Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race

In February 2014, London-based, award winning journalist, Reni Eddo-Lodge published a blog titled, “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race.” It explained the vastly recognized frustration that people of colour experience describing struggle to those who can’t wholly relate and refuse to listen. In the blog she explains,

I cannot continue to emotionally exhaust myself trying to get this message across, while also toeing a very precarious line that tries not to implicate any one white person in their role of perpetuating structural racism, lest they character assassinate me.

In 2017, Lodge published the extension of that insight in her book under the same name. It explored the history of colonization and racism in Britain, a history that is almost a mirror image of the struggles faced by people of colour in Canada and the United States. She thoughtfully describes the iceberg that is racism, where self-admitted, obvious acts of violence are held up by the structural racism that exists in all institutions. Lodge further articulates the existence of white privilege, the fear against immigrants and minorities, the ignorance of intersectionality in feminism, the relationship between race and class, and ending the carefully written book with a chapter called “There’s No Justice, There’s Just Us.”

Lodge’s examples and arguments are utterly transparent, backed by references to public documents, articles, and studies. Her developed explanation of racism’s existence in all areas of life is matched only by her beautiful writing style and profound, straightforward thinking.

The book begins with the preface of Lodge’s blog post. She shares the blog in its entirety explaining that paradoxically, this book serves “to continue the conversation.” She further explains,

Since I set my boundary, I’ve done almost nothing but speak about race… and the demand of this conversation shows no signs of subsiding.

She reports the book as a product of built-up frustration, not only describing the obvious side of racism, but also the hard to define pieces of racism. From the preface, Lodge immediately and appropriately dives into the history of minority presence in Britain. If you choose to take nothing from this book, at least read this chapter. It eloquently shares a more accurate and truthful side of Britain, which essentially is the fact that Britain was built off the suffering of minorities. Slavery in Britain has existed longer than it has been abolished, being an institution in Britain for over 270 years. Lodge explains that after university, where she was first introduced to the experiences of the “black cattle,” she actively searched, hungry for more. One can’t even begin to summarize the experience of minorities in Britain. From the existence of eugenic studies blocking mixed-race relationships on the fictitious basis that black citizens were more prone to disease, rampant housing discrimination leading to poverty concentration, and a prevalent history of police brutality and discrimination, the experience of the black minority British has and continues to be unhealthy. The purpose of this brilliant and meticulous analysis of Britain’s history with racism, simply allows us to know it. In betraying the ignorance we naturally experience in school systems, it become extremely obvious that,

…racism does not erupt from nothing, rather it is embedded in British society. It’s in the very core of how the state is set up. It’s not external. It’s in the system.

Although Lodge explores the history of Britain and backs up her explanations of “the system” with primarily British examples, it isn’t hard to see the parallels that exist within other developed nations. Considering extremely successful countries mostly share a colonialist past, it’s easy to see where these histories connect. Reading through the histories and stories Lodge shared in the first chapter, it was easy to see Canada’s similar past reflected in the pages, especially considering the experience of First Nations in Canada.

The first 50 pages set up an obvious, but unfortunately rare explanation and argument of anti-racism. The history sets the scene, allowing Lodge to assess and articulate the iceberg of racism that exists under water. It’s the largest part of the iceberg, yet almost entirely unnoticed by those who don’t experience it firsthand. It’s easy for those who benefit from its existence to deny racism. Lodge provides the framework and assessment necessary to make it impossible to deny.

After defining the history that allows for racism in Britain, Lodge immediately describes the system that racism exists in. Lodge explains,

If all racism was as easy to spot, grasp and denounce as white extremism is, the task of the anti-racist would be simple.

However, racism isn’t easy. Racism transcends all areas of society. It’s as small as looks on the street. It’s as ignored as a mostly white workplace. Yet, it is all these small acts of prejudice that uphold a status quo which accepts and celebrates racism. Having a government or workplace that lacks diversity means less minorities are in higher paid positions with more power. This results in a deafening silence advocating for the integration and success of minorities. The majority of white people don’t explicitly advocate for this diversity because to them, it means their place is being taken. This results in an unspoken diminishment of life chance for minorities. It also leads to economic disadvantage as poverty begins to concentrate in black communities.

Racism exists as a system, and that system is upheld by white people because each small or big act of racism inadvertently benefits them. This then brilliantly leads into Lodge’s explanation of white privilege, a concept most white people, including myself, struggle to understand and recognize. It’s hard to look at a homeless white man and a successful, black business woman and say that the white person is privileged. Obviously, they’re not. However, when comparing two people of different races with equal social standings, one can recognize that no white person has been discriminated against because if their race in a way that actually diminished their quality of life. Lodge has articulated the existence of white privilege more truthfully, personally, and eloquently than anything I’ve ever seen. This chapter achieved something beautiful for me. It allowed me to understand. No, I can’t and won’t ever be able to relate to the fine turmoil that is being visibly different. However, Lodge has provided me with the evidence and tools to recognize my existence in and benefit from the system. The explanation that truly clicked for me was on page 87, where Lodge explains,

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.

The last line, “And you probably won’t even notice,” rings true to my experience. I struggled to recognize white privilege because I was looking at life chance wholly, instead of recognizing that white privilege is having the absence of meaningful racial discrimination. One may argue that white people can experience prejudice, but Lodge effectively dismantled the implication of “reverse racism” by explaining that racism is prejudice plus power. The sheer over-representation of white people in positions of power allows effective racism against black minority ethnic’s to thrive, whereas prejudice against white people is inherently shallow. It’s hard to accept that white privilege is instrumental to structural racism, but it is a vital step in genuinely being anti-racist and dismantling that status quo.

