboo. Putting gender at the center of the equation, progressive “Religious Nones” of color are spearheading an anti-racist, social justice humanism that disrupts the “colorblind” ethos of European American atheist and humanist agendas, which focus principally on church-state separation. These critical interventions build on the lived experiences and social histories of segregated Black and Latinx communities that are increasingly under economic siege. In this context, Hutchinson makes a valuable and necessary call for social justice change in a polarized climate where Black women’s political power has become a galvanizing national force.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Religion, Race, African American

135 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2020

About the author

Sikivu Hutchinson @sikivuhutch is an author and playwright. Her books include Imagining Transit: Race, Gender and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles; Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Values Wars; Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels and White Nights, Black Paradise.

Reviews

[S. Qiouyi Lu]

This book made me a humanist.

Back in 2009, I co-founded the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Secular Students Association (SSA) with Mike Deigan, Kris Wold, and Joy Nichols. Although we didn’t use the term at the time, our mission was a humanist one. We consciously chose to have the “A” represent “Association” instead of the national organization’s “Alliance,” as we felt “Alliance” embodied a sense of conflict that didn’t resonate with us. Instead, we wanted to dedicate the organization to interfaith dialogue and service to fill a gap not only on campus, but in the surrounding community. We promoted events on campus that engaged with secularism, such as a student production of The Spinoza Project, which discusses religious freedom and the separation of church and state. We contextualized events with open dialogue, including an “Ask and Atheist” event across from the “Pit Preacher,” aka Gary Birdsong, who is known for fiery fundamentalist speeches and condemnations that even many Christian students found extreme. We were also aware that new atheist movements were doing very little to provide a social safety net for communities, especially when compared to religious groups like churches and faith-based resource centers, which offer a strong alternative to government assistance. We sent out information about anti-oppression volunteer opportunities and charity events to our members so they could participate as representatives of SSA. In doing so, we hoped to improve the reputation of secular people in an area known for its dogmatic religious beliefs, and to provide an alternative to houses of worship and faith-based organizations.

Gradually, though, my studies took on more priority, and my worsening mental health made participation in student organizations more difficult. As I evaluated which groups I still wanted to go to, I made the difficult decision to stop going to SSA meetings, which I had worked so hard along with the others to establish in the first place. There simply came a point when I felt too alienated as a person of color to keep participating in White spaces that often devolved into attacks on religion. Many atheists at Carolina were formerly involved with Southern Baptism and its rigid dogma; however, many of them did not examine how they replicated the very same dogma, even if they switched their terms and targets. The Whiteness of those spaces and the Whiteness of secularist philosophy ended up making me feel drained rather than restored. So I left.

I’ve never stopped identifying as atheist agnostic 1 , but, while I found the term “humanist” while I was in college, I never used it for myself. Perhaps it felt too frou-frou for me. It was absent of any framework of radical dismantling of oppression. Sure, there were lofty ideals, but I didn’t see much about actual praxis. And what organizations there were felt so overwhelmingly White that I didn’t even feel like going.

It’s been 11 years since the founding of Carolina’s SSA. In that time, only Humanists in the Hood has managed to reach me and convert me to humanism, precisely because Hutchinson’s intersectional analysis made me feel seen for the first time in a secular space. I’ve been active in various anti-oppression circles, including those fighting racism, cis/sexism, ableism, sizeism, and heteropatriarchy, yet this was the first time I felt acknowledged as a secular person in a religious context. My prior frustration wasn’t an individual one-off that happened at one single university, but was a manifestation of a systematic disparity.

Hutchinson outlines a powerful and compelling argument that humanism cannot be divorced from real-world oppressions, such as racism, sexism, and economic inequality. Modern secularism does itself a disservice when it focuses on reactionary politics and only mobilizes to fight religious encroachments on the state. Instead, Hutchinson argues that humanism must be proactive and stand behind its belief in the equality and value of all human life. Instead of paying lip service to representation and diversity, humanists must invest the actual work in dismantling the institutions that keep humans unequal.

