Reni Eddo-Lodge

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

'This is a book that was begging to be written. This is the kind of book that demands a future where we'll no longer need such a book. Essential' Marlon James, Man Booker Prize-Winner 2015 'One of the most important books of 2017' Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant A powerful and provocative argument on the role that race and racism play in modern Britain, by award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'. Her words hit a nerve. The post went viral and comments flooded in from others desperate to speak up about their own experiences. Galvanised by this clear hunger for open discussion, she decided to dig into the source of these feelings. Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

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

Ned Summers 

Gillian Rose

A fascinating read. It should be required reading for everyone, especially white people. It is incredibly sad to read that the UK is just as bad (sometimes I think even worse) than the US in these situations. We all have to be better.

Jamieson

“We tell ourselves that racism is about moral values, when instead it is about the survival strategy of systemic power.” 


It's late and I'm tired and therefore in no position to write a good and nuanced review on this so review to come but for now: I really enjoyed listening to this. First and foremost Reni Eddo-Lodge did a really excellent job narrating the audiobook. 

I found this beneficial and interesting to read. Although some chapters rehashed things I knew from other readings, I still enjoyed Eddo-Lodge's perspective. I also really enjoyed the history section, because I didn't know essentially any of that. The chapter about class and race intersecting was also great. 

This is a staple social justice non-fiction so if you're interested in those you definitely need to read this. RTC

Vivian

Wow, I read this book to educate myself about racism history and current situation in the UK. And what an insightful read! Reni Eddo-Lodge is provocative and assertive, honest and fierce. She didn't waste a single word in these essays. 
There have been a lot of positive movements against racism in the past few years, which gives us hope. But it's just the beginning. Not being racist is a passive state and it is not enough. Pretending racism no longer exists doesn't eliminate racism, only silences and invalidates POC's suffering. Claiming reverse racism is just another way to flaunt white privilege. 
We all need to be actively anti-racist.

Brendan M

An important book politically. The chapter on race and feminism was particularly well argued and impactful. I've marked it down not for its content, but for it's blog-like style which didn't work for me in book form. I prefer a more sharply written, incisive style. For instance, the Histories chapter was interesting but rambling and had no clear structure. This is an impassioned and politically important book which is let down by the quality of its writing.

The Sunday Times Bestseller

Alex Q

'Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak' The book that sparked a national conversation. Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today. THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR A BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD

Flavia Louise

Risa C

Reni Eddo-Lodge's breakdown of structural racism in the UK context is both deft and incisive. As someone who is still relatively unread on the concept of anti-racism, I would say that this book is essential for people who recognize the rot of racism embedded in every facet of society, but struggle to find the words to express and identify this inherent wrongness. This series of essays points out the logical fallacies and pernicious misrepresentations of people who seek to derail honest, productive discussions about racism and calls out the ways oppressors co-opt the language of liberalism to discredit the movement and maintain their power. This book gives you a framework, sharpens your outrage, and provides you the tools to enable you to combat the forces that reinforce racial injustice in its many nefarious forms.

Hannah Gallacher

I picked up this book a few weeks ago as it was one recommended as a must read following the resurgence of the BLM movement all over the world after the death of George Floyd. I had high expectations and they were all exceeded. With clear concise chapters detailing everything from the problems with non-intersectional feminism to hard truths about Britain’s racist past it was a gut-wrenching read that both inspired and educated me. Definitely a must-read, especially for white people learning how to handle their privilege and guilt during this time. The only negative I have with this book is that I wish it was longer!

Marina Riaza

Joy KBA

Absolutely NO lie was detected when reading this book. Amazing is an understatement

Sahi K

The title of this book can obviously seem very provocative and that’s probably one of the reasons I added it to my TBR a few months ago, but I didn’t know when I was going to read it. For the past many months however, I have seen a version of this title play out in the bookish community discussions - where authors of color are tired of explaining their marginalization, how it affects their opportunities to get published or promoted, the inherent structural gatekeeping in the publishing industry and even the recent mess with the RITA nominations - all this really made me want to read this book and want to know what made the author title it so. I was also quite interested to know the British side of the story, because most of my reading on race is very US centric despite the fact that slavery started due to European colonization. And I’m so glad I picked this up.

