The book titled, ‘’Why I’m no Longer Talking to White People About Race’’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge was a refreshing perspective and Reni challenged people she had met or interviewed. It raised some important issues regarding the system, white privilege, race and class. I found the chapter, ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ insightful, especially the fuelling conversation with Nick Griffin (Former British Party Leader) who thinks that ‘British people are an ethnic minority’ and in his words he states, “they will become ethnic minority, which is ludicrous. Nick also thinks that “all people of different race have a right to remain the dominant people, culturally and ethically, in their own homeland”. It is strange, how he has forgotten that the British Empire were not in their homeland when they ruled many countries. People of those countries fought for independence and to eliminate imperialism as well as oppression.
This book was empowering, and I agree with Reni that we certainly must hang to hope and surround ourselves with people who draw strength on discussing the topic of race. There is more we can do, and as Reni beautifully reveals, “it’s our task. It needs to be done with whatever resources we have on hand. We need to change narratives. We need to change the frames. We need to claim the entirety of British History. We need to let it be known that black is British, that brown is British, and we are not going away”! This thought-provoking book provides space for further discussion on validating various assumptions.