It is easier to blame people for making mistakes than it is to consider the role that policies play in determining outcomes. Ibram X. Kendi writes, “Americans have long been trained to see the deficiencies of people rather than policy” (28). For example, when my book club discussed of Evicted, we were more animated when pointing out Arleen’s mistakes than we were when noting that three out of four families in American who qualify for housing assistance receive nothing. This book argues for learning how to think critically about how the system works rather than blaming the victims.
Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be an Antiracist. One World, 2019, p. 20.