Required Reading

In this time of police brutality, and racial oppression in America, we all need to take the time to unlearn biases and check our privilege. Ijeoma Oluo’s book So You Want to Talk About Race should be on top of every book list, and should be required reading.

Ijeoma Oluo’s book tackles racism and white supremacism in America thoughtfully and precisely. Using both personal, and national examples, Oluo makes you question basic assumptions that make us all implicit and checks the racial bias present in our everyday lives. While So You Want to Talk About Race can be seen as a book for white people, especially white people that deny that racism exists, I think this is a must read for every person of every race. The simple language and the direct explanation makes the information easy to imbibe. What Oluo manages to do is touch on important topics such as police brutality, and the school to prison pipeline, in a manner that makes you understand the issue in the larger context of racial bias. A lot of the information could be sensitive but Oluo keeps your attention on the point of what she’s saying, the real injustice, rather than your personal emotions.

This book came to me at a time when I was struggling with own issues of race. I often find that I don’t have the confidence to challenge microaggressions, even if it is from people I generally trust. I don’t have the strength or the patience to talk to white people about race, and racial injustice in America. I let go of a lot of it, and felt like I was betraying myself, and the whole racial justice movement by not saying more than I could and relying on white allies a little too much. This book, for me, was more about learning to address the issue of race. I found that I was questioning my own lack of self-confidence, in addressing microaggressions and everyday racism. I found that I was learning how to be a better ally for marginalized communities. Oluo made me question my privilege further and taught me how to support communities of color, and especially Black and indigenous communities, using my privilege.

Checking my biases and learning to be an ally can apply to more than America too. I found that a lot of the chapters in this book made me question and learn more about systemic oppression in India. The book pushed me in front of a mirror, making me reflect on every bit of privilege that I have, and taught me how to harness that privilege and how to be a better ally.

Also if you know any racists and are getting into arguments with them regularly, this book is a guide on how to argue effectively so you can win that argument.