The Wilfred J. Airey Library, Puente, and the Unity Zone are excited to announce the
Read 2 Succeed book selection for Fall 2022: You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation by Julissa Arce!
Our author, Julissa Arce, will be here in-person on November 17 from 12:50 pm-3:00 pm in CSS 217 to speak and sign her books!
Register on Eventbrite to attend in-person at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-2022-read-2-succeed-author-appearance-julissa-arce-tickets-444806908437
-OR- Register to attend on Zoom at
You DO NOT have to have read the book to come and let your voice be heard in the discussion!
Students who attend in-person or online will be entered to win one of two $25 Norco
College Bookstore Gift Cards provided by ASNC, AND a chance to win a Brand new 8 generation iPad provided by Altura Credit Union! You must stay for the entire event to be entered in the drawing. There will be FREE
FOOD – PIZZA and MORE – at the In-Person event in CSS 217!
If you need a copy of the book, contact Damon Nance (Supplies Limited).
About the Book
“You sound like a white girl.” These were the words spoken to Julissa by a high school
crush as she struggled to find her place in America. As a brown immigrant from Mexico,
assimilation had been demanded of her since the moment she set foot in San Antonio,
Texas, in 1994. She’d spent so much time getting rid of her accent so no one could
tell English was her second language that in that moment she felt those words—you
sound like a white girl?—were a compliment. As a child, she didn’t yet understand
that assimilating to “American” culture really meant imitating “white” America—that
sounding like a white girl was a racist idea meant to tame her, change her, and make
her small. She ran the race, completing each stage, but never quite fit in, until
she stopped running altogether.
In You Sound Like a White Girl, Julissa offers a bold new promise: Belonging only comes through celebrating yourself,
your history, your culture, and everything that makes you uniquely you. Only in turning
away from the white gaze can we truly make America beautiful. An America where difference
is celebrated, heritage is shared and embraced, and belonging is for everyone. Through
unearthing veiled history and reclaiming her own identity, Julissa shows us how to
do this.
About the Author
Julissa Arce is a writer, activist, and social changemaker. She is the nationally
best-selling author of My (Underground) American Dream and Someone Like Me. Her writing
has appeared in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, CNN, CNBC, Vogue and other outlets. Her newest book, You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation, is a powerful dual polemic and manifesto against the myth that assimilation leads
to happiness and belonging for immigrants in America. Instead, she calls for a celebration
of our uniqueness, our origins, our heritage, and the beauty of the differences that
actually make us Americans. Julissa was named one of People en Español’s 25 Most Powerful
Women of 2017 and 2022, and 2018’s Woman of the Year by the City of Los Angeles. She
is a leading voice in the fight for social justice, immigrant rights and education
equality.
*** Mustang Faculty: Please contact Amy Fudge at the Norco College Bookstore if you would like to make this a text for your course
to coincide with the college wide read!
More information about Read 2 Succeed at https://norcocollege.libguides.com/read2succeed