I'm Still Here

Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness

By: Austin Channing Brown

Narrated by: Austin Channing Brown

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From a leading voice on racial justice, an eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female that exposes how white America’s love affair with “diversity” so often falls short of its ideals.

“Austin Channing Brown introduces herself as a master memoirist. This book will break open hearts and minds.”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed

Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.

In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America’s social fabric—from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.

For readers who have engaged with America’s legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson, I’m Still Here is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God’s ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness—if we let it—can save us all.

hey white christians!

A must read for white christians, especially if you think "I love everyone equally, and my church is safe for black people"

Required reading for POCs

Brown’s honesty was a heavy dose of what most POCs in America know, yet need to hear again and again. I’m Still Here is refreshing and raw. I’m so glad I read this.

A Very Timely Read

This book reminded me of how far we have come as a race and how far we have to go. Very timely with this present climate.

I really appreciate her perspective on the church

open my eyes and so many good ways. I love her perspective on the church, racial Justice and the truth of what that is. hint. it's more than just diversity.

Thank you

Thank you Austin for letting me sit with you for a while. To understand your perspective and to feel the emotions of your heart.

We are still here

loved all of it! I especially love when the author is the voice of the audible.
the rawness of her a story and heart to tell the story that has so many layers. to walk with Austin Channing Brown is to have the scales of your heart and eyes removed to see it through her eyes.

Healed my soul!

There are few stories to offer a middle class Christen black girl from a small town a shared experience. Not white but only "blackish" in the minds of many. Struggling to find voice and just flat out struggling to navigate the world and corporate America around her. On a Sunday afternoon I binge listened and I healed my soul with Austin's words. There are already parts I know I will revisit again and again. Thank you Austin for finding your voice. All I can say is Amen!

Awakening

Powerful and insightful! A must read for all white people. It’s time to wake up and make changes.

Powerful!

Grateful to hear Austin's story and experience, especially in her voice! Very helpful in my ongoing understanding of black history in our country, and in the daily experiences of black people, as well as understanding the pervasiveness of whiteness and white supremacy in our American society.

Refreshingly accurate

Brown extracts and uplifts the thoughts that lives in many black minds but often are never expressed. I'm Still Here is candid and opens up much needed dialogue about black identity in a white America