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

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For many white folks, the title might fool them into thinking this book embodies the worst conjured stereotype of people of color activists who demand equity, equality, and fairness after centuries in which democratically republics have often failed to uphold these. But, they might be surprised that Eddo-Lodge's writing is welcoming, enlightening, and filled with history and deconstructions of racism in modern society that many white folks aren't familiar with. The title comes from a blog title she posted several years ago and what follows is a clear and explicit exploration of racism and how whites, particularly, are woefully unaware (by structural racism) of the ways in which culture has privileged them time and again to the detriment of people of color. By far, this is not my first book on the subject of racism, white privilege, and the impact of historically legalized inequality, but Eddo-Lodge explores these elements in the context of the UK, providing a strikingly similar but still unique exploration of how structural racism works. In particular, she covers how it became prevalent in the UK and the ways in which white power structures reproduce inequality through laws, customs, inequitable distribution of goods and protections, and intentionally forgetting its egregious disregard of people of color. It's clear with this level of knowledge why Eddo-Lodge may no longer talk to white people about race, but she has channeled that frustration into a book which can explain and illustrate what it is that white people need to know to understand why.

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