07/17/2017
With its provocative title, this debut book by London journalist Eddo-Lodge is a plainspoken, hard-hitting take on mainstream British society’s avoidance of race and the complexities and manifestations of racism. Eddo-Lodge describes Britain’s history of slavery, segregation, and discrimination toward black people, and she shows how this history both mirrors and diverges from the history of America’s treatment of African-Americans. Slavery existed as a British institution for 271 years, but most of the plantations that British citizens operated were in the Caribbean, and as a result “most British people saw the money without the blood.” Once in Britain, black people encountered “No blacks, no dogs, no Irish” signs in the windows of many establishments. Eddo-Lodge’s crisp prose and impassioned voice implore white Britain to look beyond obvious racism to acknowledge the more opaque existence of structural racism. She describes this deep-seated prejudice as “thousands of people with the same biases joining together to make up one organization, and acting according.” She points to the “impenetrable white workplace culture” as an example of the collective effects of bias, and shows how black people face these sorts of disadvantages of every stage in life. Her analysis takes on contemporary issues, understanding Brexit through a lens of white fear of multiculturalism and chastising the kind of feminism that refuses to see the how gender and race intertwine. With this thoughtful and direct book, Eddo-Lodge stokes the very conversation that the title rejects. (Dec.)
"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, author of Man Booker Prize-winning A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS
"This political, accessible and uncompromising book has got people talking about race and racism in Britain." - Guardian, "Books of the Year"
"Searing ... A fresh perspective, offering an Anglocentric alternative to the recent status-quo-challenging successes of Get Out and Dear White People. This book’s probing analysis and sharp wit certainly make us pray she will continue talking to white people about race." - Harper's Bazaar
"A clear and convincing dissection of racism and the white denial that perpetuates it." - Our Best Adult Books of 2017 – Nonfiction, starred review, Shelf Awareness
"A plainspoken, hard-hitting take on mainstream British society's avoidance of race and the complexities and manifestations of racism . . . Eddo-Lodge's crisp prose and impassioned voice implore white Britain to look beyond obvious racism to acknowledge the more opaque existence of structural racism . . . With this thoughtful and direct book, Eddo-Lodge stokes the very conversation that the title rejects." - Publishers Weekly
"In her probing and personal narrative, Eddo-Lodge offers fresh insight into the way all racism is ultimately a 'white problem' that must be addressed by commitment to action, no matter how small . . . A sharp, compelling, and impassioned book." - Kirkus Reviews
"The provocative title is hard to ignore, and so is the book's cover. Seen from afar, it appears to be called Why I'm No Longer Talking About Race,which is intriguing enough on its own. You have to look closer to see To White People hiding underneath it in debossed letters. It's a striking visual representation of white people's blindness to everyday, structural racism . . . It's that boldness, that straight talk which makes this book memorable. Eddo-Lodge pushes readers to recognize that racism is a systemic problem that needs to be tackled by those who run the system" - NPR.org
"You don't have to live in the U.K. to recognize the issues of white privilege, class, feminism and structural racism that [Eddo-Lodge] explores in this essential book." - Silvia Viñas, NPR
"Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge is a timely and sparky discussion about a vital subject." - Times Literary Supplement, "Books of the Year"
"Her work, which began as a silent scream against white complicity to racism, has shifted the conversation in the U.K. . . . Though she may not be talking to white people about race, she has gotten a lot of people to listen." - Time Magazine
"Extremely Illuminating." - Forbes, "Leaders' Books of the Year"
"Reni Eddo-Lodge is that rarest of delights—a young, working-class black woman from Tottenham with a voice in public life ... This book is a real eye-opener when it comes to Britain’s hidden history of discrimination ... A book like this matters now." - Refinery29
"Eddo-Lodge explores the nuanced ways in which racial prejudice continues and is ignored." - Vogue
"A must-read that expertly reflects the challenges of addressing structural racism." - Starred review, Library Journal
"A book that's set to blow apart the understanding of race relations in this country." - Stylist
"I found Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge timely and resonant. The author's passages on intersectionality are particularly poignant. It's a powerful and important read, relevant and accessible whatever your race." - Observer, "Books of the Year"
