So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
So You Want to Talk About Race discusses a wide range of racial issues. Each chapter presents a different way in which race plays a role in society, from the model minority myth to the school-to-prison pipeline. Taking all of these on sacrifices the detail that books devoted to a single issue have, but trades it for a way to show just how all-encompassing racism is.
Genres
Social justice
Description
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Editor at Large of The Establishment Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don't dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.
Review
Many people think they understand racism and have it down, but this book shows all the ways in which racism pops up where we don’t expect it. The author discusses how people ask why “everything has to be about race,” and then shows how most things ARE about race, in that depending on your race your opportunities and others’ behavior toward you will be very different, sometimes in ways most people won’t even notice.
It does a great job of providing explanations and illustrating concepts that we hear about all the time but might not fully understand, such as what cultural appropriation is and is not, and where the line is drawn.
There are many books on antiracism, but this one is one of the most popular. It’s easy to see why - it’s accessible but smart, made for the popular audience and teaching valuable lessons that people need to hear.
Most people say they are against racism, and many of us want to fight it, but aren’t sure how to go about it, or even how to talk about it. This book on its own won’t teach you everything you need to know, but it’s a great start.