Image: Megan Kenyon
Now more than ever, with the recent murder of George Floyd, and so many other victims of systemic racism, Reni Eddo-Lodge’s revolutionary text, Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race, has been highlighted as an eye-opening insight into the racism endemic to the contemporary landscape.
Whilst Eddo-Lodge does not simply focus on the cruelty and violence of overt racists and far-right extremists, she clarifies and emphasises the liminal spaces black people have been defined by, forced into, and oppressed within. Exposing the bias towards white people and the privileges unavailable to black people, this incredible work brings to the forefront institutionalised and structural racism.
If you think this text is simply about guiding the white person and pleading for their solidarity, you’ve entirely missed the point. The title itself is enough. It’s not about white people, nor is it for white people. It is about black people’s forced inferior position by white people. The privilege that comes with the lighter skin colour is essentially ignorance. It’s an ignorance to their actions, their silence, and their domination. The power of this book lies within Eddo-Lodge’s ability to awaken us to the denial and repression, by white people, of the everyday racism that exists.
Taking us through historic brutality, and the side of British colonialism that will never be explored enough by the British education system, Eddo-Lodge opens our eyes to how black people have been victimised, and to events that have remained hidden in the mass media. In all honesty, not much has changed.
The recent police brutality which has been exposed, is just one example of how the media has adapted our image of all issues relating to black voices. The protests all around the world which have shown solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement are another. Yet, we’re not shown the peaceful protests, nor have we heard the stories of so many other black victims at the hands of white police officers. Instead, the media is helping systemised racism by only showing us the violence and hatred, furthering a distinction of ‘us’ and ‘them’. This is exactly what Eddo-Lodge exposes, showing us exactly how we need to destroy these barriers. Still, it is not just the police, nor those in positions of power – it is all white people that have that power. We need only look at the viral video of Amy Cooper playing the victim, willing to destroy a black man’s life as he merely points out her illegal actions. She had the power to be heard, whilst he was the one vulnerable.
Eddo-Lodge reminds us that these instances are not one-offs. In fact, it’s only the recording that is a one-off. There are so many other examples of white privilege and power that are continuing behind the scenes, and the one thing to learn from these is that it’s our job to be aware, and our job to be the change.
I only need to look at my own education to know how privileged I was. As a brown girl who attended a private school, I was in the majority of my year, yet there were only four girls (out of one hundred) that were black. Four. As much as they have continued into success in higher education and futures, they are the exception, and need to become the norm. Eddo-Lodge explores how people of colour face obstacles in education, internships, and future jobs, how the pay gap affects them, and how the system is corruptly fighting against them. Eddo-Lodge forces us to question why white men are predominantly represented in academia, company boards, and decision-making that affects us all. She highlights the structural racism, implicit within the society we’re living in. She asks us to abandon the status-quo and reject claims to colour-blindness.
Colour-blindness is an illusion according to so many, as Eddo-Lodge clarifies, despite a general image of the default human as being white. This is the fundamental problem. We need to be accepting and welcoming of the differences and adapt attitudes and societies to fit around them, instead of forcing people to change themselves to fit in.
Within the media especially, it’s time to start accepting change. Eddo-Lodge shows us how people of colour are punished for speaking out and criticised for playing leading roles like James Bond or Hermione Granger. Leading roles which, in their opinion, are only allowed to belong to white people. How can we sit back and allow #alllivesmatter movements and closet-racists to express outrage at those speaking up about racism?
Eddo-Lodge asks for us to do something. To listen and learn. Not to just sit-back and think we’re different. We need to call out those who mention the angry, black woman stereotype. Those who mindlessly sing the n-word in a song. Those who think it’s not their fight, claiming that they just don’t see colour. It’s all our fight against a society that’s been built on racism and forced upon us all.
Racism is not something passed down through genes. It’s how skin colour can affect your whole life. How you’re either a victim of a society that you’ve helped to build, or an enforcer of that victim’s inferior position.
Eddo-Lodge’s work is not just a revolutionary text. It is a teaching that should be added to school curriculums. A how-to guide for white people, for those who Eddo-Lodge can no longer address due to their denial and ignorance, and her own legitimate anger. Her work shows white people how to do better. How to listen. To reflect. To open their eyes and realise. It’s not about rewriting history. It’s about change. It’s how we teach each other, learn from each other, and respect each other.