When I saw the title of Reni Eddo-Lodge's latest work, I couldn't pass it by. Seriously! How much more poignant, jarring, could a title be without using any profanity? The title Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Racecouldn't be more intriguing for someone like me who no longer comments on threads with any hint of racial bias. I made the mistake of commenting on one of my Goodreads friends review of a book about the war on police, and next thing I know some white dude insinuated that I was ignorant or in a position to ignore all the government has done for low-income neighborhoods.
A peaceful discussion turned vile for no apparent reason except that homeboy (the white dude) figured I was defending the communities marginalized by the status quo. What I was defending is the fact BLM is not a terrorist group. Sure there are some who claim to be in the group that have taken things too far, but do we paint all supporters of that movement with the same extremist brush? I think not.
With that being said, Reni Eddo-Lodge doesn't paint every white person with the same brush. She makes it very clear early on that she no longer engages in discussions about race with white people who refuse to accept that structural racism is still a thing. Structural racism is very much so an impenetrable force that deems some others. She acknowledges that the concept might be hard to grasp because it's not something that can be touched, coveted, or harnessed. It's just a reality that those who are "others" see as one more obstacle they must overcome.
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race focuses primarily on the structural racism that inhabits Britain. It might be a crappy thing to say but it was actually relieving to read about the struggle for blacks outside of the United States. Not that I'd wish the struggle on other people of color, but the fact that it's not just us, black Americans, that feel the weight of structural racism sort of makes me wanna scream "finally someone gets it!"
Boy, does Reni Eddo-Lodge get it.
Eddo-Lodge goes into a few topics in great detail in a way that would make most say oh, I get it now. She breaks down White Privilege and what it really means, how feminists prefer to keep racism a separate issue, race and class, as well as how there can never be peace without justice.
Reni Eddo-Lodge begins this title by diving into the history of racism and how it's impact still impacts black British today. What surprised me most is that Great Britain is a helluva lot less progressive than I presumed. She infers that it may be due to the fact that slave masters could hire others to interact with the slaves that garnered established their wealth whereas in the Americas, owners interacted with their investments daily. The impact of living among those who you once owned wasn't necessary until people of color began to immigrate into the UK. The same immigrants called upon to fight their wars had no place in their all-white world.
I remember my grandfather talking about how he was enlisted in the British army before he moved to the states. He never indulged further. He would only say that he needed to get to America although Britain was/is considered the motherland for most Jamaicans.
Anyway...
I won't go into detail on how impacting Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Before I go off on any further tangents, I'll end this review here by saying... no... asking you to read this book. Please! It's worth it. *****
Copy provided by Bloomsbury Publishing via Netgalley
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