Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

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Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

By: Reni Eddo-Lodge

Narrated by: Reni Eddo-Lodge

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About this listen

"I couldn't have a conversation with white folks about the details of a problem if they didn't want to recognise that the problem exists. Worse still was the white person who might be willing to entertain the possibility of said racism but still thinks we enter this conversation as equals. We didn't then, and we don't now."

In February 2014, Reni Eddo-Lodge posted an impassioned argument on her blog about her deep-seated frustration with the way discussions of race and racism in Britain were constantly being shut down by those who weren't affected by it. She gave the post the title 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'. Her sharp, fiercely intelligent words hit a nerve, and the post went viral, spawning a huge number of comments from people desperate to speak up about their own similar experiences.

Galvanised by this response, Eddo-Lodge decided to dive into the source of these feelings, this clear hunger for an open discussion. The result is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today, covering issues from eradicated black history to white privilege, the fallacy of 'meritocracy' to whitewashing feminism, and the inextricable link between class and race. Full of passionate, personal and keenly felt argument, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is a wake-up call to a nation in denial about the structural and institutional racism occurring in our homes.

Freedom & Security

Politics & Government

Racism & Discrimination

Social Sciences

Discrimination

Social justice

Thought-Provoking

Civil Rights

Socialism

Most relevant

I admire Reni for being so open and honest about her struggle with the denial that goes on about racism and how we as a society and as a race (white people) don't want to take ownership of our attitudes and perceptions, that have been handed down to us. I would like to say that here in Australia we don't have that kind of thing but that is not the case at all, and trying to get people to admit that the casual jib about another race or minority group was not OK is like trying to shove shit up a hill, so I can't even imagine how much harder it must be for people of the actual group to try to get people to see reason.

It only seems to be getting worse at the moment as politicians point the blame for their F ups onto minority groups that look different and have a different experience, and it is happening all around the world. So we need this conversation now, but it is also becoming more dangerous to bring it up and be the one trying to expose the ugly hidden side of our social structures. And the more people take up the blame the more and more minority groups are targeted and the more and more people are in danger. This is something that people of color have had to deal with for a very long time, the fear of losing a loved one to some random act of fear induced hatred. It is something they shouldn't have to live with, we all deserve to live our lives without fear of being targeted.

Of the book it's self it was well written and flowed naturally. Hearing Reni read out some of the interviews she had was disturbing, for several reasons but it really dose point out how the "freedom" of speech is being used and abused when people are refusing to listen to rational requests. The disparity between races on the actual freedom to speak is horrendous enough but it shows that we have more than just a problem with race and otherness (or strangers as people from different backgrounds were labeled), we have a massive problem with perception, and also with our understanding of what things like freedom of speech actually mean.

So basically it was very eye opening. I also had no idea that people in Britten were largely unaware of their part in the history of slavery. Having grown up knowing a little bit about it I took it for granted that they would also know about it. I have read a few reviews criticizing this book for not being more well researched or for only being a headline grabber but that is not what this book is. It is the pent up frustration boiling up and it is a conversation starter. This book is about the experiences of the author and how the color of her skin and the bias of the social structure of the society she was born into affecting her life experiences. It is about being open and honest and about opening peoples eyes to the problems we face as a community.

Um if you have managed to get this far, I recommend the book if that wasn't clear.

I loved this so much I finished it twice and am looking forward to sharing it with my children. It was eye opening and it met me in places where I believed I was truly alone in my experience. My views have improved and grown because of this book. Having people in my family that I love dearly that are white and with whom I can never ever speak to about race... this book lit the way of an otherwise dark space for me. So while I know many will not receive this book the same way... I am grateful to have it in my collection.