Black Fatigue, Second Edition

An updated edition of the first book to define and explore the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on the health of Black people—and how to combat its pernicious effects.

Now with a urgent tools for survival in the post-2020 landscape including an expanded discussion guide, two new chapters, and updated research, case studies, stories, and examples.

Black people are exhausted. The toll of living within systems designed to exclude them devastates minds, bodies, and spirits. Award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion leader Mary-Frances Winters—now joined by Mariesha Reese—addresses this ongoing crisis with an urgent update to her bestselling book.

Since the first edition sold over 50,000 copies, the world has shifted dramatically. COVID-19 laid bare devastating health disparities. Corporate DEI commitments proved fragile and temporary. Political shifts continue to threaten hard-won progress. In this second edition, Winters and Reese incorporate new data, fresh case studies, and expanded tools to reflect today’s realities.

This edition includes:

• Two new chapters on current challenges facing Black communities
  
• Updated research on racism’s health impacts in a post-COVID world
  
• New stories and case studies that illuminate lived experience
  
• A revised discussion guide for workplaces, classrooms, and communities
  
• Updated models reflecting today’s most relevant findings
  

With unflinching honesty and a practical lens, Winters and Reese document the enduring toll of “living while Black” while also equipping readers with strategies for personal healing and organizational transformation. The research is current, the case studies are real, and the tools are designed to create lasting systemic change.