43 pages 1 hour read

Austin Channing Brown

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2018

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Essay Topics

1.

How does Brown’s parents’ decision to name her “Austin” serve as a double-edged sword for Brown? How does having a name that people associate with White men help Brown? How does it hurt her? What do people’s reactions to her name say about racist assumptions in personal and professional settings?

2.

How does the illusion of racial harmony exacerbate racist biases? How do these biases come to the forefront in Brown’s academic, professional, and personal lives?

3.

How does Ms. Phillips’ public acknowledgement of her own racism play into the book’s broader themes about how Whiteness centers itself, even in putative efforts to correct racial injustice? Why does her admission make Brown so uncomfortable?