Hutchinson outlines how religion, particularly Christianity, has worked its way into American politics. Through a lens that examines a Black and African American experience of religion and secularism, Hutchinson breaks down how Christianity has allied with the state to perpetuate violence, such as by normalizing violence against women of color. Hutchinson highlights how religion offers a safety net for communities of color that have been neglected by the government. But too often, that safety net often comes at the price of accepting the abuse of powerful figures, particularly men, in the church.

Furthermore, because religion often fills the gap of providing mental healthcare to communities of color, secular people of color are often forced to choose between an ideology at odds with their very identity or getting the help they need. Especially for Black and African Americans, religion has historically and continues to be a way to cope with trauma, including intergenerational trauma. Humanists in the Hood is a difficult read at times, if only because Hutchinson doesn’t whitewash the reality of what people of color, particularly Black people, face in the United States: depressing rates of sexual violence, criminalization, pathologization, poverty, and the psychic toll of navigating interlocking oppressions on a day-to-day basis. Even as she highlights religion’s role in perpetuating injustice, Hutchinson is careful not to attack religion or faith itself, instead focusing her arguments on the praxis, or concrete action that is taken. In fact, Hutchinson includes suggested steps at the end of each chapter to help the reader see and challenge the failings of White secularism.

On top of being an excellent manifesto for a radical vision of humanism, Humanists in the Hood is also one of the best, up-to-date references on Black feminism that I’ve come across. As a millennial who came to a lot of consciousness about oppression through the internet, I’ve often been frustrated by how the history behind ideology gets erased online, most visibly in the lack of citations for the originators of terms and concepts. Those ideas then go on to be co-opted by White feminism, such as what has happened with the #MeToo movement, which Hutchinson uses to illustrate this very dynamic. Humanism in the Hood provides the citations, links, and references to the original sources where concepts like “intersectionality” and “respectability politics” came from (Kimberlé Crenshaw and Elizabeth Higginbotham, respectively). In a society where Black women’s labor is so often devalued and co-opted, Hutchinson’s thorough timelines and meticulous citations offer an invaluable record of history and a roadmap away from that erasure.

Even though Humanists in the Hood is a mere 135 pages long and written in non-academic, accessible language, I still found myself taking a while to read it, simply because Hutchinson expresses so much in such a compact space—it’s truly a marvel; I’ve read books over 400 pages as long that weren’t even half as informative. Rather than try to sum up every one of Hutchinson’s arguments, I’d like to expand on her analysis by providing decolonial and Chinese-American additions.

Hutchinson touches on how Enlightenment-era philosophy shaped contemporary humanism and how ideologies of racial difference are used to justify inhumane acts on people of color; she also notes how the mind–body division found in Christianity undermines the mission of improving the human condition on Earth while one is alive. Hutchinson dedicates an entire chapter to discussing the economic injustice of capitalism and income inequality. Yet, while Hutchinson does mention imperialism in a few places, there is a notable absence of critiques about coloniality. Many of the myths people in the United States have about progress and modernity, including beliefs about the infallibility of science and the vision of the “American Dream,” are rooted in colonialism’s spread over the globe. Capitalism was not always the status quo; racial difference was not always codified into institutional power differences. The United States is not unique in its oppressive beliefs, as the United States is deeply shaped by the same coloniality that took over the world. A thorough understanding of coloniality and decolonization would only advance the cause of an intersectional humanism.

I would also like to expand on Hutchinson’s comments about mental health and religious organizations’ exploitation of worshippers. Mental health is a critical issue in Asian-American communities, where language barriers, cultural barriers, poverty, faith, pseudoscience, and distrust of Western medicine combine to create low rates of people seeking help for psychiatric issues. Financial exploitation of worshippers is not unique to Christianity, either. No more than 20 minutes away from South LA, where Hutchinson’s work is centered, is Rowland Heights, an Asian-American hub. The city is host to one branch of a religious group called Bodhi Meditation.

