Doing Nothing Is No Longer An Option:
One Woman’s Journey into Everyday Antiracism
Overwhelmed by the enormity of racism and uncertain if you can make a difference?
White friends, this book is for you.
"Potter’s candor about her stumbling attempts to live out her anti-racist ideals is refreshing.”
- Publishers Weekly
Meet the Author
Jenny Booth Potter is a creative producer, storyteller, and co-host of The Next Question, a web series about expanding our imagination for racial justice. She has co-led racial justice trainings across the country for churches and organizations, and is the Senior Manager of Storytelling and Engagement for Together Rising. Jenny and her husband, John, make their home in Saint Paul, MN with their two boys and one wild puppy.
Photo by Christina Gandolfo
Book Buzz:
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“Inside these pages you will find an honest account of what it costs to move beyond performative allyship and get into the fight for justice. If you, as a White person, feel compelled to move off the sidelines and get into the fight for justice, but are unsure about how to begin your journey, there is no one I trust more to walk beside you than my friend Jenny.”
Austin Channing Brown, New York Times best-selling author of I’m Still Here
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“I think mistakes (or as I like to call them "Pluck Ups") can be the source of some of life's greatest lessons. When, especially in the face of our "Pluck-Ups," we choose curiosity over criticism, our mistakes and wrong turns can be some of our greatest teachers. I relate to so much of Jenny's story, and I am grateful for her invitation to keep going in the pursuit of justice — even when the fear of failure can feel paralyzing. This book is a powerful invitation and I'm so thankful it exists.”
Liz Forkin Bohannon, cofounder and CEO of Sseko Designs and author of Beginner’s Pluck
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“It takes the most brave and generous souls among us to open up their lives and invite us along. As an ally and seasoned practitioner, Jenny is undeniably one such soul. With striking vulnerability and sincere hope, she tells stories and unfolds memories that compel her readers to make the pursuit of antiracism the only viable option for a world of justice and mutual flourishing for us all."
Ashlee Eiland, co–lead pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church and author of Human(Kind)
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"In 'Doing Nothing Is No Longer an Option,' Jenny is doing some much-needed, patient guidance for people that want to 'get it' when it comes to doing antiracism."
Andre Henry, columnist for Religion News Service and author of All the White Friends I Couldn't Keep
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"Jenny is a gifted truth teller, sharing her imperfections to help White Christians like me reckon with sins of racism past and present. Jenny held a mirror to my soul, inviting me to examine my complicity, and I'm grateful for it. This book won't shame you, but it'll push you. Let it propel you beyond complacency and into God's call to embody antiracism in your everyday life."
Kayla Craig, author of To Light Their Way and creator of Liturgies for Parents
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"With honesty and humility, Jenny Booth Potter takes readers on a journey of awakening to the layers of racism that pervade every sector of society as well as recognizing her own passive and active participation in it. This book gives other white women permission to confess their own racism and refuse passivity, instead leaning into the lifelong work of dismantling racist strongholds in their own lives and in the world."
Katelyn Beaty, author of Celebrities for Jesus, journalist, and editor
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"Jenny simultaneously acknowledges the emotional work White people must do to reckon with racism and injustice while refusing to accept White excuses, for herself or her readers. By sharing her story, she challenges us to start the lifelong work of dismantling White supremacy in society and in ourselves."
Blake Chastain, host of the Exvangelical podcast
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"Jenny beckons readers to normalize allyship rather than leave it to a few, summoning the privileged to be part of the answer and not the problem. Without a lick of lip service, she goes first, grappling with how racism has been laced through her own story, all the while inviting readers to a place of advocacy and allyship that will lead to the flourishing of all God's children."
Tiffany Bluhm, author of Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up
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"As a Black woman, it is difficult for me to fathom anyone taking a backseat (or no seat at all) in the continued fight for racial equity and justice. Yet for too many White individuals, particularly White Christians, that's often the default response. In Doing Nothing Is No Longer an Option, Jenny Booth Potter writes directly to this audience in an honest and practical way, addressing this reality head-on. Starting with her own antiracist journey, there's no sugarcoating the challenges, missteps, and discomfort Jenny has encountered. But for those who are ready to self-examine, engage, and act, her words are a clarion call that it's necessary and worth it."
Patricia A. Taylor, writer and antiracism educator
