So You Want to Talk About Race - Hardcover

Oluo, Ijeoma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580056776 ISBN 13: 9781580056779

Publisher: Seal Press, 2018

Synopsis

In this New York Times bestseller, Ijeoma Oluo offers a hard-hitting but user-friendly examination of race in America
Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy--from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans--has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair--and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to "model minorities" in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.
"Oluo gives us--both white people and people of color--that language to engage in clear, constructive, and confident dialogue with each other about how to deal with racial prejudices and biases."--National Book Review
"Generous and empathetic, yet usefully blunt . . . it's for anyone who wants to be smarter and more empathetic about matters of race and engage in more productive anti-racist action."--Salon (Required Reading)

About this title

About the Author

Ijeoma Oluo is a writer and speaker whose work on race has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Elle, The Guardian, and more. She has twice been named to The Root 100 and received the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award from the American Humanist Society. She lives in Seattle.

Review

"I don't think I've ever seen a writer have such an instant, visceral, electric impact on readers. Ijeoma Oluo's intellectual clarity and moral sure-footedness make her the kind of unstoppable force that obliterates the very concept of immovable objects."
--LINDY WEST, New York Times bestselling author of Shrill "So You Want to Talk About Race strikes the perfect balance of direct and brutally honest without being preachy or, worse, condescending. Regardless of your comfort level, educational background, or experience when it comes to talking about race, Ijeoma has created a wonderful tool to help broach these conversations and help us work toward a better world for people of color from all walks of life."
--FRANCHESCA RAMSEY, host and executive producer of MTV's Decoded and author of Well, That Escalated Quickly "You are not going to find a more user-friendly examination of race in America than Ijeoma Oluo's fantastic new book. The writing is elegantly simple, which is a real feat when tackling such a thorny issue. Think of it as Race for the Willing-to-Listen."
--ANDY RICHTER, writer and actor "You are not going to find a more user-friendly examination of race in America than Ijeoma Oluo's fantastic new book. The writing is elegantly simple, which is a real feat when tackling such a thorny issue. Think of it as Race for the Willing-to-Listen."
--ANDY RICHTER, writer and actor "Ijeoma Oluo is armed with words. Her words are daggers that pierce through injustice, while also disarming you with humor and love."
--HARI KONDABOLU, comedian, writer, and co-host of Politically Re-Active "Ijeoma Oluo is armed with words. Her words are daggers that pierce through injustice, while also disarming you with humor and love."
--HARI KONDABOLU, comedian, writer, and co-host of Politically Re-Active "When you need a super team to help you make sense of today's complex conversation on identity and representation, Ijeoma needs to be your number one pick. No one cuts through the chatter with more humor, insight and clarity. No matter the issue, Ijeoma's thinking is always essential reading."
--JENNY YANG, comedian, writer, and co-founder and co-producer of Dis/orient/ed Comedy

"When you need a super team to help you make sense of today's complex conversation on identity and representation, Ijeoma needs to be your number one pick. No one cuts through the chatter with more humor, insight and clarity. No matter the issue, Ijeoma's thinking is always essential reading."
--JENNY YANG, comedian, writer, and co-founder and co-producer of Dis/orient/ed Comedy

"Oluo has created a brilliant and thought-provoking work. Seamlessly connecting deeply moving personal stories with practical solutions, readers will leave with inspiration and tools to help create personal and societal transformations. A necessary read for any white person seriously committed to better understanding race in the United States."
--MATT McGORRY, actor "Straight talk to blacks and whites about the realities of racism. . . A clear and candid contribution to an essential conversation."
--Kirkus
"Everyone should be paying attention to Ijeoma Oluo."
--The Root
"While so many people want to become 'thought leaders,' 'bloggers,' or even just 'influential,' Oluo is eons past that."
--Forbes
"Insightful and trenchant"―Publisher s Weekly "With a clever approach that uses anecdotes, facts, and a little humor, the author challenges all readers to assess their own beliefs and perceptions while clearly looking at polarizing issues"―Library Journal, *starred review* "Read it, then recommend it to everyone you know."
―Harper s Bazaar, One of 10 Books to Read in 2018 "Oluo answers the questions readers don't dare ask."―The Rumpus "Ijeoma Oluo has built a career on speaking truth to power... [here] she offers a guidebook for those who want to confront racism and white supremacy in their everyday lives, but are unsure where to start."

―Bit*h "Oluo astutely dismantles issues such as police brutality, cultural appropriation and microaggressions, and the pervasive, poisonous power of racism and white supremacy...balancing the intimacy of a memoirist with the dedication of an investigative journalist."
―Bookpage "Impassioned and unflinching"
―Vogue.com "Generous and empathetic, yet usefully blunt...it's for anyone who wants to be smarter and more empathetic about matters of race and engage in more productive anti-racist action."―Salon.com (Required Reading) "White readers are going to gain insight ... readers of color generally will find camaraderie and a resource."―Washington Independent Review of Books "Valiant, graceful... urgently needed...(Oluo) pulls the most exasperated of us back from the brink and reminds us what's to be gained from the discussion."
―Seattle Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Seal Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1580056776
• ISBN 13: 9781580056779
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256