A review by carysbeesbooks
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad

5.0

 Why did I not pick this book up sooner?! I truly believe that every British person, poc or not, should read this book. I was honestly shocked while listening to the audiobook how little I knew about the history of Black people in Britain. It's just not something I was taught in school, something which the author touched upon a few times, actually. If you want to learn about Black history in Britain, you need to take the initiative and search for it yourself, and this is a great book to start that journey off with. This is a very comprehensive history book, interspersed with personal anecdotes from the author and other people that she's met through her lifetime. As a mixed race Black woman, I particularly enjoyed hearing the perspective of another mixed race Black woman, given the alias Jessica, that almost exactly mirrored my own experience growing up in the UK. This book was equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. Some sections were hard to get through; Reni Eddo-Lodge pulled no punches when describing the trauma that Black people have gone through since we first started coming to this country. There was, however, a high emphasis on the joy of being a part of the Black community, and the author beautifully found the cracks of light shining through the darkness. I am so proud to be a part of this community. I'm proud to be a Black woman in Britain and I absolutely loved learning more about my own history.