Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews - Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man by Emmanuel Acho

Happy Black History Month! This book that I am about to share with you is perfect reading material for this month.

One night back in January, I was at Barnes & Noble and in a very good mood. I was walking around, browsing like usual, when I came across a display for Black American culture. There was an Alicia Keys memoir that looked interesting, but then I came across another book that drew my attention. 

Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man by former NFL middle linebacker now football analyst Emmanuel Acho is a direct literary accompaniment to Acho's YouTube series of the same name. The series is described as "a safe place to have the uncomfortable conversations about race that many people have never been able to have." Both series and book remind me so much of the blog post "An Honest Conversation About Race Between a White Woman and Black Woman" that my friend Breon and I wrote last year.

Much like I learned a lot from working on that blog post, this book taught me a lot about black experiences as well. People like me, white people, is its intended readership. Acho opens the book with, "Dear white friends, countrypersons: welcome. Pull up a chair."

With research, references, statistics, as well as personal stories from his own life and clever football metaphors, Acho straightforwardly answers ponderings white people may have about black people or black culture that they may be hesitant to ask with the intention to educate and unify. The book is composed of three parts: "You And Me," "Us And Them," and "We," and each chapter is composed of three sections: "Let's Rewind" details the history behind the particular chapter's topic, "Let's Get Uncomfortable" talks about current life involving the topic, and "Talk It, Walk It" is about what we can do to rectify the topic for the future.

Even though the book is titled as "uncomfortable," it doesn't feel that way. This is all thanks to Acho's engaging writing style. I was at ease reading this. Acho wrote this book with warmth and patience, addressing his white readers as "friends," and making it more like a down to earth roundtable discussion over dinner rather than a lecture or debate. 

Neither Acho or Breon made me uncomfortable or feel like I should know these things already. I wanted to learn more and they provided more answers for me while acknowledging 1) longstanding thoughts that I've had, 2) that people just aren't aware of certain things, and 3) that this all can be a little awkward, difficult, and nerve-wracking, but that's okay because we'll work passed it. There is a level of understanding that I really appreciate. It also opens the floor for further questions and conversations. Thanks to Breon and Emmanuel Acho, I don't really feel as scared to talk about this anymore.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about racism, a black person's perspective, and how to end white supremacy. It is such a good book and I am grateful that Acho wrote this and created his YouTube series. It is very relevant to today's world too because it was released very recently on November 10, 2020, which was actually Acho's 30th birthday. 

However, you have to WANT to learn and help and keep an open mind about the experiences of others. If people don't want to at least try to listen and empathize, they won't. 

Acho is the first black male author that I have ever really read voluntarily (meaning by choice and not for school, though from my recollection this was rare too), I guess next to Langston Hughes's poetry as a child. Later in life, I noticed that every book that I ever picked up and liked reading was written by a white woman with a white female protagonist, and never really POC (people of color) and hardly men. This wasn't intentional, it just happens to be what I like and am able to relate to most, being a white woman myself. In an attempt to break this cycle, I have read and started to read books written by WOC (women of color).

Reading a book written by a black man was an enjoyable, yet different and new experience for me, as strange as that may sound. Though I'm still going to be reading my white woman books (lol), I am inspired to make a more conscious effort to diversify my reading lists. In fact, if you have any personal recommendations of any fiction, romance, comedy, mystery, thrillers, or memoirs written by WOC and starring WOC, I'll be happy to hear them. :)

Not to give too much away, I love how Acho ends Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man. It brought tears to my eyes and is full of hope. In the book he also briefly talks about his upbringing and personality traits, which actually are similar to my own, and thanks God for this opportunity. I definitely believe that this lends a hand to the book's overall calm tone. 

For more information, check out this website.