I can’t claim to know all their inner workings, as I only went to one of their sessions. I found myself disturbed by the focus on the (male) leader Grandmaster Jinbodhi. His words seemed to be sacred in themselves as a video played of worshippers who claimed that various physical ailments had been cast out of their body via meditation, almost like a Christian exorcism: one person claimed that, as she meditated, a ball of energy burst from her body, ridding her of her chronic pain. There was an extensive gift shop attached to the meditation center. Buddhist institutions are no stranger to hosting lavish displays of wealth as religious offerings, and can exploit religious ties to economic injustice just as readily as Christians. Furthermore, while I recognize that the full benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are not yet fully understood, the fact remains that many of the tinctures and remedies are not as efficacious as Western drugs. Still, many immigrant communities, including Asian ones, are suspicious of Western medicine because of its reported side effects. Furthermore, mental health intervention, whether or not it includes medication, is often stigmatized and considered something only White people seek. This web of pressures is yet another manifestation of how religion and faith can be used to control and deprive, and another manifestation of where secular humanism can provide immense value to a community.

Humanists in the Hood is a stellar piece of nonfiction, one that I’d hold up as a prime example of how to make something purportedly high-concept accessible to the masses. For White people wishing to work together toward a humanist vision of the future, Reverse Integration: Helping White America Join the Village by Jay Klusky, Ph.D. 2 is an excellent companion to expand this dialogue. In the introduction, Hutchinson notes, “With Humanists in the Hood, I’m writing not only the book that I’ve wanted to read but also the book that I (to quote [Alice] Walker) should have been able to read.” (24, emphasis in original) This is also the book I should have been able to read while organizing in college, the book that would have provided the tools I needed to critique and resist the discomfort I felt in White secular spaces. But Hutchinson notes in the conclusion that it will be Millennials and Gen Zers of color who will change the discourse around humanism in the United States. I’m proud to say that, as a Millennial of color, Humanists in the Hood has resonated with me. I will be sure to pass it on to others so they, too, can be seen and work toward a better future for all humankind.

* * *

[1] Which is not a contradiction. For me, “atheism” means a lack of belief in a god or gods, while “agnosticism” represents the belief that human beings are inherently limited and cannot prove the existence or nonexistence of a god or gods, thus a- and gnosis, for “knowledge.” ↩︎

[2] Interestingly enough, Dr. Jay Klusky credits Dr. Joy DeGruy as one of his closest friends and as an invaluable cultural consultant. Sikivu Hutchinson cites Dr. Joy DeGruy’s Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing in her analysis. Small humanist world. ↩︎

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a time to be alive watching the United States of America have NASA and SpaceX (of Elon Musk) jointly launch the first astronauts to the International Space Station since 2011, where some of the largest protests in American history for women’s rights and protection of civilian people of colour’s lives in recent years happen and then followed by massive and nation-wide protests over the murder of George Floyd and others, and all the while over 40,000,000 Americans are unemployed, and more than 100,000 are dead from the coronavirus, an interesting dichotomy marking much of the thematic interplays of American history harkening back to the first Black president sketch of the late Richard Pryor, “I feel it’s time Black people went to space. White people have been going to space for years, and spacing out on us, as you might say.”

Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson is a brilliant writer and a decent human being, who writes articulately with moral force while working in and supporting underserved communities in which she lives in South Los Angeles. Hutchinson is a black woman sexual violence survivor (as a girl at the time) and a parent of a non-binary child, granddaughter of Earl Hutchinson Sr., and daughter of Yvonne Divans Hutchinson and Earl Ofari Hutchinson. She earned a Ph.D. in Performance Studies in 1999 from New York University.

She founded the Women’s Leadership Project (WLP) as “a feminist service learning program designed to educate and train young middle and high school age women in South Los Angeles to take ownership of their school-communities.” Also, she founded Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), which became part of the 501(c)3 organization Black Skeptics Group (BSG – founded in 2010) in 2012. She is a co-founder of the Women of Colour Beyond Belief Conference with Bridgett “Bria” Crutchfield (Minority Atheists of MI, Detroit affiliate of Black Nonbelievers, and Operation Water For Flint) and Mandisa Thomas (Black Nonbelievers), which featured speakers as wide-ranging as Liz Ross, Candace Gorham, Deanna Adams, Cecilia Pagan, Ingrid Mitchell, Lilandra Ra, Marquita Tucker, Mashariki Lawson-Cook, Rajani Gudlavaletti, Sonjiah Davis, and Sadia Hameed.

