Activist and author Jemar Tisby on how to fight racism

Jury selection begins next week in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd. It’s another milestone in a turbulent year when it comes to race in America. Could it be a true turning point?

Author and activist Jemar Tisby hopes so. “Something is different this time,” he wrote last summer as he watched protests swell in cities across the U.S. and the world. 

Signs of change encouraged him: NASCAR banned the Confederate flag. Corporations like Best Buy and Target declared Juneteenth a paid holiday. His home state of Mississippi finally removed Confederate emblems off its state flag. 

Tisby concedes that many of these shifts are symbolic. But he insists these small steps can represent a new reckoning. His new book, “How to Fight Racism” is a call for Americans — especially the white evangelical church — to do the hard work to confront racism in all its forms.

Friday at 9 a.m., Tisby joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to talk about the practical steps needed to make change that’s real.

Guest:

Jemar Tisby is an activist and CEO of The Witness. His latest book is “How to Fight Racism.”

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