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A review by aramtiaz
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
5.0
If you're British, you NEED to read this book.
If you don't know what structural racism is or believe reverse racism is real, read this book.
This book explores how racism is not some angry man yelling obsenities at you on the street. This book explains how racism is institutional. And this institutional racism exists throughout a society that favours white people in education, media, employment and politics. And these government policies, organisational practices and media representation reinforces racial inequalities.
How much do you know about Britain's history with black slavery? I shamefully, knew nothing. And that's to do with the educational system that teaches slavery to pupils in school from an American lense. What about the lynching and police brutality that happened in the 20th Century? I knew nothing but ALL of this leads to the enduring obstacles black and brown people experience in education and employment and healthcare. Black and brown people are less likely to well in education, do not take up managerial roles as much as their white counterpart and are more likely to be detained under the mental health act and have higher mortality rates in maternity care.
And despite the everyday racism in media, politics and news that pushes the narrative that black people are aggresive and taking over, white people do not want to listen and are complacent. When people of colour speak out and push for a decolonised educational curricular or diversity in media, they are met with outrage.
People can accept we live in a patriarchal society that disadvantages women (hence the Feminism movement). But any suggestion that black women are further disadvantaged is met with condemnation by white feminists. White people can also accept that people from lower social economic backgrounds are disadvantaged and so schemes to fast track working class people to university is met with the appropriate approval. But suggest black and brown people should be guaranteed interviews in a system that has so many barriers stopping them is outrageous. It's all "WHY SHOULD THEY BE GIVEN FAVOURABLE TREATMENT?"
White Fragility. With all of this happening, we are then met with White Fragility. This is hushed conversations or beating around the bush or shutting conversations down to ensure we don't *offend white people*. Because the moment you point out their white privilege and whiteness, we suddenly need to apologise and make sure THEY'RE comfortable. But they're not the ones suffering in a system that has existed for centuries that discriminates and treats black and brown people as if they're not even humans (remember eugenics believing black people are the lesser race and they should not be encouraged to breed
If you don't know what structural racism is or believe reverse racism is real, read this book.
This book explores how racism is not some angry man yelling obsenities at you on the street. This book explains how racism is institutional. And this institutional racism exists throughout a society that favours white people in education, media, employment and politics. And these government policies, organisational practices and media representation reinforces racial inequalities.
How much do you know about Britain's history with black slavery? I shamefully, knew nothing. And that's to do with the educational system that teaches slavery to pupils in school from an American lense. What about the lynching and police brutality that happened in the 20th Century? I knew nothing but ALL of this leads to the enduring obstacles black and brown people experience in education and employment and healthcare. Black and brown people are less likely to well in education, do not take up managerial roles as much as their white counterpart and are more likely to be detained under the mental health act and have higher mortality rates in maternity care.
And despite the everyday racism in media, politics and news that pushes the narrative that black people are aggresive and taking over, white people do not want to listen and are complacent. When people of colour speak out and push for a decolonised educational curricular or diversity in media, they are met with outrage.
People can accept we live in a patriarchal society that disadvantages women (hence the Feminism movement). But any suggestion that black women are further disadvantaged is met with condemnation by white feminists. White people can also accept that people from lower social economic backgrounds are disadvantaged and so schemes to fast track working class people to university is met with the appropriate approval. But suggest black and brown people should be guaranteed interviews in a system that has so many barriers stopping them is outrageous. It's all "WHY SHOULD THEY BE GIVEN FAVOURABLE TREATMENT?"
White Fragility. With all of this happening, we are then met with White Fragility. This is hushed conversations or beating around the bush or shutting conversations down to ensure we don't *offend white people*. Because the moment you point out their white privilege and whiteness, we suddenly need to apologise and make sure THEY'RE comfortable. But they're not the ones suffering in a system that has existed for centuries that discriminates and treats black and brown people as if they're not even humans (remember eugenics believing black people are the lesser race and they should not be encouraged to breed