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khaben31's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and Police brutality
Minor: Cultural appropriation
tiernanhunter's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
ellanaomi_713's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Body shaming, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Cultural appropriation
really important book to read, but pretty heavy topics for people who’ve experienced these injustices - may be triggering.frantically's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and War
skudiklier's review against another edition
5.0
So, that said: I feel like a lot of books on race/racism and related topics (policing, the criminal punishment system, racial justice) often lean towards either A) being too broad and not challenging enough, so that (white) people can feel like they understand without ever being made to feel uncomfortable, or B) starting from a place of understanding farther along in the process so that they maybe end up preaching to the choir a bit, because very few people will fully read them who weren't already in agreement. There are benefits to this and I'm not saying books in that second category aren't necessary and useful--they very much are. But still, I wouldn't recommend them to my older family members, for instance, or to people who want to understand but just don't get it yet.
This book, in my (again, definitely white) opinion, strikes a really good balance between those two sides. It very clearly and unapologetically lays out hard truths and things that might make readers uncomfortable, especially white readers who haven't had to think much about their own racism or complicity in white supremacy. However, it also argues so well a lot of the common points people make. Like, there are some people close to me who I've had conversations with about race where I've ended up frustrated because I couldn't get them to understand what I was trying to say. And this book, again and again, explained things in a way I feel like those people would actually get. I want every white person I've tried to discuss race with (and came away frustrated) to read this book. It's obviously not going to fix everything, but it might get them to a similar page where we can then start to talk about more actions and solutions, rather than getting bogged down in things like why white people can't say the N word or why focusing on addressing class on its own won't solve racism.
tl;dr, So You Want to Talk About Race is full of good, clear, solid explanations for people who are learning this for the first time, or may feel defensive or disinclined to believe basic truths about race and racism.
There are also lots of examples of actionable ways to use privilege for good, help make conversations about race easier, etc. This book is useful for people at many stages of knowledge and experience with racial issues and theories, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested, but especially white people.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Hate crime, Misogyny, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, and War
jasminrain's review
4.5
While it doesn't necessarily give that much new information to people that are familiar with the topic, I really really loved how the book was structured. Each chapter starts with the author's personal experiences on the given topic and moves then to discuss the structural basis of the problem and finally how to discuss about it. As someone who really struggles with confrontating people (about any topic), I found that to be really useful! The book is also very accessible and all the concepts, terms and phenomena are explained really well so I'd definitely recommend it for those who are new to the topic.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual harassment
reader_in_the_meadow's review against another edition
4.5
The book is constructed of Praise for Ijeoma Oluo and so you want to talk about race, a preface, seventeen chapters, acknowledgements, notes and a discussion guide,
Each chapter starts with the autor recounting an experience from her personal history or the wider history of african american citizens and is followed by an explanation of the topic talked about in the specific chapter. Every chapter following the first one builts up on the knowledge, you, the reader obtains in the previous chapters.
by giving the reader first the chance to read of a real experience of an african american or person of color the reader will themselves expirience that and will afterwards have a critical look on the problematic shown in the example.
The writing is very emotional, which is likely to stem from the personal feelings the author has fo the problematic talked in the book. It helps the reader to also get personal with the things said.
Still, some parts of the book were a bit harder to read, due to higher language/words, that were used.
I really liked how the individual chapters were intertwined and built up on each previous one. And having the chance to read about the heartbreaking experiences was very interesting and emotional.
What I didn't like though, was that the book was very american-centered which was not that advantaging for me, a german reader. I would have liked a more international take on the talk about the problematic.
I also thought that the length of the book was a bit lacking. While still being very informative, I think that such a complicated and deep-rooted topic, such as racism and racial oppresion is, definitely needs way more pages to be fully covered.
For me personally this book changed how I see racism and the concept of race. There are things I did, and sadly, still do, that are in fact racistic or microaggressions. It also helped me see how I cam be an even better ally to all non-white people and their fight for equality.
In conclusion, this book is a very important book in our time and society and should be read by many more people all around the world, not only BIPOC or AAPI/API people, but also by white people from all age groups, to educate them on racism and racial oppression.
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
alisazhup's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Transphobia
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
juliebergmann's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Misogyny and Police brutality
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia