You are cordially invited to join our Anti Racist book club!

We will be discussing the book "Not A Nation Of Immigrants" by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz. 

About the Book

Beacon Press

Debunks the pervasive and self-congratulatory myth that our country is proudly founded by and for immigrants, and urges readers to embrace a more complex and honest history of the United States

Whether in political debates or discussions about immigration around the kitchen table, many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, will say proudly that we are a nation of immigrants. In this bold new book, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz asserts this ideology is harmful and dishonest because it serves to mask and diminish the US’s history of settler colonialism, genocide, white supremacy, slavery, and structural inequality, all of which we still grapple with today.

She explains that the idea that we are living in a land of opportunity—founded and built by immigrants—was a convenient response by the ruling class and its brain trust to the 1960s demands for decolonialization, justice, reparations, and social equality. Moreover, Dunbar-Ortiz charges that this feel good—but inaccurate—story promotes a benign narrative of progress, obscuring that the country was founded in violence as a settler state, and imperialist since its inception.

While some of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, others are descendants of white settlers who arrived as colonizers to displace those who were here since time immemorial, and still others are descendants of those who were kidnapped and forced here against their will. This paradigm shifting new book from the highly acclaimed author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States charges that we need to stop believing and perpetuating this simplistic and a historical idea and embrace the real (and often horrific) history of the United States.

We meet every Thursday at 5:30pm online via Zoom. If you do not have a copy of the book please let us know. 

We hope to see you there!

About the Book Club

Healthy Active Streets Book Club is an online book club for Women, Non Binary, LBGTQ+, and BIPOC.  This is a safe place of discussion on your thoughts and ideas of gentrification, segregation, and anti-racism.

All are welcome to join and share their personal experiences and have an open dialogue to discuss the book. It's free to join! Link will be emailed to participants who rsvp.