Book Review: Why I'm no Longer Talking to White People About Race
I'm a bit late in posting this book review as this book was supposed to be my 'July Review' as part of my 12 months, 12 genre challenge but I took my time to read this one, flicking to the back of the book each time there was a note to read and sometimes rereading paragraphs to fully take in what I was reading. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about choosing this book. Not because I didn't want to face up to any home-truths that might be pointed out or that I might notice some racist familiarities in my own life, but because I wasn't sure initially if this was a book meant for white people to read. What I found is that this is absolutely a book that white people need to read and take in what is being said.
I decided to make this my 'Politics/Current Affairs book right around the time that the Black Lives Matter protests were at their height following the death of George Floyd. I felt sick watching the video of what those policemen did and thought I understood the anger that prompted the masses of people to storm the streets during a global pandemic. But although my feelings may have been in good faith, I now must admit they were quite naive of me. This book right from the very first chapter made me realise just how little I knew about the history of Black lives in Britain. I understand injustice, I know the difference between right and wrong, I am absolutely against any form of discrimination and hate. But can I say I know what it is like to be racially discriminated against? Am I fully knowledgeable about the history of racism? No.
In fact, the first chapter is called "Histories" and gives a brief overview of the racial discrimination over the years that have got us to where we are now. We were taught about the slave trade in school, how awful it was and how it was eventually abolished. But I think for the most part they shield us from the information that matters. For example, I had no idea that when the Slave Trade in Britain was abolished, it wasn't the slaves themselves that were compensated, it was the white slave owners who were compensated! The logic was that the slave owners were at a loss, that they had been hard done by...that just seems absolutely ludicrous to me! It seems that over the years we have brought black people over to our country when we have "needed" them (another strong example stated in this book being when we wanted them to fight for Britain during the war, which they did) and then as soon as we no longer need them we call them immigrants and ask them to leave.
I am a huge fan of history, particularly British history but I've realised that I only really choose to learn about the era and areas of our history that are the most comfortable to read about. There's a whole other history to this country I have ignored that I now want to explore. This chapter is only 57 pages long but it has taught me more and given me more subjects to learn about than school ever did!
The rest of the chapters in the book cover subject such as 'What is White Privilege?", "The Feminism Question" and "Race and Class". A big point made throughout this book which has stuck with me is that Reni Eddo-Lodge talks about how the majority of the time, White people will say "I don't see race" and think that in saying this, they are stating that they are anti-racist. That by claiming that you don't acknowledge race when you look at others, that you are treating everyone as equal. This stuck so heavily with me because I know I have done this in the past myself and thought I was doing the right thing.
I thought this book would leave me with the conclusion that when I now step outside I would view everyone the same, more so than I already did I would see that what race and colour a person was shouldn't matter. But it's taught me that that way of thinking is wrong. We should be taking notice. It should matter to us what race and colour another person is because to act like racial discrimination doesn't exist is ignorance. To say that a person's colour doesn't matter is to say that the discrimination they suffer and have suffered for years doesn't matter. Ignorance and blindness is the problem. As Reni says herself "Not seeing Race does little to deconstruct Racist structures or materially improve the conditions which people of colour are subject to daily...Seeing race is essential to changing the system."
I think there's some impression that racism and injustice will only stop once those at the top, the government figures make changes and tell us what we are doing is wrong but what this book proves to me is that this will never happen. If we want to make a change it needs to come from the bottom, we need to have the discussions and conversations among ourselves, make the statements and be the changes we want to see rather than waiting around for someone else to change things for us.
Other than being brutally honest and a vital read, I also found this book incredibly interesting. The examples given about situations and events that have happened in Britain, the statistics provided and the quotes stated are so relevant that I finished this book feeling grateful to have read it. It's not a telling-off to white people, it's not a book slamming white people and their point of view. It's almost an invitation to encourage people to learn, understand and to become "part of the movement" against racism. I fully encourage anyone who, like myself, has always classed themselves as anti-racist but has never been quite sure if they are going the right way about it, to read this book. It's taught me not to ignore racism, but to talk about it, learn about it and to start more conversations on how to tackle it.
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