Review by Shiren Djorgee
Annick Press, 2023
287 pages, Paperback, $18.99 CAD, 9781773218083
Young Adult, age 14+
Non-fiction, Social Justice
“I’m grown now, and educated in anti-racism; I can now articulate that what I was experiencing in first grade was the feeling of being othered. But back then? Nah, I just felt bothered. And in the moment I had no idea why, although in retrospect, this BS was likely one of my first experiences with BSP. It’s like ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), except Black; Black Sensory Perception, like when your gut tells you that somebody or something around you is racist, no matter how subtle, nuanced or unprovable the racism might seem.”
I’ve read a lot about anti-racist theory, but sometimes I find myself wondering, Right, so we’ve identified this problem—how do we go about dealing with it? Sometimes books don’t have that answer, which is why I was pleasantly surprised that Khodi Dill’s book Stay Up: Racism, Resistance, and Reclaiming Black Freedom not only outlines anti-blackness in a Canadian context but gives young Black readers ways to reclaim their Blackness and wear it as a badge of honour.
Khodi is a biracial Afro-Caribbean writer, rapper, spoken word artist and educator based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Growing up in Moose Jaw, Khodi was often the only Black person in his school and one of few in his community, experiencing a wealth of microaggressions.
Reading the stories of Khodi’s life made me more aware of how important it is to have a Black Canadian perspective on anti-blackness and anti-racism. Often these topics are dominated by African-American discourse and while that is valuable, the Black experience in Canada has a lot of nuances that are not often discussed. Compared to thirteen percent of the population of the United States, only around four percent of the population of Canada is made up of Black individuals, most living around the Greater Toronto Area. As someone who grew up in BC, which only has a one percent Black population, I deeply related to Khodi’s experiences of being the only Black person in his class and being singled out because of his race. He beautifully articulates the struggle of trying to balance your culture with fitting into white society, and the toll that can take on one’s mental health. The themes of the book remind me of They Said This Would Be Fun by Eternity Martis, though it is intended for a younger audience. While it’s true that Canada has a small Black population, Black-Canadian kids need to be acknowledged and have our stories listened to.
Khodi lays out anti-racism concepts in a way that is appropriate and easy to understand for young adult readers. Often when new terms are brought up, helpful footnotes and text boxes will be provided to break down terms for those who are unfamiliar. The voice he writes in is engaging and thoughtful. Thematic poems are put at the start of every chapter, paired with beautiful collages by the illustrator Stylo Starr. The book is divided into three sections: The Know-up, Personal Liberation, and Social Transformation, which first inform the reader about anti-blackness and then give the reader the tools to deal with it in their own lives and then to influence society. I appreciated how Khodi acknowledged intersectionality in how other prejudices, like misogyny, anti-Indigenous racism, and homophobia can intersect with anti-blackness, though I would have liked a more in-depth exploration of these topics. This matters for the audience because the book does primarily center on the Black straight cisgender male experience (though most of the content is still relatable to Black people who don’t fit into this demographic). This is not a bad thing, but it means that those looking primarily for discourse about misogynoir or the Black queer experience might not find what they’re looking for in this book.
Overall, while lacking in depth in certain areas, Stay Up: Racism, Resistance, and Reclaiming Black Freedom is an excellent introduction to anti-racism for young adults and empowers them to believe in the strength of their identity to brave a scary and threatening world.
Shiren Djorgee is a Ghanaian Canadian undergrad student majoring in Psychology and an aspiring author. When she is not agonizing about her Psychology midterms, she is agonizing about drafting her novel.
YOUNG ADULTING 