Barnes & NobleThe World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin

Funny, Heartbreaking Collection of Racist Stories

The World Record Book of Racist Stories, the hyperbolic title of Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar's second nonfiction book, provides a good idea of its contents - personal experiences of racism told with sarcastic humor. It's sad and wrong that these sisters have enough racist stories to fill two books, and it's extremely frustrating that they likely have enough to fill an entire series. While their first book, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, primarily focused on Lacey's discriminatory experiences in her personal and professional life, their second book shares more stories from both sisters as well as their family members and friends. These stories really hit home for me as most occurred in Omaha, Nebraska - my city. Amber, Lacey, and their siblings grew up here, and Amber and her parents continue to live here. I wish I had answers for how my community and our country can do better to regard its Black and brown citizens with more dignity, respect, and equity. I learn something and hopefully become a better ally every time I spend time with Amber and Lacey's stories. Sadly, the people who most need to read this book are the least likely to pick it up. This is best experienced via audiobook as it's narrated primarily by Amber (with her great comic timing) with Lacey adding occasional comments. I appreciated following along in a print copy to see several photos they included. I'll end my review with a request from Lacey included in the book's conclusion: "I'm glad our family and people from the community got the chance to share these stories with you. ... they have happened and are happening out there to not just a small group of people in Omaha, Nebraska, but to absolutely anyone at anytime, anywhere. ... Can you do us all a favor? Please hand this book to someone that needs a good laugh, a good cry, needs to feel validated, or just needs a d*mn racist intervention."