Be The Bridge was on my to-read list for years and I kept seeing it as a resource in 2020 when the racial tension was at an all-time high after George Floyd’s death. And I’m glad I took it on a trip a few weeks ago because it was my airplane read. Usually reading makes me sleepy, which is why I read at night, but on the flight, I read almost 100 pages in 2 hours! (This may not be a lot for you but, for me, it’s a lot). 

Be The Bridge Review

I like to think of myself as an individual who is fully aware of the social and racial issues present in our country. I also am aware of the history of the United States and don’t shy away from the truth. I’m a firm believer that the more we know the better and I enjoy listening and reading from different perspectives, even if I don’t agree with the point of view. Even, though I’ve educated myself (by reading books, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, etc.) about U.S. History, there were a few things that I learned from this book.

The lynching of Mary Turner

Reading about this brutal lynching made my stomach uneasy and I had to re-read it twice to really process what I had read. If you don’t know about Mary Turner, you can read about her here.

Tulsa Massacre

I believe I first heard of the Tulsa Massacre in 2020 – again at the height of racial tension new information (or information not told in school) was being published on social media and in different publications. So, reading about Olivia Hooker in Be The Bridge was new information to me. She passed in 2018 so when the book was being written she was the only survivor of the massacre. Olivia was six years old when everything happened and she remembered.

You might like: Book Review: White Fragility

Reparations

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the FBI arrested 1,291 leaders from the Japanese community in the US. They were moved to government-holding facilities throughout three states. There was no evidence that they had any links to the attack. And in 1942 Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which resulted in 117,000 Japanese Americans being placed into internment camps. This was all new to me, I had no idea about the camps. And then I learned that in 1988 the Civil Liberties Act was passed which authorized $20,000 per person to survivors who had been held in these internment camps. 

I’ve heard of talks of reparations for African Americans because of slavery but there is always pushback, I had no idea that there had been reparations for wrongdoing against an ethical group before. Look at what happens when you read books, you learn things, LOL.

Becoming a Bridge Builder

Tasha started the Be The Bridge organization in 2016 and now there are over 1,000 Be The Bridge groups throughout the United States. The ending of the book gives information on how to get involved or become a bridge builder if that is what your heart is urging you to do. It also includes the story of Jenne Allen, who founded IF:Gathering, and details her involvement in this work.

I highly recommend this book or listening to Be The Bridge Podcast (which would be a DREAM to be a guest on) for more resources on racial reconciliation.

With Love, Heidy

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

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