The Case for Rage: Why Anger Is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle

by Myisha Cherry

When it comes to injustice, especially racial injustice, rage isn't just an acceptable response-it's crucial in order to fuel the fight for change.

Anger has a bad reputation. Many people think that it is counterproductive, distracting, and destructive. It is a negative emotion, many believe, because it can lead so quickly to violence or an overwhelming fury. And coming from people of color, it takes on connotations that are even more sinister,
stirring up stereotypes, making white people fear what an angry other might be capable of doing, when angry, and leading them to turn to hatred or violence in turn, to squelch an anger that might upset the racial status quo.

According to philosopher Myisha Cherry, anger does not deserve its bad reputation. It is powerful, but its power can be a force for good. And not only is it something we don't have to discourage, it's something we ought to cultivate actively. People fear anger because they paint it in broad strokes,
but we can't dismiss all anger, especially not now. There is a form of anger that in fact is crucial in the anti-racist struggle today. This anti-racist anger, what Cherry calls Lordean rage, can use its mighty force to challenge racism: it aims for change, motivates productive action, builds
resistance, and is informed by an inclusive and liberating perspective. People can, and should, harness Lordean rage and tap into its unique anti-racist potential. We should not suppress it or seek to replace it with friendly emotions. If we want to effect change, and take down racist structures and
systems, we must manage it in the sense of cultivating it, and keeping it focused and strong.

Cherry makes her argument for anti-racist anger by putting Aristotle in conversation with Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin in conversation with Joseph Butler. The Case for Rage not only uses the tools of philosophy to articulate its arguments, but it sharpens them with the help of social psychology
and history. The book is philosophically rich and yet highly accessible beyond philosophical spheres, issuing an urgent call to all politically and socially engaged readers looking for new, deeply effective tools for changing the world. Its message will resonate with the enraged and those witnessing
such anger, wondering whether it can help or harm. Above all, this book is a resource for the activist coming to grips with a seemingly everyday emotion that she may feel rising up within her and not know what to do with. It shows how to make sure anger doesn't go to waste, but instead leads to
lasting, long-awaited change.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Race, Social Justice, Politics, Audiobook

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 19, 2021

Reviews

[Traci Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the ways Cherry looks at rage as a positive and effective emotion. There are really great ideas in this book around how to use rage, combat naysayers, check allies, etc. It’s a little clunky.

[Magdelanye · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many are worried about anger and doubtful about the positive role it can play, but it is plainly true: there is a lot to be angry about. p4

Anger is not the scary monster that many believe it to be. It has an important role to play....p163

Violence is not what happens when you express anger but when you keep it in, causing it to reach a boil and then explode. p150


In deconstructing rage, the astute philosopher Myisha Cherry differentiates the many types, from narcissistic to righteous. She points out how important it is to distinguish destructive actions from actions intended to build awareness, and identifies a new category which she calls Lordean rage, after the great social justice activist and writer.

Unexpressed anger does not protect us because as long as it is silent, it is useless. Only when it is expressed in some form can we use it in the pursuit of justice and liberation. p147

Rather than eliminating anger we should work through it, harness it, and use it to achieve positive ends. p138

If you are at all curious about how this can be achieved, make a point to read this book. You will be happy that you did.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not the anger of Black women which is dripping down over this globe like a diseased liquid...It is not my anger that launches rockets,...slaughters children in cities, stockpiles nerve gas and chemical bombs....It is not the anger of Black women which corrodes into blind, dehumanizing power, bent upon the annihilation of us.
Audre Lourde, quoted in Chapter 7, "The End of Rage?"

History had taught [Du Bois] it is not enough for people to be angry--the supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force...This life style of Dr. Du Bois is the most important quality this generation of Negroes needs to emulate. The educated Negro who is not really part of us, and the angry militant who fails to organize us, have nothing in common with Dr. Du Bois. He exemplified black power in achievement and he organized black power in action.
Martin Luther King, Jr., quoted in Chapter 3, "Rage in Work Clothes

Anger is not the scary monster that many believe it to be. It has an important role to play in anti-racist struggle. And it can play this role in very positive ways. It should not be eradicated. Instead, like a good manager, we should do what we can to help our anger do its very best to assist us in bringing about a more just world. It will not always be easy. But it will be worth it.
from Chapter 6, "Anger Management"

