Until Our Lungs Give Out

George Yancy is the author, editor, and co-editor of over 20 books, including Backlash: What Happens When we Talk Honestly About Racism in America. He is known for his influential essays and interviews in the New York Times' philosophy column, The Stone. Adding to his many awards in recognitions, in March 2022, Yancy was honored to discover an anonymous muralist known as “Belove” had painted Yancy’s larger-the-life portrait in downtown Denver. Yancy lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is professor of philosophy at Emory University.

• AcknowledgmentsForeword, Tim WiseIntroduction: Critical Voices that Refuse to be Silenced, George YancyPart One: Whiteness as Innocence Must Die1. It’s Time for “Whiteness as Usual” to End: How do we Overcome the Death Wish of White Supremacy?: Interview with David R. Roediger2. To be Black in the US is to Have a Knee Against Your Neck Each Day: Interview with George Yancy by Woojin Lim3. Confronting Prejudice isn’t Enough: We Must Eradicate the White Racial Frame: Interview with Joe Feagin4. We Have to Let White Supremacy Die in Order to Truly Live: Interview with David Kyuman KimPart Two: Global Anti-Blackness5. Afropessimism Forces Us to Rethink Our Most Basic Assumptions About Society: Interview with Frank B. Wilderson, III6. “I Can’t Breathe” Is a Cry Well Known to Black Indigenous People in Australia: Interview with Chelsea Watego7. Black Feminist “Back Talk” Anchors Resistance on Both Sides of the Atlantic: Interview with Akwugo Emejulu8. Anti-Black Racism is Global: So Must be the Movement to End It: Interview with Adele NorrisPart Three: Racism, Education, and Practices of Freedom9. Trump is Attacking Critical Race Theory Because it is a Force for Liberation: Interview with Mari Matsuda10. Education Will be Critical in the Fight for Democracy and Anti-Racism: Interview with Pedro A. Noguera11. Paulo Freire: Critical Education in a World in Need of Repair: Interview with Peter McLarenPart Four: Challenging White Foundations 12. The Tulsa Race Massacre Went Way Beyond “Black Wall Street”: Interview with Robin D.G. Kelley13. The Whiteness of Harvard and Wall Street is “Jim Crow, New Style”: Interview with Cornel West14. US Founders Demonized Indigenous People While Co-opting Their Political Practices: Interview with Brian Burkhart15. Founded on Inequality, Can the US Ever be Truly Democratic and Inclusive?: Interview with Tracy Denean Sharpley-WhitingPart Five: Assaults on the Black Body16. White Indifference is Normalizing Spectacular Acts of Violence: Interview with Robin D.G. Kelley17. White Journalists are Still Using the N-Word: This is an Intolerable Assault on Black Freedom: Interview with Elizabeth Pryor18. Protests Unleashed by Murder of George Floyd Exceed All in US History: Interview with Noam ChomskyPart Six: Matters of Faith and Religion19. Black Womanist Theology Offers Hope in the Face of White Supremacy: Interview with Kelly Brown Douglas20. Christianity is Empty if it Doesn’t Address the Racist Carceral State: Interview with Mark L. Taylor21. White Supremacist Christianity Drives Trump’s Loyal Mob: We Must Scream it Down: Interview with Susannah HeschelPart Seven: The Politics of Catastrophe22. Mourning is a Political Act Amid the Pandemic and Its Disparities: Interview with Judith Butler23. Trump’s Lying about COVID Amounts to Treason: Interview with Eduardo Mendieta24. Big Pharma Cares More About Profiting from COVID than Human Survival: Interview with Noam ChomskyPart Eight: Realizing (or Imagining) the Possible25. Black Trans Feminist Thought Can Set Us Free: Interview with Che Gossett26. Reaching Beyond “Black Faces in High Places”: Interview with Joy JamesPart Nine: White Mob Mentality27. The Capitol Siege was White Supremacy in Action: Trial Evidence Confirms That: Interview with Peniel E. Joseph28. Capitol Mob Reveals Ongoing Refusal to Accept Black Votes as Legitimate: Interview with Eric Fonner29. Trump has Adopted a “Viva Death!” Approach to the Presidency: Interview with Noam ChomskyAbout the ContributorsIndex

Having admired the philosophical career and writings of George Yancy for some time, this reviewer can confidently assert that Until Our Lungs Give Out is another significant contribution to a long series of important texts on race and inclusion. Yancy’s works are never easy, nor are they designed to pacify readers, even those who agree with their premises. His works are designed to open dialogues in an honest, vulnerable, and productive manner. This collected volume portrays individuals speaking honestly about their experiences, academic studies, and community involvement in a way that demonstrates how difficult conversations on topics such as the innocence of whiteness, body perceptions, and local and global racial discrimination can be meaningfully conducted. While emotion is honestly portrayed and acknowledged, the discussions are critical and philosophical. The speakers adhere to reasoned discussion and philosophical standards of argumentation. Indeed, when contextualized, each conversation represents a cogent response to the situations examined. In following philosophical rules of engagement, the book challenges readers to recognize and own their reactions to what is said and to engage in an active rather than passive reading experience…. Reading this book is both emotionally and intellectually challenging. However, it offers a way of undertaking difficult conversations that go beyond the binary entrenchment currently affecting politics, society, and education. Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.