Lodge is extremely successful at articulating the hard to define parts of racism. She explains the existence of racism with such grace that you are filled with realization on each page. The experience of minorities is hard to unify and explain, but Lodge makes it look easy. She explores the existence of white nationalism in Britain and what she calls “a fear of a black planet.” Inside this chapter, Lodge gives her opponents a time to shine. Throughout the book Lodge successfully brings up and disproves counter arguments; in this chapter, she did this by sharing a 2012 interview she had with Nick Griffin, a man known for not believing minorities are truly British. The interview gives an honest insight into the mindset of the British National Party. Its careful placement only strengthens Lodge’s assessment of the existence of racism and fear of diversity.

This fear of diversity is further explained in Lodge’s relationship to feminism. She explains the hesitancy to include the unique experience of black women in feminist circles and conversations. There is an intersectionality between race and gender that black women fall into. They experience similar struggles and lack of representation both as women and as minorities, but there is also a unique struggle felt because of their gender and ethnicity at the same time. This intersectionality is seen in feminist circles’ unwillingness to bring race into the conversation or fight for racial representation. The word intersectionality was coined by Dr. Crenshaw, but Lodge explains that black feminists and scholars have been writing about this crossroad of struggle for years. She backs this claim through quoting a speech from 1851 by Sojourner Truth, a black abolitionist and women’s rights activist.

That man over there say that women needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have de best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman!?

This difference between white and black women exists because of race. However, the description of anti-racist feminism or intersectionality was rejected by many, either completely denying its existence or saying the theory of intersectionality is only for highly educated individuals attempting to close the circle of conversation. This rejection further upholds the existence of racism and intersectionality of race and gender. It was Audre Lorde who said,

Your silence will not protect you.

Lodge quotes Lorde and asks,

Who wins when we don’t speak?

Concisely answering,

Not us.

The next chapter develops the inherent relationship between race and class. Lodge describes that there is an implication that only race or class can be fought in Britain. Lodge rejects the separation, using census data and statistics to highlight how poverty concentrates in city centres and in areas where minority population is higher. She explains how during London’s housing crisis, the solution resulted in gentrification. As prices became too high for original residents, the mainly minority population was forced out of once affordable neighbourhoods. Lodge describes that these solutions negatively effect the poor, and therefore, disproportionally effect black citizens. She utilizes racial pay gap to back up the prevalent existence of minorities in poverty. Lodge recognizes she is complicating the idea of race and class by effectively intertwining them, but it is necessary to expose the story of the white working class being blocked by selfish immigrants for what it is… racist. This narrative is not only prevalent in Britain, but also within Canada and especially Trump’s America.

Reni Eddo-Lodge is a powerful voice in the conversation of race, and “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race,” solidifies her position as an articulate expert, regardless of the fact that this is her first book. Lodge provides brilliant insight into the existence and effect of racism, honestly backing up her points with meticulous history, quotes, and references. There is no denying the truth and brilliance behind every analysis she makes. In her last chapter, “There’s No Justice, There’s Just Us,” Lodge visually describes racism as a noxious gas, explaining,

We need to see racism as structural in order to see its insidiousness. We need to see how it seeps, like a noxious gas, into everything.

This book provides information and insight that any person can use to articulate their thoughts or question their line of thinking. Lodge simply wraps up the book, and I’d like to share her call on all of us with you.

If you are disgusted by what you see, and if you feel the fire coursing through your veins, then it’s up to you. You don’t have to be the leader of a global movement or a household name. It can be as small scale as chipping away at the warped power relations in your workplace. It can be passing on knowledge and skills to those who wouldn’t access them otherwise. It can be creative. It can be informal. It can be your job. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you’re doing something.

Sources-

All information and quotes from “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Photos-

Cover Photo

Reni Eddo-Lodge

Iceberg

Audre Lorde

Book Cover

A Note from the Author:

Whether you generally agree or generally disagree with the opinions of Reni Eddo-Lodge, there’s no denying the quality of Lodge’s analysis. I hope you can use this book to strengthen your opinions because I know this book bettered my understanding of anti-racist groupthink. One thing I can’t emphasize enough is Lodge’s brilliance at articulating what many people see and experience. As she said, many parts of structural racism are hard to define, but Lodge defined them. If you are stuck in your ways, I truly believe Lodge has the diction to make you question. The way we digest news creates echo-chambers. It is human nature to find solace in like-minded opinions. For many, this book provides that confirmation. However, if you don’t agree with these opinions on immigration and race, I still suggest this book with the same vigor I would anyone else. I’m not necessarily suggesting shaping your viewpoints to match that of Lodge or anyone else for that matter. However, I’m asking that you allow your perspective to be challenged. Although this book may not challenge any opinions you hold, it’s still important to search for other viewpoints. These alternate points of view may do nothing but confirm your own opinions. However, that does no harm and only strengthens your thoughts. You may not agree with this book, but at the end of the day, it is brilliant and beautiful. It allows you to either articulate your thoughts or question the opinions you had before reading. This book provides a viewpoint that can only be found if you search for it. The experience of minorities is shallowly represented in media and curriculum. I beg that you keep an open mind and allow the words to manifest in you. Please question yourself!