In The Case for Rage: Why Anger is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle, Myisha Cherry examines how anger or rage, rather than merely chaotic and violent, can be "transformed" (to use King's thoughts above) into productive and efficacious channels in ensuring positive change regarding racism. She borrows from Seneca, Du Bois, Martin Luther King, and feminist critics to demonstrate the myriad ways anger, properly channeled, is an effective fuel for positive change; more importantly, she is indebted to Audre Lorde, who, as Cherry explains in the final chapter, she feels a special kinship with in matters of experience and thought. To this end, Cherry coins her "anger" "Lordean anger" to separate it from other forms of self-destructive, impotent rage.

In a sense, Cherry is expanding and exploring the significance and implications of the quote by Martin Luther King above--that "anger" can become "a transforming force." The problem is Cherry's work is thin and somewhat light on scholarship. While she references the work of a variety of acknowledged scholars to support her assertions, she also uses, more than once, television skits to bolster a point. For example, she examines how Barack Obama, as the nation's first Black president, maintained a respective calm despite the racist cacophony often surrounding him (his citizenship, his Christian values, being told he is lying during a presidential address, etc). Yet she uses a comedy sketch from Key and Peele, the angry translator, and Obama electing to riff on it during a correspondents dinner, to demonstrate he was "angry" in the manner she is describing. While I agree President Obama demonstrated restraint, I do not believe the best way to examine how he transformed anger into positive action is his response to a comedy skit.

A second problem I had with Cherry's work was identifying her audience. She often states "you know" and "you are aware"; at times, she is addressing Black women, at other times minorities, and at others "White people." Cherry's argument is timely and necessary. She is speaking directly to minority people impacted by racist practices which exploded in 2020 and 2021. Her message delivers more impact by being specific rather than academically general. This wavering could be the result of Cherry's approach, an approach described in her introduction:

I should also note that this book is meant to be a short-crossover book that appeals to the academic and activist, the philosopher and citizen. As a result, my aim is to be philosophically grounded and accessible.

The Case for Rage likely has an expiration date where its timely message will become outdated. How long it will be "accessible" is anyone's guess. My guess is this work will not rub shoulders with W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, or Audre Lorde on the classics shelf. I recommend this book to readers interested in responses to current incidents of racism as well as to readers interested in whether anger can function as a "transforming force."

This is Book 100 in my personal "Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge": Reading a book from each of the ten categories of the Dewey Decimal system. This book is 100.170:
Philosophy & Psychology --> Ethics (moral philosophy).

Reviews of Other Books in the Challenge:

Book 000: Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
Book 100: The Case for Rage: Why Anger Is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle
Book 200: In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion
Book 300: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Book 400: The Five-Minute Linguist: Bite-Sized Essays on Language and Languages
Book 500: Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction
Book 600: What To Expect When You're Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration
Book 700: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

[Keith Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is my anger justified? Anyone who’s ever been angry believes it is. But anger can be terribly destructive and must be managed, say those who are not angry at the moment. Who’s right? Is anger worth keeping?

Ethical philosopher, Myisha Cherry recently wrote a book that describes the difference between righteous anger and the other kind. It’s titled, The Case for Rage: Why Anger Is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle. Dr Cherry comes out in favor of certain kinds of rage against racism. I’d like to see if my rage can be justified when it’s against something else that pisses me off: my cable provider.

I have been known to get very frustrated with my cable provider and have vented my spleen from time to time on the unfortunate customer service operators who answer my calls. I’m not proud of myself afterwards and, although I believe my cause is righteous, I’m ashamed of the way I acted. I needn’t be ashamed, suggests Dr Cherry, if I purge my rage of certain impurities.

The first thing to go is narcissism. I’m upset with the cable company because their service is poor, their advertising is misleading, and they make me pay for Fox News, which I would not watch. Imagine how I would feel if my demands were met; if they answered promptly when I called, gave me the rate they advertised, and removed Fox News from my bill, but they changed nothing for anyone else. If that was enough to make me stop complaining, then my rage was narcissistic. I’ve just shown that I don’t care about anyone else’s poor service, high rates, or that they must pay for partisan news channels. My rage is self-serving.

