CALLING IN

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 who’d had to drop out of Howard University. She was working at Washington DC’s 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 accountable-but do so with love.Calling In is at once a handbook a manifesto and a memoir-because the power of Loretta Ross’s message comes from who she is and what she’s lived through. She’s a Black woman who’s deprogrammed white supremacists a survivor who’s taught convicted rapists the principles of feminism. With stories from her five remarkable decades in activism she vividly illustrates why calling people in-inviting them into conversation instead of conflict by focusing on your shared values over a desire for punishment-is 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 country’s most extraordinary change-makers-one 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.