Book review: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race
| Author | Ruth Storey |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550520987083 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Book reviews
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
Book reviews
2021, Vol. 68(1) 116–123
ª The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550520987083
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Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Reni Eddo-Lodge
Bloomsbury; 2018, pp. 288; £8.09; pbk
ISBN: 9781408870587
Reviewed by: Ruth Storey, Probation Officer, NPS
Like many others, I ordered this book in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the
hands of a white police officer in America and the wave of Black Lives Matters
protests that swept across the globe as a response to his killing. As a white woman, I
felt the need to educate myself, conscious that I really needed to be more aware of
the history and circumstances in which racism continues to be allowed to thrive. I
was keen to try and find out how I could do something, however small, to be a part
of the movement to afford change. This book was a good place to start.
Reni Eddo-Lodge takes the reader briefly through black history in Britain,
explaining some of the foundations of racism in our country and how this has
affected black people in Britain. Of the histories and accounts referenced in the
opening chapter I only knew of a few high-profile cases, such as the murder of
Stephen Lawrence and the Windrush scandal but, I’m ashamed to say, many of the
other cases were new to me. This was therefore both enlightening and educational,
confirming to me the lack of time and space given to black history within our current
education system and British culture more widely.
Subsequent chapters seek to open up discussion, debate, and thought about insti-
tutional racism, white privilege, fear of a black planet, feminism and race, and class
and race. Each chapter is as thought provoking as it is informative. I can’t help but think
that white people will read this book and feel challenged and uncomfortable, exposed
by their whiteness, while black people wil read it...
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