On the other hand, if I continue my crusade to make sure everyone’s calls get answered promptly, their advertising is honest, and no news channel spreads nonsense, then my rage is worthy, according to Dr Cherry. I’ve proved to be more interested in Justice than in making things easier for me.

The next thing to look out for is Wipe Rage. That’s her name for it. Do I want to have anyone fired? Wipe the cable company off the face of the earth? Do I want to exterminate them, as the Nazis tried to do with the Jews? Do I want them eliminated so they can’t hurt anyone ever again?

I do think companies who treat their customers as poorly as the cable company treats me should go out of business. There must be a threat of failure, so they would take customer service more seriously. That’s the law of the marketplace when there is true competition. Competition that the cable company is exempt from, thanks to a cushy arrangement with politicians. But, no, I don’t want all cable company employees to lose their jobs. I want them to be better at them.

Wipe Rage thinks there can only be one winner and one loser. If the cable company wins, then I lose. For me to win, they must lose. People with Wipe Rage fail to see that justice means everyone wins. When anyone is better, we all are.

Once Narcissistic and Wipe Rage are eradicated from my anger, I need to consider whether I’m guilty of Ressentiment. Notice I didn’t say resentment, I used a fancy French word. It comes from Friedrich Nietzsche. Ressentiment is a durable, intense, abstract, and petty-minded hatred that inflates my grievance towards to cable company into a grand narrative of good versus evil. It redirects my own feelings of inferiority towards an enemy. It justifies an escape from culpability.

Look at what the cable company has reduced me to, says ressentiment. I must grovel, like a courtier, just to be heard by their representatives. I am lied to and promised something they have no intention of delivering. I’m forced to support an odious news organization that spreads false information and inflames partisan politics. It’s their fault I lose my temper when I get someone on the phone. Look at what they made me do.

To remove ressentiment from my anger, I would have to admit that the cable company has something I want. They do something I can’t do on my own, access thousands of hours of entertainment pleasure. If it tricks me into signing a contract, it only does so because I think I’m getting a good deal over them. I would take responsibility for the way I chose to act with customer service.

The next kind of rage to remove is the Rogue variety. This is the kind of rage that’s directed at scapegoats, rather than the person or institution that caused the injustice. You could say that my going off on customer service operators is Rogue Rage. They aren’t responsible for the policies of the cable company. They’re hired by the cable company to be scapegoats so the executives can sit back in their offices and not have to listen to me. This gives me one more thing to be angry about. It’s something customer service operators should be angry about, too. We have a common cause.

Once I cut out the bad parts of my anger towards the cable company: the narcissism, the impulse to eradicate, the ressentiment, and the scapegoating, what have I got left? Dr Cherry says I have Lordean Rage. She gave it that name in honor of the Black poet and activist Audre Lorde who in an essay, The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism, argued that to effectively address racial injustice, we must first acknowledge the anger it gives rise to and harness it as a tool. Lordean Rage is directed at change, motivates productive action, builds an opposition, and lends an inclusive and liberating perspective.

Clearly rage can be good for something if it alerts me that there’s injustice afoot. If it gets me up in the morning, fired up to take constructive action, I can thank it for inspiring me. Rage has been known to bring people together to cooperate with each other against a common enemy. It tells us that we do not have to settle with the way things are and can do something about it.

Not everyone would be convinced of the righteousness of Lordean Rage. There are some who say there should never be any rage. We should talk with civility. Speak softly, they say, so you can be heard. Here’s the problem though. A loud voice is how humans express urgency, resolve, and significance. Declarative sentences are clear. When I call a spade a spade, I’m calling names. Sometimes the medium of anger is the message and when we say things nicer, the message is lost. The problem isn’t with anger, says Dr Cherry, but with people who refuse to hear the cries of the oppressed.

Some may object that rage should not be directed towards something as trivial as my cable company when there’s so much more to be angry about. They would say I’m able to be angry about the cable company because I have so many privileges. I beg to differ. It’s the providence of old white guys to rail against petty inconveniences. Anyone with Lordean Rage would understand. What I find, when I purge my anger of the impurities of Ressentiment and Narcissistic, Wipe, and Rogue Rage is that I’m left with being angry about the same thing the ani-racist is angry about when she has purged her rage of the same elements. We’re both angry about being powerless. Anger is all we have left. We should treasure it, then, direct it frugally towards effective change, and not waste it by spending it foolishly on ressentiment, narcissism, wiping them out, or against people who are not the problem.

