Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: This non-fiction book, which is part author memoirs, addresses the subject of racism and argues the best way to defeat it is to adopt "antiracist" thoughts and actions, beginning with racist government policies. Review: One thing that surprised me about becoming a parent is how much my daughters, especially my oldest daughter, challenge me to re-think the thoughts and opinions I used to take for granted. As a result of this, I have been making more of an effort to expand my reading list so it includes voices I might not otherwise have read. That is a big reason why I ended up checking out this book from our library. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect from this book. The title sounded interesting but, at the same time, I wondered just how much time the author would spend rehashing the same arguments I've heard dozens of times before (many of which I already agree with). As it turns out, this ended up being a book that made me question some of my prev...

I was going through the news feed this morning and saw one of our Wisconsin high schools is choosing not to show the play To Kill a Mockingbird our of concerns of the use of a racial slur. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/shorewood-cancels-to-kill-a-mockingbird-over-racial-concerns/ar-BBOi68c This decision apparently was the result of potential protests over the play and, for that reason, I don't really blame the school district itself. After all, it's first priority is to keep kids safe and protests have the potential for violence. But, I am very disappointed in the overall community reaction. I know there are those who disagree with me. However, I honestly believe racism is still a problem in this country because we, as a society, are so afraid of offending people, we are reluctant to have real conversations that will bring around real change. In this case, it is a play that tackles racism head-on but won't be shown because it (for the sake of realism) uses a racia...