Her work and speaking have crossed paths with several prominent African American and Black freethinkers, including Desiree Kane, Anthony Pinn, Bobby Joe Champion, Sikivu Hutchinson, Andrea Jenkins, Charone Pagett, Diane Burkholder, Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Heina Dadabhoy, Sincere Kirabo, Candace Gorham, Liz Ross, and many others. Her previous works include Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Travel Writing Across the Disciplines) (2003), Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (2011), Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels (2013), and White Nights, Black Paradise (2015). As well, she released a short film on White Nights, Black Paradise in 2016, which was made into a stage production in 2018.

As seems implicit in the works, any social, economic, and political progress for the godless will come in ethical form, as immoral acts in attempts to force or coerce an overarching ethical movement will provide ammunition for demagogues who wish to – so to speak – crush a neck with a knee or silence citizens who wish to protest by taking a knee. In short, she reads not only what comes in the academic volumes in intellectual interests for her, but she acts as a positive humanist agent in South Los Angeles, in particular, and America, in general, with a number of initiatives, including the First in the Family Humanist scholarship. Both personal attributes of intellectual rigour and community work come together in the written works for her. Humanists in the Hood becomes another manifestation of the universalist ink of Hutchinson.

In many ways, Hutchinson stands intellectually alone, as happens with many Black humanists in the global diaspora of Humanism. This is not to deny or neglect the reality of organizational and media buttresses, at times, for, or by, Black humanists. Certainly, supports have begun to grow, in part. However, in the cases of supports developed externally to the Black humanist community, how much sentiment is not overweening, affected, and simply nakedly fake? A woman in interviews having to define for the public even the meaning of atheism or agnosticism, as when on the “On The 7 With Dr. Sean” show. Chavonne Taylor and Hutchinson spent a not-insignificant amount of time on the basic definitions of agnosticism and atheism followed by further clarification. If you’re wondering, this was aired in 2020. However, there exists a history of writings with, for example, A. Philip Randolph who sponsored an essay contest entitled “Is Christianity a Menace to the Negro?” Naturally, Hutchinson loved the title.

Our first interaction occurred on December 20, 2016 with the publication of “Interview with Sikivu Hutchinson – Feminist, Humanist, Novelist, Author“ in Conatus News. Someone with identities disliked by racists as a Black or an African American citizen of the United States of America, by misogynists for feminist writings, women’s leadership organizational work, and lived egalitarian values, and by religious fundamentalists for rejections of supernatural claims of sacred texts and disbelief in the authority of purported holy figures, i.e., as a humanist or, naturally, a ‘heretic.’ Hence, the reason for the full title of Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical (2020). To add icing to the cake, Hutchinson advocates for socialist economic policy, which, in the United States, is heard as or translated by the culture into “antidemocratic” or “communistic,” as she notes.

The “Humanists” in the main title comes from fundamental humanist values lived out in ‘hoods’ in South L.A. while engraved with the flavors, the sounds, the emotions, and the patois, and the pains and the tragedies and the triumphs as humanists in hoods. Also, “Hood” comes from lived experience for Hutchinson. She grew up at the tail-end of COINTELPRO (COunter INTELligence PROgram) in which a program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was destroying or decimating African American communities and political organizations. Hutchinson understands the contexts of state violence and its organized manifestations. One of her earliest moments of political protest was in hearing about the murder of Eulia Love/Eulia Mae Love/Eula Love by two LAPD officers in her own residence in 1979.

It was a first moment, even as a child for Hutchinson, of the issues around “use of force” by police. Or the Darrel Gates argument of African Americans responding differently to chokeholds. Similar forms of violence and subsequent political and social protests seen with the case of George Floyd and others to this day, where protests have been breaking out in Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Louisville, Dallas, Sacramento, Bakersfield, and San Jose, and probably elsewhere. Both come to a context in which home is neither “safe space” nor “private sanctuary.” A deep history where African American bodies are not theirs except in service to White slaveholders with Black women in America as sub-human and not really women. These cultural bigotries rooted in a proper definition of White supremacy, as domination of Black bodies and lives.