What is the true problem, which is worthy of our rage? Everywhere we look, there’s a gap between what is and what ought to be. We were not consulted about any of it. We should have been, but I hope it’s not too late. I’m not sure where the idea came from, that things could be better, but it’s a holy one. Black lives should matter. Corrupt Capitalism should matter. The idea of justice matters. Therefore, our rage matters.

We fill the gap between what is and what ought to be with rage. We could fill it with acceptance, but that often feels like giving away too much. When we fill it with rage, of the refined variety, we show our commitment to a vision of a better world. One we may be worthy of, because we argued for it.

Keith R Wilson is a therapist in private practice, who has written widely on mental health and relationships"

[Malia Losa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i️ really wanted to like this, BUT i️ found that cherry’s attempt to make this book a “more accessible” reading of philosophers including (but not limited to) nietzsche, seneca, aristotle, & baldwin, their philosophies became so oversimplified that it became detrimental to their proposed arguments (and to the audience who is learning about these philosophies for the first time). would much rather just read audre lorde

[Kaci Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Case for Rage: Why Anger is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle by Myisha Cherry

Anger typically has a bad reputation and is seen as a negative emotion. In this book, Cherry defends anger as a productive tool for addressing injustices, specifically the anti-racist struggle. While it is a philosophy book, Cherry has done an exceptional job of writing the book for a public audience. It reads like a breeze, is accessible to non-academics, and still philosophically rich.

She begins by categorizing types of anger and lands on the focus of her book, Lordean rage. Inspired by Audre Lorde, Lordean rage is oriented towards change, motivates action, builds resistance, and is informed by an inclusive and liberating perspective. People with Lordean rage are angry about injustice in the world and seek productive change.

Cherry covers a variety of ways that other kinds of anger may cover over Lordean rage or misdirect things. What I found most interesting is her discussion of “feeling rules” and how different people play by different feeling rules depending on where they are socially situated (women not being able to express anger, for example). Nevertheless, anyone can feel Lordean rage. Cherry includes suggestions for white allies.

This is a great read for anyone interested in social change or activist work. It validates a deep anger that many of us feel and offers encouragement for embracing this anger in a productive way. Highly recommend!

📖: (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggled with immense anger issues for most of my life, and it took me years of hard work and therapy to overcome them. But even though anger was causing issues in my life, I learned that not only is it inevitable, but when used properly, it can help you do good and fight for change. This book by Myisha Cherry is all about how we can use that anger towards injustice to make change happen. I was worried this book was going to get repetitive, but Cherry managed to do an incredible job making this topic engaging and interesting from cover to cover. She uses the concept of “Lordean rage” to explain how we can use these feelings for good without flying off the handle and causing unnecessary harm. Aside from educating the reader on this concept, Cherry also has chapters on anger management and how to not be gaslit by people who say your rage is unwarranted. Although the book centers around fighting racism, this book can be beneficial for anyone who is passionate about any form of social justice and making this world a better place for everyone.

[L7xm · Rating 2 out of 5]

" Many think that only emotions like compassion and love can help us to engage in positive action in order to achieve these goals, whereas other emotions—less positive ones—are considered a threat."

القضية للغيظ.. عنوان فيه صبغة قانونية ويمكن ترجمته بشكل أبلغ دفاعاً عن الغيظ ، لكن كيف تدافع عن أقصى مراحل الغضب في حقل القضايا الإجتماعية؟
ميشا تشيري دكتورة في الفلسفة متخصصه في المجال الاجتماعي الوجداني ، لهذا توقعت أن يكون الكتاب دفاعاً فلسفي عن شعور الغضب ووصفه بالايجابية ، كنت أنتظر تأسيس لمفهوم الغضب الأخلاقي و النقد اتهامات خصومه ، خاصة وان عقلية المسلم لا ترفض الغضب وتذمه قطعاً بل هناك الغضب المحمود .. فهل سيتحدث الكتاب عن الغضب المحمود حين يتحدث عن العنصرية العرقية؟

"Someone might think that in developing my account of
Lordean rage, I have just picked all the potentially positive features of anger and packaged them."

