So You Want to Talk About Race Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

Audio available

Brief Summary

When white individuals engage in race-related conversations with people of color, they are not simply doing a favor for their discussion partners; they are fulfilling a moral obligation to fight against the persistence of systematic oppression. While there are many avenues that a person can take in combating injustice, Oluo recommends focusing on the ways in which white people can re-contextualize their own experiences and develop a deeper understanding of what it truly means to be Black in America. And she does not gloss over the uncomfortable parts of the process.

About the Author

Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race, was born in 1980 in Denton, Texas. After graduating from Western Washington University with a B.A. in political science, Oluo began her career with a stint in digital marketing.

However, after being profoundly impacted by the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012--who was the same age as her son--Oluo pivoted her career and started a blog intended to activate her Seattle community, which was largely white.

From there, Oluo went on to be published in Jezebel, Medium, The Establishment, and The Guardian as well as several other magazines and newspapers. She focused her pieces on intersectionality, feminism, misogyny, and social justice.

In 2015, she released her first book, The Badass Feminist Coloring Book.

So You want to Talk About Race, published in 2018, is her second.

Oluo currently resides in Seattle, Washington.

Topics

Politics

So You Want to Talk About Race Book Summary Preview

Key Insights

So You Want to Talk about Race author Ijeoma Oluo explores systemic racism and white supremacy through a unique worldview: the well-meaning white person who is not fully aware of the ways their privilege creates life advantages. Oluo argues that white supremacy is so integrated into our society that we are unable to view it objectively and it has become our default state. Applying strong and detailed prose, Oluo takes readers on a critical journey through self-awareness, ultimately voicing a community call to action that is long overdue.

On Privilege

If you ask the average white person in Middle America whether or not they are racist, you are likely to receive a confident ‘no’. However, So You Want to Talk About Race asks us to go beyond this simple answer. We are invited to bypass the stereotype that the ‘racism’ label only applies to people who make extremely noticeable prejudiced comments.

Instead, we must re-examine our personal perspective. While it is easy to claim that you are anti-discrimination, you may still--unintentionally--play a role in a society that has been built on privilege.

If you are born white or even if you pass as white (which happens when you have to light enough skin that you look like you could be white even if you are really not), you join the world with several automatic advantages.

For instance, when you learn about history in school, you are learning about white history by default. When you go to a store, the products are specifically designed with people like you (white people) in mind. When you get hurt, you do not have to worry that you will be denied medical or legal support based on who you are.

These are just a few of the many privileges white individuals are granted that people of color (BIPOC) simply do not receive.

While we like to think that nobody is born racist or starts out that way early in life, evidence suggests that children actually develop skin color preferences early on. In 2010, a CNN study found that when given the choice between a black doll and a white one, the majority of children will choose the white doll. This finding speaks to the fact that while you may not be directly telling your children to make choices based on race, they are already being impacted by the white influences around them.

For instance, your child is likely seeing white characters on TV (the majority of the time) and walking down toy aisles filled with advertisements featuring white people. Whiteness can be seen everywhere.

Personal Responsibility

We often hear people make well-meaning comments like “I have Black friends” when they are trying to show acceptance--and perhaps even an embrace--of the Black community.

In making this sort of remark, you are essentially saying this:

“How can I be racist if I occasionally hang out with a Black person. If I was racist, I would never hang out with a black person.”

While it is true that a racist person would be less inclined to hang out with a...