Synopsis

From a pioneering Black feminist and MacArthur Genius Fellow, an urgent and exhilarating memoir-manifesto-handbook about how to rein in the excesses of cancel culture so we can truly communicate and solve problems together.In 1979, Loretta Ross was a single mother whod had to drop out of Howard University. She was working at Washington, DCs Rape Crisis Center when she got a letter from a man in prison saying he wanted to learn how to not be a rapist anymore. At first, she was furious. As a survivor of sexual violence, she wanted to write back pouring out her rage. But instead, she made a different choice, a choice to reject the response her trauma was pushing her towards, a choice that set her on the path towards developing a philosophy that would come to guide her whole career: rather than calling people out, try to call even your unlikeliest allies in. Hold them accountablebut do so with love. Calling In is at once a handbook, a manifesto, and a memoirbecause the power of Loretta Rosss message comes from who she is and what shes lived through. Shes a Black woman whos deprogrammed white supremacists, a survivor whos taught convicted rapists the principles of feminism. With stories from her five remarkable decades in activism, she vividly illustrates why calling people ininviting them into conversation instead of conflict by focusing on your shared values over a desire for punishmentis the more strategic choice if you want to make real change. And she shows you how to do so, whether in the workplace, on a college campus, or in your living room. Courageous, awe-inspiring, and blisteringly authentic, Calling In is a practical new solution from one of our countrys most extraordinary change-makersone anyone can learn to use to transform frustrating and divisive conflicts that stand in the way of real connection with the people in your life.

About The Author

Loretta J. Ross is an activist, professor, and public intellectual. In her five decades in the human rights movement, shes deprogramed white supremacists, taught convicted rapists the principles of feminism, and organized the second-largest march on Washington (surpassed only by the 2017 Womens March). A cofounder of the National Center for Human Rights Education and the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, her many accolades and honors include a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship and a 2024 induction into the National Womens Hall of Fame. Today, Ross is an associate professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and a partner with 14th Strategies Consultants, with which she runs Calling In training sessions at organizations around the country.

This is a standard paperback/soft cover version.