ما قامت به المؤلفة هو تأليف مفهوم الغيظ اللورديني، وهو الغضب الاجتماعي من الممارسات العنصرية يهدف إلى التغيير، بهذا التعريف أخرجت المؤلفة أنواع من الغضب لكن المشكلة هل يوجد هذا الغضب؟ كلما خصصت النوع كلما ندر تحققه في الواقع، بماذا يختلف الغضب اللورديني- نسبة لمفكرة نسوية تأثرت بها المؤلفة و أخرجت هذا المفهوم بناءً على آراء المفكرة و استنتاجاتها - عن الغضب المحمود أو الغضب الأخلاقي؟ لماذا سأقول الغضب الذي أشعر به لورديني بدلاً من قول غضبي أخلاقي؟ .. تحديده بقضية اجتماعية أو بهدف التغيير حشو فإن غضبك دفاعاً عن الحق - وانا هنا أوسع القضايا كلها - لأجل الحق هو نفسه غضبك من العنصرية لأجل رفع الظلم .. ولا نحتاج لتعريف المؤلفة ولا نحتاج تسميته بأسم المفكرة .

"However, while claims have been made about the power of anger to motivate political action, scholars, writers, and activists have not explored why this is the case. That is, how is political anger like anti-racist rage able to fuel positive action? To try to answer these questions, we can look at empirical
research on eagerness, self-belief, and optimism—the fuel found in Lordean rage that motivates anti-racist struggle. When we put this research together with other normative arguments, like the ones we’ve seen that establish that anger fuels positive action, we can begin to understand why Lordean rage works—and why it’s not the case that such rage is counterproductive, or that it should be replaced with more supposedly positive emotions."

مشكلة الكتاب الأخرى أنه عن المجتمع الأمريكي تحديداً ، لهذا نجد مصطلح حلفاء وهم المناصرين للفئة المظلومة من غير المنتمين لها ، فالمصطلح هذا درج في الكتابات الإجتماعية الأمريكية، والمشكلة ليست في المصطلح بل في حصر محل النقاش ، حين نخترع مفهوم لابد من استعراضه على شريحة كبيرة و المجتمع الأمريكي مشكلته في كونه لا يشبه المجتمعات الأخرى لهذا لا يصلح موضوع تطبيق المفهوم.. لكن المؤلفة لم يكن هدفها ذلك بل تحدثت عن العنصرية في مجتمعها لأنه هو هدف الكتاب أساساً .. و الغضب اللورديني؟ حسناً هي دكتورة فلسفة لابد من التفلسف لكن لا تقلق الفلسفة في الفصل الأول فقط و ما تبقى من الكتاب يعتبر مقالات عن الظلم في أمريكا وحق الزنوج بالغضب .

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about the book for its title. It's a common trope of taking the high road, of controlling one's emotions (particularly anger), turning the other cheek, etc. Over the past several years, though, I've seen this conversation from my circles go to talking about why anger and rage is okay and how sometimes these feelings spill over. Sometimes, going high when they go low just doesn't work, especially when nothing changes.

So I was super intrigued by this book and what it had to say. Author Cherry talks about the different schools of thought on anger, how it can be used (and abused), plus what targets are of rage. Some are understandable and right (systemic injustice, etc.) and some not so much (someone cut you off in traffic, etc.). And sometimes, it does not matter what happens or what the end result is, for many, anger will never be an acceptable reaction.

So, as the critical reviews say, the book is a bit strange. It feels like a lot crammed into a book that does not quite know what it wants to be or discuss. I do think the thesis definitely has merit but as others say, it can be hard to know who Cherry is speaking to and what knowledge the audience is supposed to have (or who that audience even is).

I do think it is important to have these conversations, though. While this might not be the text for it, there does need to be further discussion about why the harmed are so angry and what to do about it. Continuing to tell them that their anger is unacceptable becomes unbearable, especially when you watched others literally get away with displays of anger (ie, physical violence) without any of that same discussion or punishment.

It was worth the read but I'm glad I was finally able to get a copy from the library. If you can't, I would recommend a bargain buy if you must, but there are other books that handle the topic better.

