Well, that escalated quickly : memoirs and mistakes of an accidental activist /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A sharp and timely exploration of race, online activism, and real communication in the age of social media rants, trolls, and call-out wars, from veteran video blogger and star of MTV's Decoded Franchesca Ramsey.

Franchesca Ramsey didn't set out to be an activist. Or a comedian. Or a commentator on identity, race, and culture, really. But then her YouTube video "What White Girls Say . . . to Black Girls" went viral. Twelve million views viral. Faced with an avalanche of media requests, fan letters, and hate mail, she had two choices: Jump in and make her voice heard or step back and let others frame the conversation. After a crash course in social justice and more than a few foot-in-mouth moments, she realized she had a unique talent and passion for breaking down injustice in America in ways that could make people listen and engage.

In her first book, Ramsey uses her own experiences as an accidental activist to explore the many ways we communicate with each other--from the highs of bridging gaps and making connections to the many pitfalls that accompany talking about race, power, sexuality, and gender in an unpredictable public space...the internet.

Well, that Escalated Quickly includes Ramsey's advice on dealing with internet trolls and low-key racists, confessions about being a former online hater herself, and her personal hits and misses in activist debates with everyone from bigoted Facebook friends and misguided relatives to mainstream celebrities and YouTube influencers. With sharp humor and her trademark candor, Ramsey shows readers we can have tough conversations that move the dialogue forward, rather than backward, if we just approach them in the right way.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction: Girl Walks into the Comments Section (p. 1)
• 1 Famous in Four Hours (p. 7)
• 2 Black-lash (p. 23)
• 3 My Reign as YouTube's Callout Queen (p. 43)
• 4 Between a Loc and a Hard Place: The Chescalocs Story (p. 73)
• 5 Lessons from Going Public, Part 1: If You Can't Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Spotlight (p. 87)
• 6 Lessons from Going Public, Part 2: Objects on Social Media Are Not as Close as They Appear (p. 103)
• 7 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (It's Lena Dunham.) (p. 111)
• 8 Stop Hating and Start Studying (p. 119)
• 9 Activist Lent (p. 137)
• 10 Unfriended (p. 155)
• 11 Last Name Basis (p. 173)
• 12 Eulogies for Cringeworthy Comments (p. 191)
• 13 Self-Care Is Not Selling Out (Unless It Is) (p. 205)
• Conclusion: Activism Is Like Long Division-You Have to Show Your Work (p. 215)
• Franchesca's Simple Explanations of Not-So-Simple Concepts (p. 227)
• Acknowledgments (p. 243)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

In 2012, Ramsey's viral video Sh*t White Girls Say . . . to Black Girls launched her career in media, pushing her head first into conversations about race, gender, and privilege. For years, she had been making comedy videos and hair tutorials for YouTube while working as a graphic designer by day. After her video gained national attention, she received interview requests, secured an agent, and, with more hard work, began hosting the MTV series Decoded and joined the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore as a writer and commentator. Ramsey's memoir chronicles her growth towards activism as she learned more about how racism and other forms of oppression operate in the U.S. She addresses online call-out culture and offers guidance on how to effectively talk about often divisive issues. Ramsey's personal stories and lessons learned provide a window into today's online culture as well as tools for new activists. Regardless of their level of familiarity with Ramsey's work, readers will enjoy engaging with complex subjects via her frank, approachable style.--Chanoux, Laura Copyright 2018 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

The host of MTV's web series Decoded chronicles her difficulties navigating the early days of social media and her evolution as an advocate for social justice.Ramsey has a solid media platform: A comedian, actress, and blogger, she was a writer and correspondent for the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and has been featured on NPR, the BBC, and Anderson Cooper 360. With a program in the works with Comedy Central, the author offers her story as an illustration of why, in today's overheated social and political environment, it is more important than ever to pay close attention to how we communicate with each other. Early on she admits that she is a product of social media: "I have a long and complicated history with the internet. I basically grew up online." She built her first website while still in middle school. By high school, she had purchased her own domain name and began blogging. Ramsey was an early fan of YouTube and began making videos for fun. "I know the exact date I went from being a nobody, minding my own business in my corporate retail job," she writes, "to being 'internet famous'--and inadvertently making a lot of girls cry." That moment came after she posted a video, "Shit White Girls Say…to Black Girls," which went "super-massive, mainstream-news viral." Ramsey's narrative is a snappy mix of the funny, sad, and horrifying incidents that have shaped her life, many of which demonstrate lessons that can apply to a wide variety of modern-day readers. For the unwoke among us, Ramsey thoughtfully includes "Franchesca's Simple Explanations of Not-So-Simple Concepts," a "social-justice glossary" that includes definitions of such terms as "gender binary," "cisgender," "Latinx," and "Slacktivism."An admirable exploration of the rapidly morphing boundaries of social mores and online outrage; the author helpfully points the way toward better communication.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Franchesca Ramsey is a social justice advocate, comedian, actress, writer, video blogger, sought-after speaker, and the host of the award-winning web series Decoded on MTV. With videos topping 12 million views, she has been featured on NPR, Anderson Cooper, CNN, MTV, the BBC, and in the New York Times . A former writer and correspondent for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore , she now has a major late-night television show in development with Comedy Central. She lives in New York City and this is her first book.