Ijeoma Oluo's So You Want to Talk About Race is an unapologetically honest read about race in the United States. Those who follow Oluo's work have come to expect this sort of realness, whether in her essays on race and identity for Elle and the Washington Post, or in her work at The Establishment, a media outlet created by women that prioritizes marginalized voices, where she is editor at large. Now, in her breakout book, Oluo aims to shift the public discourse toward a more intelligent and proactive way of discussing race.
To help guide better conversations about race, Oluo dedicates each chapter to a specific concept integral to social justice movements. For instance, in chapter eight, titled "What Is the School-to-Prison Pipeline?" Oluo breaks down how K-12 school policies encourage the harsh treatment of black and brown children, and eventually contribute to mass incarceration. In chapter 10, Oluo takes on cultural appropriationand its detrimental effects on how people of color are allowed to celebrate themselves and their traditions. With each chapter, Oluo takes points well examined by activists and critical race theory scholars, and makes them simple enough to be understood broadly, in the hope that these conversations can become widely transformative.
To make her points as accessible as possible, Oluo often starts a chapter with a story about herself. She is up-front about the privileges she enjoys (a college education, light skin, an able body) and those she does not (class, race, body type), and uses that frankness about herself as an opening into larger issues. Through a combination of illuminating anecdotes, tips for talking about race, personal reflections, hard statistics, and trenchant commentary on the best tactics for achieving social justice, Oluo argues that the most important goal in any discussion of race is to create a strong, inclusive movement to dismantle racism. Advice goes both ways in this book. In one section, to people of color, Olou writes: "Nobody has authority over your right for racial justice. Those who tone-police you are trying to manipulate you into thinking their validation is required to legitimize your desire for racial justice." To white readers, she explains directly, "You are not owned gratitude or friendship from people of color for your efforts."
[For more on this story by CHINELO NKECHI IKEM, go to https://psmag.com/social-justi...ion-with-ijeoma-oluo]
Comments (0)