1455’s Author Series continues virtually with Dax-Devlon Ross, who will read from his latest title Letters to My White Male Friends.
In Letters to My White Male Friends, Dax-Devlon Ross speaks directly to the millions of middle-aged white men who are suddenly awakening to race and racism.
White men are finally realizing that simply not being racist isn’t enough to end racism. These men want deeper insight not only into how racism has harmed Black people, but, for the first time, into how it has harmed them. They are beginning to see that racism warps us all. Letters to My White Male Friends promises to help men who have said they are committed to change and to develop the capacity to see, feel and sustain that commitment so they can help secure racial justice for us all.
Ross helps readers understand what it meant to be America’s first generation raised after the civil rights era. He explains how we were all educated with colorblind narratives and symbols that typically, albeit implicitly, privileged whiteness and denigrated Blackness. He provides the context and color of his own experiences in white schools so that white men can revisit moments in their lives where racism was in the room even when they didn’t see it enter. Ross shows how learning to see the harm that racism did to him, and forgiving himself, gave him the empathy to see the harm it does to white people as well.
Ultimately, Ross offers white men direction so that they can take just action in their workplace, community, family, and, most importantly, in themselves, especially in the future when race is no longer in the spotlight.
Purchase Letters to My White Male Friends
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Event Details
August 24 | 7:00 PM | FREE EVENT
1455’s Founding Director Sean Murphy and the author will discuss the process of writing this memoir. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions prior to or during the conversation. Submit your questions for Dax-Devlon Ross ahead of time by emailing info @1455litarts.org.
1455’s Author Series events are free, but you can make a donation to support us in offering accessible programing.
Tune into this event on Facebook at the event time to watch the live stream!
About dax-devlon ross
Dax-Devlon Ross is the author of five books and his journalism has been featured in Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. He won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for his coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts and is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at Type Media Center.
A New York City teaching fellow turned non-profit executive, Dax is now a principal at the social impact consultancies, Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, both of which focus on designing disruptive strategies to generate equity in workplaces and education spaces alike. Dax received his Juris Doctor from George Washington University. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Alana, and their young daughter, Ella.
Visit him online at dax-dev.com
