From the Black Lives Matter movement to the health and economic disparities exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have been forced to reckon with our country’s fraught history – and present – of racial bias and inequality. Now that we have scratched the surface on courageous conversations about race, many are wondering: what is the next step towards healing and justice? Lies About Black People: How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why it Matters is designed for anyone who wants to examine their own biases and behaviors with a deeper critical lens in order to take action, make change, and engage positively in the fight for racial equality.

In this honest and welcoming book, diversity and inclusion expert, professor, and award-winning speaker Dr. Omekongo Dibinga argues that we must embark on a massive undertaking to re-educate ourselves on the stereotypes that have proven harmful, and too often deadly, to the Black community. Through personal anecdotes, nuanced historical inquiry, and engaging analysis of modern-day events and their historical context and implications, this invaluable guide will break down some of the most powerful lies told about Black people. Whether those lies are pernicious, like the idea that “most black people are criminals,” or seemingly innocuous, like the notion that “black people can’t swim,” all of the lies and stereotypes combatted in this book are rooted in hate and continue to undermine not only Black people in America, but our society as a whole. Beyond combatting these harmful lies, Dr. Dibinga also provides readers with powerful insights on our racial vocabulary, reflective hands-on exercises that will allow readers to confront and change their own biases, and an honest discussion about how to move beyond misplaced shame and use privilege to serve others.

Featuring personal surveys alongside real-life interviews with those who have been affected by racial biases first-hand, this open and thoughtful guide will lead readers on a path to understanding, action, and change.

In this honest and welcoming book, diversity and inclusion expert, professor, and award-winning speaker Dr. Omekongo Dibinga argues that we must embark on a massive undertaking to re-educate ourselves on the stereotypes that have proven harmful, and too often deadly, to the black community.

“Lies About Black People exposes the myths and stereotypes about how black people are viewed and judged, and it offers the realities and the raw truths that we all must face if we are to ever overcome racism and achieve inclusion, equity, and justice. I recommend it for all cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities, and I certainly plan to use it in my consulting practice as a roadmap for reconciliation and reckoning with the complexities of race." – Dr. Shirley Davis, author of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Dummies

“Without blame and with buckets of positivity, Dibinga exhorts his audience to work on understanding their own biases and to combat resurgent racism using his concrete strategies….Brimming with historical and contemporary examples, Lies about Black People is an illuminating, persuasive overview of the ways racism harms Black Americans and poisons the country’s culture and economic health.” —Rachel Jagareski, Foreword Reviews

“Dr. Dibinga is his generation’s Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Lies About Black People makes a global impact and rises above the banalities of lies and racist platitudes that have existed for centuries. I predict it will be read and studied for generations to come.” – Joe Madison, “The Black Eagle” on SiriusXM Urban View