Crystal M. Fleming

Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed writer CRYSTAL M. FLEMING for a discussion of her new book, How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide. She will be joined in conversation by bestselling author ROBIN DIANGELO, author of White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.

About How to Be Less Stupid About Race

How to Be Less Stupid About Race is your essential guide to breaking through the half-truths and ridiculous misconceptions that have thoroughly corrupted the way race is represented in the classroom, pop culture, media, and politics. Centuries after our nation was founded on genocide, settler colonialism, and slavery, many Americans are kinda-sorta-maybe waking up to the reality that our racial politics are (still) garbage. But in the midst of this reckoning, widespread denial and misunderstandings about race persist, even as white supremacy and racial injustice are more visible than ever before.

Combining no-holds-barred social critique, humorous personal anecdotes, and analysis of the latest interdisciplinary scholarship on systemic racism, sociologist Crystal M. Fleming provides a fresh, accessible, and irreverent take on everything that's wrong with our "national conversation about race." Drawing upon critical race theory, as well as her own experiences as a queer black millennial college professor and researcher, Fleming unveils how systemic racism exposes us all to racial ignorance—and provides a roadmap for transforming our knowledge into concrete social change. 

Searing, sobering, and urgently needed, How to Be Less Stupid About Race is a truth bomb and call to action for everyone who wants to challenge white supremacy and intersectional oppression. If you like Issa Rae, Justin Simien, Angela Davis, and Morgan Jerkins, then this deeply relevant, bold, and incisive book is for you.

Praise for How to Be Less Stupid About Race

“Dr. Fleming offers a straight-no-chaser critique of our collective complicit ignorance regarding the state of race in the United States. In particular, she calls out the lack of resolve, especially among the political class, to admit and address the generational damage caused by institutional racism. This book will leave you thinking, offended, and transformed.” —Nina Turner, former Ohio state senator

“Crystal Marie Fleming is one of the most forceful sociological voices of this new generation. How to Be Less Stupid About Race is a brilliant contribution to the long African American tradition of bridging dark humor with social critique. Fleming has written a timely analysis of systemic racism and white supremacy that is both deadly serious and seriously funny. With its deft mix of satire, memoir, and empirical evidence, her book is a groundbreaking model of public scholarship and sure to be an instant classic. Everyone needs to read this book, and I for one will assign it in my classes!” —Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, President of the American Sociological Association and author of Racism without Racists: Colorblind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America

“How to Be Less Stupid About Race is the perfect combination of Racism 101, critical race theory, and powerful analysis, woven with Dr. Crystal Fleming’s personal journey from racial naiveté to one of the most incisive critics of white supremacy. Anyone who wants a straightforward education on race, racism, and white supremacy should buy this book immediately. Dr. Fleming minces no words in her exposition of racism in both the Obama and Trump eras. This bold and brave book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand white supremacy in the United States.” —Tanya Golash-Boza, author of Race and Racisms: A Critical Approach