I love how each chapter in the book deals with a different topic and the author gives her understanding of it. It begins with a brief explanation of the history of racism and while it doesn’t delve too much into the beginnings of slavery, we get an idea of how black population came to be a significant percentage of the country. The author takes more time giving information about the race relations in the 20th century, the anti-black rhetoric and blatant and systemic discrimination and it’s eerily similar to US history and somehow, not very different from the current anti immigrant vitriol that we hear everyday. There are also many conversations or situations that the author herself has been a part of, that she describes have shaped her views on racism and privilege and feminism etc and I really liked getting to know her personal thoughts.

The chapters that really affected me most were about white privilege and feminism. The idea that not seeing race (color blindness) and treating everybody as equal is enough to achieve a post racial society is a very privileged position to be in and only someone who has never had to consider their race while making every small decision in their life can believe that. And any talk about feminism which doesn’t take into account the intersectionality between gender and race (and even class which is very intertwined with race) is doing nothing substantial for the movement. While reading these chapters, I was quickly reminded of the recent controversy with the RITA nominations where there were hardly any marginalized authors represented. This is the bookish community we are talking about - the ones who pride themselves in being able to tell stories, bring happiness to their readers and maybe even change society through their words. But in a judging process conducted by the authors themselves, it’s both appalling and not at all surprising that in the romance genre filled with books about monsters and vampires and shapeshifters and many more unreal creatures, these authors found themselves not being able to relate to books written by authors of color and also found it it unbelievable that characters of color were accomplished or flawed or were able to find their HEA - all because these characters don’t fit into the stereotypes they hold about the people of that particular race. And then the authors get defensive when these systemic issues and their inherent prejudices are pointed out. If this is not a great example of the manifestation of white privilege and white feminism, I don’t know what is.

I don’t know if I have been able to explain why I liked this book, but it’s very well written, thought provoking and will leave you wanting to do something about the injustices happening around you. Don’t expect this book to be a very scholarly or academic style tome and while it has a huge list of primary sources referenced at the end, the book is still more of a personal journey and experience of the author and that’s why I liked it more. It’s also more of a starting point and might encourage you to read more about the topics that the author talks about. As I’ve done a very poor job reviewing this, I will end with some wonderful quotes from the book.


  ”Not seeing race does little to deconstruct racist structures or materially improve the conditions which people of colour are subject to daily. In order to dismantle unjust, racist structures, we must see race. We must see who benefits from their race, who is disproportionately impacted by negative stereotypes about their race, and to who power and privilege is bestowed upon – earned or not – because of their race, their class, and their gender. Seeing race is essential to changing the system.”

“White privilege manifests itself in everyone and no one. Everyone is complicit, but no one wants to take on responsibility. Challenging it can have real social implications. Because it’s a many-headed hydra, you have to be careful about the white people you trust when it comes to discussing race and racism. You don’t have the privilege of approaching conversations about racism with the assumption that the other participants will be on the same plane as you.”

“We are told that black actors and actresses cast as central characters in works of fiction are unrealistic. We are told that they are historically inaccurate, or that they are too far a stretch of the imagination. But really, this is about a belligerent section of society that refuses to think outside of themselves, who believe that everything must cater to them and the rest of us must adapt to their whims and wishes. And this is nothing but insulting when heard by the black fiction lover who, if they are to enjoy their chosen genre, have no choice but to empathise with a character who looks nothing like them.”

“Seeing non-white characters relegated to sidekick or token status has been routine for so long that, for some, attempting to try and relate to black skin in a main character is a completely alien concept. We’ve been positioned as the ‘other’, only taking centre stage to portray subjugation or provide comic relief. White people are so used to seeing a reflection of themselves in all representations of humanity at all times, that they only notice it when it’s taken away from them.”

“White feminism is a politics that engages itself with myths such as ‘I don’t see race’. It is a politics which insists that talking about race fuels racism – thereby denying people of colour the words to articulate our existence. It’s a politics that expects people of colour to quietly assimilate into institutionally racist structures without kicking up a fuss. It’s a politics where people of colour are never setting the agenda. Instead, they are relegated to constantly reacting to things and frantically playing catch-up. A white-dominated feminist political consensus allows people of colour a place at the table if we’re willing to settle for tokenism, but it clamps down if they attempt to create accountability for said consensus – let alone any structural change.”