Certainly, progress has been made, but legacies live into the present with African American, Native American, Latin American, Asian American, and working class European American women getting the shit end of the shorter stick more often. Even with prominent African American figures such as Steve Harvey, Hutchinson was correct in identifying the core issue in the blanket statements by Harvey making the argument of the amorality of African Americans who become atheists and the treasonous relation to the ‘race’ when non-religious. In other words, if you leave religion while Black, you have become a traitor to the ethnicity and lack morals, especially condemnable and criminal to community for Black women who leave communal faith.

The text covers some of these contexts, but the book represents a larger intellectual environment for Hutchinson. Don’t take this second-hand from a young Canadian humanist, the reviews on the book represent similar sentiments and thoughts, and praise, of the book. Bridgette Crutchfield of Black Nonbelievers of Detroit said, “Humanists in the Hood is an acute reminder of the struggle we as Black women have and still experience. It has documented in one place, our travels and travails.” Crutchfield makes the concise and insightful point of the amnesiac nature of American memory of the crimes of old wreaking havoc on the lives of the present generations and planting seeds of potential disproportionate despair for the generations who come after us. Humanists can act in such a manner so as to provide a space to air grievances for compassionate understanding, strategize on solutions, organize relevant resources, and mobilize for the better chances of the next generations.

“Humanists in the Hood is a must read for everyone, but especially anyone who considers themselves progressive and supportive of marginalized people,” Mandisa Thomas, Founder and President, Black Nonbelievers, Inc., stated, “With her in-depth analysis, Sikivu has issued yet another challenge — to take a long, hard look historically, institutionally, and, most important, internally, into the often complex world of feminism and how humanist/secular values have and must continue to inform our fight for equality.” Thomas is right. The book represents a fundamental challenge to the humanist community in America, at least, on its various constituencies and the differentiated needs of them, which seems like a good thing because a humanist message is a universalistic message. One in which fundamental principles yield an infinite while bounded variety of potential tools for covering the needs of humanist communities in South L.A., in America, and throughout the humanist diaspora.

“The time is now for Humanists in the Hood. With compassionate, razor-sharp clarity, Sikivu Hutchinson provides a courageously bold Black, feminist, and atheist road map to liberating ourselves, our communities, and U.S. society.” Producer/Director of NO! The Rape Documentary, Aishah Shahidah Simmons, said, “She invites and challenges readers to step outside of comfort zones to consider different possibilities in response to the oppressive systems that silence and annihilate all of us on the margins. Hutchinson’s words are a clarion call for radical, tangible actions for these perilous times.”

The purpose of the book is to provide a challenge to the mainstream humanist community and to provide a “road map” for the construction of institutions devoted to the specified concerns mentioned earlier within the philosophical framework of Humanism. A “razor-sharp clarity” did not happen in a vacuum. Pressure makes diamonds. Why isn’t Hutchinson more prominent and well-known than now? Although, she has been gaining a loyal following and readership. As we know, diamonds take time to find, and tend to remain buried for a long time...

Full book review here:

https://www.newsintervention.com/book...

[Siji · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this wonderful book a few days ago and I was excited to dig into it. I blazed through it fast. It was a fascinating read; straight to the point; with practical action steps at the end of each chapter, especially for those people who prefer something ‘more pragmatic’. This book should be read by ALL HUMANISTS and religious people. Dr. Hutchinson addresses LGBTQI issues, anti-secularism, racism, sexism, capitalism and poverty, and education; in society; in politics; in churches; and in communities of colour.

She accurately points out how humanism has lost its way through wilful ignorance, downright animosity, and reluctance to address a broad range of humanist issues—i.e. LGBTQI topics, intersectionality, feminism, antiracism, social justice, education, wealth inequality—that affect marginalized communities. Most humanist organisations in the United States primarily put an emphasis on problems related to the separation of church and states (which are important) but they ignore everything else. This is common sense: if you want to draw in more people of colour (POC) you should at least be interested in the causes that affect their daily lives. How does the humanist movement expect to defeat the power of organised religion when organised religion seems to be fulfilling many of these socio-cultural needs more than they do?

