Ride or Die

A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women

By: Shanita Hubbard

Narrated by: Tovah Ott

Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Do you have a “ride or die chick” in your life? A “ride or die chick” is a Black woman who holds down her family and community. She’s that friend or family member that you can call up in the middle of the night to bail you out of jail, if ever needed, and you know she’ll show up and won’t ask any questions. She does anything for her family, friends, and significant other, even at the cost of her own well-being. “No” is not in her vocabulary. She’s beloved by you and many others, but her ride or die trope becomes a problem when she does it indiscriminately. Her self-worth is connected to how much labor she can provide for others. She goes above and beyond for everyone in every aspect of her life—work, family, church, and often it’s not reciprocated, and a “ride or die chick” doesn’t require it to be because she’s a “strong Black woman.” To her, love should be earned, and there’s no limit to what she’ll do for it.

In this book, author, adjunct professor of sociology, and former therapist Shanita Hubbard disrupts the “ride or die” complex, and argues that this way of life has left Black women exhausted, overworked, overlooked, and feeling depleted. She suggests that Black women are to susceptible this mentality because it’s normalized in our culture. It rings loud in our favorite hip-hop songs, and it even shows up in the most important relationship we will ever have—the one with yourself.

Compassionate, candid, hard-hitting, and 100% unapologetic, Ride-or-Die melds Hubbard’s entertaining conversations with her Black girlfriends and her personal experiences as a redeemed “ride-or-die chick” and a former “captain of the build-a-brother team” to fervently dismantle cultural norms that require Black women to take care of everyone but themselves.

Ride or Die urges you to expel the myth that your self-worth is connected to how much labor you provide others, and guides you toward healing. Using hip hop as a backdrop to explore norms that are harmful to Black women, Hubbard shows the way you may be unknowingly perpetuating this harm within your relationships. Hubbard urges you to pull the plug on the “ride or die chick.”

©2022 Shanita Hubbard (P)2022 Legacy Lit

Hits Home

Shanita Hubbard uses popular songs from the hip hop era to color the commonly accepted perception that women are everything in their relationships with men even to their own detriment.

Great Read

This book definitely called me in. I’m thankful to have read this and will reread to ensure I get all I can to be more consciously aware of the topics.

A Must Read

This book fills in all of the gaps. It eloquently allows readers see the full spectrum of what others authors on this topic have laid the ground work on. It is superior writing. It’s intellectually and stylistically superior.

A must read for black women everywhere

I’d recommend this book to young women, women needing to be heard and recognized. Women in the middle of divorce (like me), women who have been broken. And women who want to better understand themselves at the intersectionality of racial and gender oppression.

Well written and provocative

Shanita does a great job interweaving hip hop with her past and current worldview. I would have liked to hear solutions for black women shedding the label ride or die as a way forward. It’s a great read and will do well in academia also. Good narrator.

Great read

Enjoyed listening to this book. So insightful and informative of what it means to be a Black woman.

I love this book!

I love it. This book discusses the different layers of being a black women in America. When I first started reading this, I was like “why all the hip hop references”. But as I continue to read, I started to understand where Shanita is going with it. This is a great read for everyone not just black women.

Beautiful!!

This is a beautiful share and impressive work for women and I intend to share with my sista friends (cisgender and queer). Thank you.

The Ride or Die Identify Explained

I needed to listen to a book like this one. Ms. Hubbard broke down the meaning of Ride or Die and delved into the elements of its identity. She has hit the nail on the head many times over....I kept nodding my head in agreement with my playing the role of Ride or Die.

Thank you for shedding some light on this topic. You've reminded me of how to move when it comes to romantic relationships in a healthier way.

Intentional

I enjoyed the deposits and withdrawals in the writer’s relationships. Thank you for sharing ur journey.