Michael Bennett - Things That Make White People Uncomfortable

Praise for Things That Make White People Uncomfortable

This book is a courageous and compassionate story of a great athlete and grand human being, full of deep care for his fellow citizens! Dont miss it!

Cornel West

It would be easy for Michael Bennett to remain silent, to play in the NFL and make his mark through accomplishments on the field. Instead Michael has chosen to use his voice and his platform to fight injustice.

Senator Bernie Sanders

There is a tradition of athletes who understand that sports is a way to reach people and change the world. I am proud and humbled to be recognized as part of that tradition. I believe that Michael Bennetts name deserves mention alongside the best of us. This book doesnt only explain the roots of Michael Bennetts courage. It will inspire the people who read it to conquer their fears and fight for whats right.

Dr. John Carlos, 1968 Olympic medalist

Fresh from his icon-cementing appearance on the cover of the New Yorker with Martin Luther King Jr. and Colin Kaepernick, Michael Bennett proves hes worth the hype with this brilliant, disturbing, and courageous exploration of race and whiteness in America. Just as he does on the field, Bennett flies to problem areas with grace and speed, plowing through knotted social issues, tackling difficult matters, and defending democracy against its determined foes. With this book, Michael Bennett is not only a champion, hes a modern warrior for justice!

Michael Eric Dyson, author of Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America

There is a revolution under way inside professional sports and Michael Bennett is at ground zero. In this revelatory book, he puts everything on the line to share the reasons, strategy, pain, and deep thought behind this historic uprising. And he invites us into a vision of justice and liberation that is simply irresistible. This book is pure fire.

Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not Enough

Michael Bennetthusband and father, citizen, NFL Pro Bowl player, and Super Bowl MVPpresents a series of perspectives on cultural, institutional, and political realities within the sports arena and beyond that provokes us to a deeper consideration of athlete political activism, activism that today makes many in white America uncomfortable. His arguments are as persuasively reasoned and analytical as they are passionate and moving, as challenging in their message as they are disarming in their humor. Though appropriately titled, the book at core really urges us all to a better understanding of the current saga of athlete protests, protests that are a testament to what we already have become as a society and a warning about where we might be headed as a nation, protests that constitute a cautionary tale that should make us all, irrespective of race, at least a little uncomfortable, perhaps even uncomfortable enough to grow in our own responsiveness to the call to form that more perfect union. A must-read for anyone looking to better understand todays political climate in American sports.

Harry Edwards, author of The Revolt of the Black Athlete

Michael Bennett is one of the most outspoken and progressive voices in the NFL.

The Root, 100 Most Influential African Americans 2017

With vulnerability, humility, and the courage to tell the truth, Michael Bennett reminds us at the heart of every social awakening are ordinary people who choose justice and resistance over silence and comfort. In a profession where independent thought is punished, Michael Bennett lays it all on the line with this book. Bennetts insight into everything from Black Lives Matter to college athletics to intersectional feminism will not only make white people uncomfortable, it will challenge the status quo of our entire society.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation

Michael Bennett is a warrior for justice. His spirit is in line and step with all those freedom fighters who came before him.

Craig Hodges, author of Long Shot: The Triumphs and Struggles of An NBA Freedom Fighter

I was going to say this is the most courageous book on race written by an athlete in my lifetime, but I actually think this is one of the most courageous books on race and racism in America that has ever been written, by anyone. Its that good and that important.

Shaun King, columnist for the Intercept and writer-in-residence for Harvard Law Schools Fair Punishment Project

In a social media age where professional athletes are regularly criticized by anyone with a Twitter account, Michael Bennett has the courage to stand up for what he believes despite the possibility of losing fans, support, and endorsements. Whether its speaking on police brutality, systemic racism, Black Lives Matter, or human rights for Palestinian people, he doesnt hesitate to lend his voice. This book is a live wire. Its electric.

Etan Thomas, ten-year NBA veteran, author of We Matter: Athletes and Activism

Things That Make White People Uncomfortable is a real and unblinkingly raw memoir that is going to make a lot of white people, and people of color, too, very uncomfortable. And that is precisely the point. Because Michael Bennett is one of the most outspoken and dynamic athletes in America today, and his co-writer, Dave Zirin, is very clearly our nations most fearless sports journalist. Together they are Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell, bringing the noise about race, sports, and the wonderfully diverse life that is Michael Bennetts journey as a Black man who refuses to be stereotyped. At a time when the protests of sports heroes like Bennett and Colin Kaepernick have once more revealed the huge racial divides that have always been present, what makes this book different, and unique, is that Bennett remixes the past into an unavoidable and necessary dialogue for this twenty-first century, on his own terms. Indeed, Michael Bennetts voice echoes those of Jack Johnson, Paul Robeson, Ali. And his voice is that of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, too. Because Michael Bennett is clear, mad clear, that he is a leader and a change agent, too.

Kevin Powell, author of The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boys Journey into Manhood

THINGS
THAT MAKE
WHITE PEOPLE
UNCOMFORTABLE

MICHAEL BENNETT

and Dave Zirin

2018 Michael Bennett and Dave Zirin

Published in 2018 by
Haymarket Books
P.O. Box 180165
Chicago, IL 60618
773-583-7884
www.haymarketbooks.org

ISBN: 978-1-60846-894-2

Trade distribution:
In the US, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, www.cbsd.com
In Canada, Publishers Group Canada, www.pgcbooks.ca
In the UK, Turnaround Publisher Services, www.turnaround-uk.com
All other countries, Ingram Publisher Services International,

Cover design by Rachel Cohen. Cover photograph
John Keatley.

This book was published with the generous support of Lannan Foundation and Wallace Action Fund.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.