[Sam Konstan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for anybody interested in academia (specifically philosophy) and social justice. Cherry does a brilliant job of using scholarship, both modern research and ancient wisdom, to set a theoretical foundation for our understanding of how anger can be properly channeled into productive action. Even without such an academic interest, though, readers of all races can benefit greatly from this book. Cherry justifies feelings of anger, gives advice for how to use it, and discusses how to be a helpful ally in ways that amplify voices without drowning them out. In one of my favorite themes of the book, she references how being angry at mistreatment assumes the value of the thing being mistreated; therefore, saying “I am angry at how I was discriminated against” is akin to proclaiming your own value.

I had the privilege of discussing this book with her, and I truly can’t overstate how amazing a role model she is. Five stars, would recommend to anybody willing to give it some time.

[alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

sooo well-made and instructive. the matter of anger and its usefulness for social justice had been on my mind for a while and i think this book was exactly what i needed. the author builds a strong case for what she names lordean rage, the kind audre lorde skillfully and extensively wrote on. anti-racist anger can be, and is, deeply good and inclusive, though it rarely gets treated as such. cherry skillfully shows how the received views of anger are shaped by racist and sexist forces. she then exposes the tools we have to prevent a person’s power through rage to be corrupt by said forces. overall a very accessible, nuanced read, and one which is needed for anyone devoted to anti-racism as well as anyone simply willing to engage in activism. especially useful for white people to actually learn how to be helpful in movements and not take attention away from them. this also convinced me to read more of audre lorde’s work and poetry (not that i needed any more convincing BUT now i have titles to start with !)

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels like when you started writing an essay in school then realized you’re fighting for the wrong side, but it’s due tomorrow and you have to just do your best to try and not look completely in the wrong.

Interesting take on emotions, and I appreciate the view point. However, I would not say the author has everything figured out to the level they would like to believe they do.

It’s very near sighted and reads like a philosophy major who is having an argument with themselves in the mirror, but there are quite a few times that the mirror makes a better point, and they just kind of turn the lights off so they can’t see it anymore, then move on. I would worry about the person who whole heartedly believes everything said in this book.

An interesting take, and I think a worthwhile point to be brought up, but it would’ve been best fit for a philosophy 100 class discussion, not to go through all the trouble of printing and publishing.

[Jupiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely recommend this book to white folks / allies; anyone who’s ever asked either themselves or their facebook wall “why are ‘They’ so angry” , they being Black folks/people protesting injustice. I also recommend it to Black people / anti-racists who have ever been labeled as angry or otherwise had their anger policed, questioned or invalidated.

Cherry takes you by the hand and walks through the most prominent kinds of rage/anger present in our current society and outlines why Lordean Rage, that is, rage at social injustice and white supremacy is different. She then offers a deep look at its uses for furthering efforts towards an anti-racist world. This book is definitely worthwhile & will be passed to my Angry Black friends immmeeediately. 😊

[Yassir Morsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking its name from Audre Lorde, the Black feminist poet and scholar, the author makes a case for an articulated version of rage they call "Lordean rage"; a type of rage that targets racism with an aim for social change, informed by an inclusive and liberating perspective, and a rage that is the organizer of racial inequality

There is also a recognition that the type of anger that marks Lordean rage is often experienced by the racially oppressed and their allies.

The book makes an important case for political emotions that play a role in both reinforcing oppression or motivating us to fight against oppression. Rage, as such an emotion, an important emotion, can derail justice or expedite it, can enliven or make us apathetic.

[Hannah]

Occasionally repetitive but mostly good and useful. Extremely worth reading, especially for the people least likely to read it, including the people who think they did all they needed for racism by reading Kendi and DiAngelo.

[Maria Klipfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely necessary message that is both enlightening to our times and to the future. I will remember many of the lessons taught in the book for many years to come.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent addition to any anti-racist book list

[Hugo Bitterman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not racist it’s just a shitty book. Everything’s is summed up perfectly in the last chapter so if you really want to read it I’d recommend you skip everything else.

[Orpheus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instructive, easy to read, good for both the philosopher and the casual reader. Great stuff

[Linda Is on her way · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Annika Lof · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting interpretation of anger, but some parts (especially Cherry’s engagement with Nietzsche and her analysis of gender within white supremacy) feel kind of underdone.