Our Problem, Our Path

Collective Antiracism for White People

"With compassion and humility, Michael and Bartoli offer a practical handbook for white antiracist awareness and practice. Filled with relatable examples and nuanced explanations, this is a step-by-step guide for responding to the obstacles - both internal and external - of unlearning our white socialization and challenging systemic racism. Our Problem, Our Path is a must-read for starting and maintaining the life-long process of white anti-racist practice."

"If you’re a white person looking for a guide to transition you away from racial complacency and towards an antiracist practice, this is it. Our Problem, Our Path starts with something rarely articulated: What does the path look like and where might it lead us? This story-rich jewel promises to gather up white people and equip us with strategies that build the awareness, knowledge, and skill we need to find and support one another on the path to liberation for all."

"Our Problem, Our Path lays the groundwork for engaging in compelling and critically important conversations to understand how to enter productive, honest discussions and reimagine what is possible when discussing how we think and feel about race. This book will challenge and energize anyone who reads it and takes the journey to widen their path; it is visionary, practical, courageous, and invitational."

“This book serves as a master class and recipe for what is practically needed to talk about and address racism in the world along with the mental and emotional steps needed to accomplish genuine change, one person, one family, one neighborhood and one community at a time. As a member of the global majority, as an African American, cisgender Black man with a clinical psychology doctorate degree, reading this book provided me with much needed and timely hope that someone understands us and that we have at least two allies on the inside. We have a least two superheroes mightily using their superpowers of empathy to educate, challenge, and awaken those willing to listen. Readers are provided well-outlined steps to break down hate and fight for a just and equitable world for us and for all of our children.”

“Our Problem, Our Path: Collective Antiracism for White People is a roadmap to intercept Whiteness and define key practices necessary to embody Anti-Racist leadership. As a Black woman leading efforts toward systematizing equity, I sought out the expertise of “Ms. Ali.” She humbly supports and models the unpacking of various complexities nestled with intersections in walking the path towards transformation. Although her work is framed for a White audience, through her discourse and facilitation I have witnessed People of Color and Indigenous folk grapple with the manifestations of their own internalized oppression. Dr. Michael’s work exemplifies that the study of self is one of the greatest tools in addressing racism.”

“It is rare to find a book that places White people at the center of understanding their Whiteness. Our Problem, Our Path is exactly what it says: a path for White social justice activists to take if they honestly want to understand the impact of their Whiteness on themselves, on society, and on systems.  This will not be an easy read, but it is a must-read. Take the Path and start creating #GoodTrouble.” 

“The hard work to ensure a more racially just American society cannot live solely in the work of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people alone. Many claim to be anti-racist, but too often gleefully swim in the most shallow of waters, ignoring the depth of work it takes to actually be anti-racist. Our Problem, Our Path is both a powerful roadmap and book that lights a path of action to create a society that is more consistently educationally and racially just. We all deserve nothing less.”

"Michael and Bartoli have written the book I’ve been waiting for, one for all the white people who know racism is wrong, who want to do the right thing, and who want their children to live in a better world.  Writing with clarity and from deep experience, the authors explain what antiracism means and how to do it without adopting the hectoring tone that can turn people away from this essential work. While James Baldwin correctly identified racism as a white people’s problem, Michael and Bartoli manage to frame it as a positive life mission that will benefit us all in the end. 

Above all, Our Problem, Our Path offers the wise guidance, with generous helpings of empathy and compassion, that white people need if we are to talk with one another about (and eventually eradicate)  the invisible caste system in which we all live."