‘Racism is a white problem. It’s essentially caused and perpetuated simply by white people,’ writes Reni Eddo-Lodge, in her book that Dunyā reviews to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21st).
Rating: 5/5
Have you read this book? If not, think again…
Reni Eddo-Lodge has always found it difficult to explain racism and white privilege to her white friends. In part, she felt this because of their constant denial of black people’s life experiences, but also because she felt that the “structural racism in Britain” blinds them to the level of not seeing the obvious.
“When I talk about white privilege, I don’t mean that white people have it easy, that they’ve never struggled, or that they’ve never lived in poverty. But white privilege is the fact that if you’re white, your race will almost certainly positively impact your life’s trajectory in some way. And you probably won’t even notice it,” she writes.
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race was first a widely spread blog Eddo-Lodge posted in 2014, which sparked a digital debate about white people's resistance to assuming the existence of the 'elephant in the room'.
Britain's colonial legacy, as well as its inability to connect with its past are addressed in the book in a very personal way, as Eddo-Lodge herself, is a daughter of immigrants who came to Britain as a consequence of slavery.
In her book, she writes: “The children of immigrants have quietly assimilated to demands of colour-blindness, doing away with any evidence of our culture and heritage in an effort to fit in.
“We’ve listened to our socially conservative parents, and educated ourselves up to our eyeballs.”
But she goes further. Not only questioning the influence of the colonial legacy on the “openly racist society that Britain has become”, but challenging the general “disregard” for the matter.
Eddo-Lodge looks at the little everyday things to explain why she has decided to stop engaging with white people about race. From coffee conversations with friends, who never made any effort to understand what she meant when complaining about racism, to more uncomfortable conversations with people who clearly wanted to deny her own lived experience.
“We [children of immigrants] have bitten our tongues, exercised safe judgement, and tiptoed around white feelings in an effort to not rock the boat. We’ve been tolerant up to the point of not even mentioning race, lest we’re accused of playing the race card,” she writes.
We [children of immigrants] have bitten our tongues, exercised safe judgement, and tiptoed around white feelings in an effort to not rock the boat. We've been tolerant up to the point of not even mentioning race, lest we've accused of playing the race card.
The author references international icons such as Martin Luther King Jr to explain how racism has very similar characteristics in different parts of the world. She stresses repeatedly throughout the book that, contrary to what many white people think in Britain, racism is not a US-only problem.
Recognising that the US has one of the greatest historical legacies in racism, Eddo-Lodge writes that Britain also has its own — and that is why, for her, there is no use in the indignation with cases of racism that happen in America and the “hypocrisy of silence” with those in Britain.
“The reason why British actors are going [to the U.S.] is because there’s no work for them here… the atmosphere for black excellence and talent is just so f—cking hostile,” she writes.
Eddo-Lodge aims also to teach older generations how they can deconstruct various racist concepts. She understands that sometimes they might be stuck in their ways and not very often allow themselves to challenge concepts they see as norms. This book is exactly one way to help them in this process of breaking racial prejudices and stereotypes.
This book is a powerful tool for understanding the reality of racism in British society. It can also be used as a historical instrument to understand how far this country has come as far as race and racism is concerned, and what a long way it still has to go in order to be a better place for us all.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race is published by Bloomsbury.
bloomsbury.com, £9.99
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