“It’s clear that equality doesn’t quite cut it. Asking for a sliver of disproportional power is too polite a request. I don’t want to be included. Instead, I want to question who created the standard in the first place. After a lifetime of embodying difference, I have no desire to be equal. I want to deconstruct the structural power of a system that marked me out as different. I don’t wish to be assimilated into the status quo. I want to be liberated from all negative assumptions that my characteristics bring. The onus is not on me to change. Instead, it’s the world around me. Equality is fine as a transitional demand, but it’s dishonest not to recognise it for what it is – the easy route. There is a difference between saying ‘we want to be included’ and saying ‘we want to reconstruct your exclusive system’. The former is more readily accepted into the mainstream.”

“The perverse thing about our current racial structure is that it has always fallen on the shoulders of those at the bottom to change it.“

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERFOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARBLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE 2018SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR A BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDThe book that sparked a national conversation. Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today.

Rose Stanley

Want to be a better ally? 
1. Read this book. 
2. Give copies to your friends/family/colleagues/neighbours/all of the above. 
3. Get organised. 
4. ???
5. Dismantle the colonialist patriarchy.

Signed,
A middle-class white British lady

Harriet Moar-Smith

This feels like an excellent introduction for white people into the world of modern racism but I feel it would have been just as good for me to read the original blog post and continue learning from other sources.

Jade Flynn

Look out for my sequel entitled 'Why I'm No Longer Talking To Reni Eddo-Lodge About Race." This has to be the biggest let down by a book I've had in years.

Jelke Lenaerts

This was a great read that I highly recommend people to read. The writing was pretty easy to get through and the topics were displayed in a way that's very comprehendable for everyone. I liked the mix of statistics, historical events and personal experiences that made up this book. In certain parts of the book I could feel the passion the author felt for those topics jump of the page and I was really engaged while reading. I think this book is very thought provoking and even though it's mostly focussed on the UK there's a lot of threads in there you can pull through to most of the western world.

Neva Davies

This is a book everyone should read

This book is so important. As a white American, I can't relate to what Reni Eddo-Lodge writes about because racism is not something I deal with, but it shouldn't matter if I can relate to what she is talking about. What matters is what I will do with the information from the book. Colorblindness is only effective in blinding us to what our privilege shields us from in the world. Anti-racism is something everyone should work towards, and not something that we use to keep us from doing the work.

Really good book. I do not live in Britain and don't know much about it other than when it intersected the USA so I appreciated the history she provided on the civil rights movement in Britain first, then dove into experiences and other topics.

I find it very telling that the majority of negative and critical reviews seem to prove her points- people don't want to open their mind to the idea that racism and sexism are built into their institutions. "Colorblind" is not the way to go, because it just means white people are able to be blind to what the system is doing to anyone who isn't white.

I think there are a lot of people who, like me, felt that color blind was the better way to go, until I actually woke up, and realized that by being color blind I was insulating myself in a white community surrounded by white voices. That's not a way to live.

Leonor Estrela

(4.5) Claro, simples de compreender e tão tão bem organizado. 
A autora fez um trabalho incrível a juntar este livro, com capítulos bem estruturados sobre as vertentes mais flagrantes (ou não) do racismo, explicando a realidade na Inglaterra - em que muitos pontos se encontra com Portugal - com factos de uma história que pouco é contada e experiências de pessoas que sofrem todos os dias ainda as consequências da mesma. 
Para ler de mente aberta, sem ter medo de sair com o ego ferido - se passarmos esta fase, podemos passar para a seguinte que é a mudança.

Charlie de Zeeuw

I made the mistake to think of this as a handbook for myself (as a white person) to be able to recognise my privilege and how to rightfully support and boost the stance of POC in this society. 

It ended up being more fact spitting and history classes. Which were not unnecessary, but not what I was looking for from this. Its reviews had given me the wrong idea. That does not mean I hated it, hence the two measly stars.

Flynn Commins

Lucy

THIS IS SUCH A POWERFUL BOOK. THE UK IS NOT INNOCENT. 

“It’s clear that equality doesn’t quite cut it. Asking for a sliver of disproportional power is too polite a request. I don’t want to be included. Instead, I want to question who created the standard in the first place. After a lifetime of embodying difference, I have no desire to be equal. I want to deconstruct the structural power of system that marked me out as different. I don’t wish to be assimilated into the status quo. I want to be liberated drin all negative assumptions that my characteristics bring. The onus is not in me to change. Instead, it’s the world around me.” P.g.184

Kelsey Holtaway

A fantastic, important, and poignant read.

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

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