Book Review: Black Fatigue by Mary-Frances Winters
5/5 stars | A Resounding, Empathetic Must-Read
In two days, I officially start my postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. A mixture of emotions churn my stomach. A bit of anticipation, much excitement, and admittedly a little fear.
Oxford, though the top university in the world, considerably lacks in diversity of all kinds. When I met my cohort last week, I saw many white faces and no other Black ones. After a little digging, I found no more than five Black postgraduates in the entire English department.
At that moment, I realized…quarantine may be behind me, but isolation will still be a part of my daily life. I’m swimming in culture shock that goes beyond accents and healthcare. I’m acclimating to rarely seeing people who look like me.
Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters has helped me sort through my emotions and give myself grace during this transition period. Part educational tool, part self-help guide, Black Fatigue is one of the most topical antiracist reads for this moment with Winters’ pointed analysis of COVID-19 and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
Winters dedicated Black Fatigue “to the generations of freedom fighters, civil rights…
