Scan barcode
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Racism, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Police brutality, Bullying, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Racial slurs
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Classism, Body shaming, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, and Racial slurs
anniereads221's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Hate crime, Child death, Classism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Racism, Ableism, Sexism, and Misogyny
skudiklier's review against another edition
5.0
So, that said: I feel like a lot of books on race/racism and related topics (policing, the criminal punishment system, racial justice) often lean towards either A) being too broad and not challenging enough, so that (white) people can feel like they understand without ever being made to feel uncomfortable, or B) starting from a place of understanding farther along in the process so that they maybe end up preaching to the choir a bit, because very few people will fully read them who weren't already in agreement. There are benefits to this and I'm not saying books in that second category aren't necessary and useful--they very much are. But still, I wouldn't recommend them to my older family members, for instance, or to people who want to understand but just don't get it yet.
This book, in my (again, definitely white) opinion, strikes a really good balance between those two sides. It very clearly and unapologetically lays out hard truths and things that might make readers uncomfortable, especially white readers who haven't had to think much about their own racism or complicity in white supremacy. However, it also argues so well a lot of the common points people make. Like, there are some people close to me who I've had conversations with about race where I've ended up frustrated because I couldn't get them to understand what I was trying to say. And this book, again and again, explained things in a way I feel like those people would actually get. I want every white person I've tried to discuss race with (and came away frustrated) to read this book. It's obviously not going to fix everything, but it might get them to a similar page where we can then start to talk about more actions and solutions, rather than getting bogged down in things like why white people can't say the N word or why focusing on addressing class on its own won't solve racism.
tl;dr, So You Want to Talk About Race is full of good, clear, solid explanations for people who are learning this for the first time, or may feel defensive or disinclined to believe basic truths about race and racism.
There are also lots of examples of actionable ways to use privilege for good, help make conversations about race easier, etc. This book is useful for people at many stages of knowledge and experience with racial issues and theories, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested, but especially white people.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Classism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Bullying, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Misogyny, and Slavery
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, and War
thedisabledreader's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Gun violence, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Sexual harassment
reader_in_the_meadow's review
4.5
The book is constructed of Praise for Ijeoma Oluo and so you want to talk about race, a preface, seventeen chapters, acknowledgements, notes and a discussion guide,
Each chapter starts with the autor recounting an experience from her personal history or the wider history of african american citizens and is followed by an explanation of the topic talked about in the specific chapter. Every chapter following the first one builts up on the knowledge, you, the reader obtains in the previous chapters.
by giving the reader first the chance to read of a real experience of an african american or person of color the reader will themselves expirience that and will afterwards have a critical look on the problematic shown in the example.
The writing is very emotional, which is likely to stem from the personal feelings the author has fo the problematic talked in the book. It helps the reader to also get personal with the things said.
Still, some parts of the book were a bit harder to read, due to higher language/words, that were used.
I really liked how the individual chapters were intertwined and built up on each previous one. And having the chance to read about the heartbreaking experiences was very interesting and emotional.
What I didn't like though, was that the book was very american-centered which was not that advantaging for me, a german reader. I would have liked a more international take on the talk about the problematic.
I also thought that the length of the book was a bit lacking. While still being very informative, I think that such a complicated and deep-rooted topic, such as racism and racial oppresion is, definitely needs way more pages to be fully covered.
For me personally this book changed how I see racism and the concept of race. There are things I did, and sadly, still do, that are in fact racistic or microaggressions. It also helped me see how I cam be an even better ally to all non-white people and their fight for equality.
In conclusion, this book is a very important book in our time and society and should be read by many more people all around the world, not only BIPOC or AAPI/API people, but also by white people from all age groups, to educate them on racism and racial oppression.
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
andrewhatesham's review
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Cursing, Bullying, Violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Murder
juliebergmann's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality and Misogyny
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Sexism, Slavery, and Xenophobia
johannarose's review
4.0
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Misogyny