Rising Up

Acclaimed journalist Sonali Kolhatkar offers a timely handbook exploring the ways truthful narratives by and about people of color can be used to counter racism and advance social justice in the U.S. 

"For two decades, Sonali Kolhatkar has been a leading voice for truth against the lies of the powerful, unflinchingly exploding prevailing myths that pass as prevailing wisdom. She understands that shifting the narrative is radical anti-racist work, and if you don't believe it just look at the firing of schoolteachers and journalists for telling the truth about racism, slavery, gender, or Palestine."-Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

Even though people of color are fast becoming the majority population in the United States, the perspectives and privileges of white America still dominate our key narrative-setting institutions and industries. People of color, long shut out of mainstream news studios, Hollywood's writers' rooms, and executive suites, are rising up to advance new political and social narratives that center on racial justice and equity. 

In Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice, award-winning broadcast journalist Sonali Kolhatkar delivers a back-pocket guide to racial justice narrative-setting. Kolhatkar focuses on shifting narratives in three spaces: news media, popular culture, and individual discourse. 

Drawing from her own life experiences as an Asian American woman and media maker of color, she highlights other journalists, writers, creators, educators, and social media influencers who refuse to remain marginalized and are dedicated to building a new culture to displace white supremacy. Kolhatkar carefully and passionately argues that narrative change is a critical step all Americans should engage in to prevent the country from falling further under the influence of false racist, far-right disinformation that leads to social polarization and political violence.