"Thought-provoking (and deeply uncomfortable) ... What Eddo-Lodge does is to force her readers to confront their own complicity ... Her books is a call to action ... What makes the book radical is the way it shifts the burden of ending racism on to white people." - Sunday Herald
"Offering extraordinary and articulate insights into contemporary race relations, "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race" is impressively informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, and an essential, core addition to both community and academic library Contemporary Social Issues in general, and Race Relations supplemental studies lists in particular." - Midwest Book Review
"Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race . . . look[s] at racial dynamics in the UK, and does so with intelligence and poignance. Eddo-Lodge's journalism background makes the book the perfect mixture of fact and opinion, resulting in a book that will probably teach you a lot about Britain’s racist history." - Cultured Vultures, "10 Best Books of 2017"
"Eddo-Lodge is digesting history for those white readers who have had their ears and eyes shut to the violence in Britain’s past ... An important shift that undermines the idea that racism is the BAME community’s burden to carry. The liberation that this book offers is in the reversal of responsibilities." - Arifa Akbar, Financial Times
"It’s deep, it's important and I suggest taking a deep breath, delving in and I promise you will come up for air woke and better equipped to understand the underlying issues of race in our society." - Sharmaine Lovegrove, ELLE
"Daring, interrogatory, illuminating. A forensic dissection of race in the UK from one of the country's most critical young thinkers. Reni's penetrative voice is like a punch to the jugular. Read it, then tell everyone you know." - Irenosen Okojie, author of BUTTERFLY FISH
"One of the most important books of 2017." - Nikesh Shukla, editor of THE GOOD IMMIGRANT
"I’ve never been so excited about a book. Thank God somebody finally wrote it ... Blistering ... Absolutely vital writing from one of the most exciting voices in British politics. A stunningly important debut ... Fellow white people: It’s our responsibility as to read this book ... This book is essential reading for anyone even remotely interested in living in a fairer, kinder and more equal world." - Paris Lees
"Laying bare the mechanisms by which we internalise the assumptions, false narratives and skewed perceptions that perpetuate racism, Eddo-Lodge enables readers of every ethnicity to look at life with clearer eyes. A powerful, compelling and urgent read." - Ann Morgan, author of A YEAR OF READING THE WORLD
"Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ has a very special and very real relevance to race relations in the United States and throughout Europe. Exceptionally well presented, impressively informed, thoughtful and thought-provoking" - Midwest Book Review
"Throughout her collection Eddo-Lodge discusses class, race, gender and privilege, through the framework of British culture and history. But whether you’re English or not, the book's exploration of inequality will echo with readers all over the world" - Mashable
2017-09-17
A London-based journalist offers her perspective on race in Britain in the early 21st century.In 2014, Eddo-Lodge published a blog post that proclaimed she was "no longer engaging with white people on the topic of race." After its viral reception, she realized that her mission should be to do the opposite, so she actively began articulating, rather than suppressing, her feelings about racism. In the first chapter, the author traces her awakening to the reality of a brutal British colonial history and the ways that history continues to impact race relations in the present, especially between blacks and the police. Eddo-Lodge analyzes the system that has worked against blacks and kept them subjugated to laws that work against—rather than for—them. She argues that it is not enough to deconstruct racist structures. White people must also actively see race itself by constantly asking "who benefits from their race and who is disproportionately impacted by negative stereotypes." They must also understand the extent of the privileges granted them because of their race and work through racist fears that, as British arch-conservative Enoch Powell once said, "the black man will [one day] have the whip hand over the white man." Eddo-Lodge then explores the fraught question of being a black—and therefore, according to racist stereotype—"angry" female and the ways her "assertiveness, passion and excitement" have been used against her. In examining the relationship between race and class, the author further notes the way British politicians have used the term "white" to qualify working class. By leaving out reference to other members of that class, they "compound the currency-like power of whiteness." In her probing and personal narrative, Eddo-Lodge offers fresh insight into the way all racism is ultimately a "white problem" that must be addressed by commitment to action, no matter how small. As she writes, in the end, "there's no justice, there's just us."A sharp, compelling, and impassioned book.