One thing that I noticed in reading this book is the lack of interest, of many secular people, in trying to understand and immense themselves—through reading books or watching documentaries, by and of POC—in the experiences of people who come from a different background/culture than they do. Instead, they play the 'I'm objective' 'I don't see race or sex' card. This behaviour exudes a lack of empathy, which is unbecoming of decent human beings. Ignorance should not be an excuse in the 21st century. I challenge you to not only to implement the actions steps, but to also read the book recommendations at the end of each chapter. We are all in this together. We all have room to grow concerning these topics. It may not feel comfortable, but it is necessary if we want effect lasting societal change and bring down the behemoth of fundamentalism in the West. This book is filled with useful and timely information. I highly recommend it.

[Frank Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson does it again with her powerful and precise words on addressing the major issues that women are challenged with in the Freethought community. Being Black,Feminist and Herectical, this is a must read for grasping an understanding of the landscape that women must maneuver through within the Freethought community. On the other, if you fall outside of the Freethought community, and you are curious about some of the powerful and leading Black women in the Freethought community, this is a very good reference book. If you are looking for suggested steps for making difference in your respected community this book offer some very good options after each chapter. Finally this book offers a plethora of research material to obtain an even more in depth knowledge of the subject discussed within this outstanding book.

[Kole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free as part of a Goodreads giveaway, thanks to the publisher and the author for this book!

Let's start off with the fact that I approached this book as a feminist, atheist, white/latinx, cis-gendered heterosexual male with little idea exactly what Humanism was. By the time the book was over, I would add to that list, humanist.

This book isn't perfect but it is interesting and essential for anyone interested in the subject. My mind was broadened and while I was aware of the various pitfalls of organized religion, this book made me think harder about the overlapping intersection of faith, race and human rights. I also learned what humanism was and wondered why I had not been made aware of it sooner as it immediately fits well into my beliefs. I will also give the author credit as she does not shy away from critique of previous humanist movements and modern humanism and argues how it can be better suited for everyone, not just cis/white atheist males.

There were some odd moments where I found myself having to re-reread sentences because the syntax of the sentences was a bit confusing. There was also some occasional repetitive writing that makes this book feel like a college essay, though it's possible that is only on my mind because I just wrote one of my finals, but with that said the large majority of the book is well-written.

One of my favorite parts of this book is that each chapter includes further reading on what is covered and in addition, practical steps you can take to be a better, more informed person and humanist. I found myself wanting more information because this is a brief book but helpfully I have plenty of places to start thanks to the author.

If you're interested in learning about humanism, feminism or atheism, I think this is a pretty great book that covers it from a unique perspective. I recommend this book and feel like most people could benefit from reading this and thinking hard on what is covered and their position in it.

Overall: 4/5 Recommended.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough read in parts. The American atheist organizations have largely failed women of color and LGBTQIA of color in recent decades by focusing almost exclusively on separation of church and state issues but ignoring or giving only lip service to social justice issues. And when those organizations try to change, as I have seen with the American Humanist Association in recent years, there is angry pushback. We must do better going forward and give each other the community we need.

[LoversintheLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hutchinson covers so much ground but somehow manages to avoid the heavy, dense style common for authors dabbling in complex issues. Because of the clear style that she writes in the book is easy to follow. And the book is an eye-opener. She pushes back against the notion that Black people, specifically Black women, have no place in humanism. In the book, she asks: "What are the implications of a humanistic worldview in a nation where Black women's bodies have never been considered human? What are the implications of a Black feminist humanism when women's centuries-long fight for bodily autonomy continues to be challenged by white supremacist Christian facsist heterosexist patiarchy on the one hand and Black heterosexist patriarchy on the other?" Hutchinson offers Black feminist humanism as a necessary alternative. The argument that she lays out works well as a counter to theoretical arguments like anti-Blackness, Afropessimism, etc. At its core, this is a hopeful book and a relevant read. I will be thinking about some of the concepts for a long time and will most likely re-read the book for the sheer wealth of information she provides.

[Gatsbys OK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful analysis. Courageous expression of non-belief and why it is important to express these views in our highly religious times.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this more than 5 stars if possible. Wow. I read quite a few books that make me think "white feminists really need to read this", and don't get me wrong, your pink pussy hats were not spared in this one either, but here we have a book that white humanists, white atheists, and especially white men in those groups really need to understand, but I'm fairly certain most won't read. Very stubborn crew.

