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

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Cover
Author Reni Eddo-Lodge
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Subjects Race, racism, white privilege, feminism
Published June 1, 2017
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Media type E-book, print
ISBN 978-1-4088-7056-3 paperback

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race is a 2017 polemic debut book by writer Reni Eddo-Lodge that was released by Bloomsbury Publishing.[1][2][3]

The 2015 Booker Prize-winner Marlon James wrote that it was "essential" and "begging to be written".[1]

Reviews

Trevor Phillips reviewed the work for The Times.[4] In the Times Literary Supplement, Bernadine Evaristo described the book's title as "gloriously provocative", noting that it was "marketing gold" in the climate surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. Evaristo described the work as "timely and accessible", "comprehensive and journalistic" as well as "resolutely unacademic", comparing it to the work of African-American writer Roxane Gay, whose 2014 anthology Bad Feminist "treads some of the same ground". However, she critiques Eddo-Lodge for not engaging in enough "rigorous research, particularly into the past" and for the fact that she "completely overlooks" the work of Black British feminist writers like Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe. Evaristo also noted that the book leaves open further questions, such as "What is the responsibility of black people in creating change for ourselves? Without also taking responsibility, we are dependent and powerless. What about the numerous positive developments since Windrush?"[5]

Arifa Akbar reviewed the work for the Financial Times, noting that Eddo-Lodge "builds on a critical tradition drawn from black American writers" like W. E. B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, and bell hooks. Akbar notes that "Not everyone will find the answer to racial inequality in Eddo-Lodge's reliance on white consciousness-raising, but it is 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."[6]

Writing for The Guardian, Colin Grant places the book within a wider tradition of "angry warnings to an ignorant white readership", the majority of which have been produced by African-American rather than Black British writers. Grant opined that "Eddo-Lodge accurately takes the temperature of racial discussions in the UK" but that several sections, such as its discussion of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, are too brief, stating that "this kind of book is not designed to delve beyond the headlines in order to draw lessons from the past".[2]

Reviewing the work for NPR, the journalist Silvia Viñas stated that the work's "boldness" and "straight talk" is what makes it "memorable", also noting that while focusing "on events in Britain, it's still accessible to readers of black American history."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Eddo-Lodge, Reni. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 Grant, Colin (3 June 2017). "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge review – 'racism is a white problem'". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ Eddo-Lodge, Reni (September 2, 2017). "I stopped talking to white people about race. Here's what I learned". The Globe and Mail.
  4. ↑ Philips, Trevor. "Books: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge". The Telegraph.
  5. ↑ Evaristo, Bernardine (4 July 2017). "Check Your Privilege". Times Literary Supplement.
  6. ↑ Akbar, Arifa (26 May 2017). "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge — review". Financial Times.
  7. ↑ Viñas, Silvia (14 November 2017). "'Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race' Is A Call To Action". NPR.


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