White Shade

The Real-World Primer for the Black Professional Woman

Non-Fiction - Womens
97 Pages
Reviewed on 07/12/2020
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Soumya Sreehari for Readers' Favorite

White Shade is a guidebook for black professional women. Dr. Michelle Shelton uses a series of stories, or vignettes as she calls them, to highlight ‘white spaces’ and ‘white shades’ that are abundant in the professional world. The stories are fictionalized but rooted in real-life experiences. Personas such as Ms. Uneasy, Ms. Arrogant, Ms. Strategist are used to share these experiences. Dr. Shelton follows up the stories with words of advice on how to identify the implicit biases and respond to them constructively. The stories bring to the fore the various forms of bias that influence any professional environment, such as intentional acts of alienation. The intention is to make professional black women aware of these biases and equip them to address these biases.

The reading experience of White Shade was illuminating to me. Dr. Michelle Shelton has put forth in simple words the myriad forms of bias we unconsciously condone as a society. I could relate to the different professional settings narrated by her; some were obvious in hindsight and some implicit enough to make me introspect. I can identify myself as a marginalized group in one part of the world and a privileged group in another. So, reading White Shade gave me insights to reflect on my behavior on both sides of the table. White Shade can be used as a guide by any woman in a professional environment. I recommend that everyone should read this book so that awareness is created of the existence of white spaces and ways to address them.