There is so much misogyny in secular humanist circles (peer into a Michael Shermer FB post and you'll want to rid your bookshelf of his books. I haven't yet, but I'm not buying more either). As a white woman I can not imagine the added element of racism while trying to exist as a black woman in this community when you have decided that religion just isn't for you. A choice also not incredibly common within your own community. There were so many layers to this book I didn't want it to end.

[Dave Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4/5 (audiobook narrated by the author)

This was somewhat hard for me to listen to, which of course is a small price for considering works intended to challenge and expand our worldview. After much consideration I finally rated this with 4 stars; but in full disclosure, I did consider giving it three. The content was OK, I can’t say I learned a lot of new facts or history, but it did let me step outside myself for a few uncomfortable hours to experience some new truths.

I won’t give a detailed summary, mostly because I wouldn’t presume to be able to adequately summarize the author’s perspective. While I strongly agreed with many of her assertions, many I did not. However, for the majority of the book, I recognized that I didn’t have the life experiences to side either way, and instead chose to listen and absorb her worldview, which reflected our differences in gender, race, social status, and sexual orientation.

Interestingly, while we’ve traveled different life paths, I did find that we arrived pretty much at the same place. We’re both Secular Humanists who strongly believe in social progressivism and equality…for some of the same reasons, and for many different ones.

As to whether I recommend this book, I’d say it depends what you want to get out of it. I found that the book reads like a Master’s level treatise that is heavily based on the author’s opinion and suppositions. I’m not suggesting that she’s wrong, not at all, two people looking at a mountain from completely different sides can describe a very differently mountain. However, when we offer an argument significantly based on our own subjective perspective, we’re all subject to projecting our own assumptions and biases about the others. I think this is especially true when we argue against another person’s or group’s motivations and worldviews, which the author tended to do.

In short, I read this book to force myself to view the world through very different eyes, and was pained at what I saw. In that I found worthy value.

We humans still have a long road to travel.

[David Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Sikivu Hutchinson's new book, Humanists in the Hood, is slimmer than her previous ones, it is just as powerful and important a contribution to freethought as her lengthier works. It is clear to me that, just as Black women are and will be an important force in the coming election and politics in general, so young Black, secular women are going to transform the humanist movement. By way of review, I can do no better that suggest you read the one by Scott Douglas Jacobsen in News Intervention (link below). It is long but well worth the read. I give Humanists in the Hood 5 stars; most highly recommended.

https://www.newsintervention.com/book...

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading!

As a secular, bisexual, Hispanic woman this book contains so much of what a know and understand, but could not articulate.

[David Breeden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important voice in the discussion of humanism in the US

[Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a current book that is hopeful for the future but critical of the present and past. A good read for anybody ready to check their privilege and learn the truth about society and culture.

[Chloe Sih · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically I loved the premise but it was very removed from my personal experience as I’m a British African and this felt very specific to African Americans in California. Slightly stale and a difficult read.

Resonated a lot with the overall theme- I think it did a very good job of asking questions about how much atheism is connected to privilege and religiousness is connected to suffering / lack of access? Similar to how college education was more accessible to white women, philosophy. Are black people religious because we’re less educated or not trained in academic / critical thinking? I wish this was explored more.

Lots of good cultural references and too much self referencing. Felt a little all over the place and missing a cohesive theme and moral.

2.9/5

[Melanie Brewster · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her newest book, Dr. Hutchinson has provided an incredibly insightful and pithy call out of 'mainstream' (read: White) atheist communities. She masterfully draws together an argument for why contemporary feminist and anti-racist agendas cannot be separate from secular goals or actions.

For folks who are less familiar with ideas of intersectional oppression, this book will provide an excellent starting place to learn. Moreover, for people who are already deeply aware of intersectional oppression, Dr. Hutchinson's integration of (ir)religion as an axis of oppression is a critical addition to what is often missing in these dialogues.

A truly important book for anyone interested in gender, race, and religion.

[Bakari · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Humanists in the Hood” is a modern manifesto for atheists and humanists of the Boomer, Gen X, and Gen Z generations. We should hold book club discussions about this timely and powerfully written book.