This book is probably most distinct and best distilled version of the conversations on race that happen on the internet in certain circles — cough cough pajiba cough cough — and should probably be read by everyone. Oluo has taken it upon herself to be the go-to internet voice to help shape and talk through these issues — or more fair to her, if she’s gonna have to do it anyway, because white people are thickheaded fools who won’t leave her alone about it, at least get paid for it.
The tone and breakdown of the book as I’ve just put it is entirely my emphasis. I support this book fully, and there’s very little and pretty much nothing important that I take issue with here.
This book also has about the best breakdown of how intersectionality works and how it informs our conversation, and also how the opposite of intersectionality functions — the ways in which people specifically cut off people that share similarities with them, but high-lighting the differences.
I don’t think I have a whole lot to add to this conversation other than to feel adequately called out on my bullshit and hope to work toward being better in the future. Like other good books on this topic — especially for me pretty much anything by James Baldwin, bell hooks, and Claude Steele — I feel so appropriately and thoroughly schooled on the topic that I got nothing to say. And this is the most perfect book to just hand over to people you care about and demand they read it.
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/You-Want-Talk-About-Race/dp/1580056776/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MT5OU1MQ5IFC&keywords=so+you+want+to+talk+about+race+ijeoma&qid=1555690306&s=books&sprefix=so+you+wan%2Cmovies-tv%2C142&sr=1-1)