Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Dlaczego nie rozmawiam już z białymi o kolorze skóry by Reni Eddo-Lodge

33 reviews

fatfrog's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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bronzeageholly's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Significant and incisive overview of the systemic nature of racism and white supremacy in the UK historically and presently. Every section is poignant and I found the chapters regarding the intersections of racism, sexism, and classism to be accessible and very thought-provoking.

Reni Eddo-Lodge includes a mixture of historical accounts, personal experiences, transcripts from interviews, and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data across the book but never loses the fast-paced and engaging journalistic qualities of her writing. 

There is mention throughout of other authors you can find for further reading on the different topics covered.

“You can’t skip to the resolution without having the difficult, messy conversation first.”
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bethanwx's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

Essential reading. Eddo-Lodge crafts a thorough exploration of racism in the UK through her personable narrative voice.
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gvstyris's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is the difference between racism and prejudice. There is an unattributed definition of racism that defines it as prejudice plus power. 

An insightful novel, and one I will definitely be recommending to white friends and family going forward. Learning about British involvement in the slave trade and its history of police brutality was eye-opening and very worthwhile, so I'm glad I finally got around to giving this a read.
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lolasbooks12's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

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thechocolatefinger's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

2.0

A lot of this seems like a rant and is much more autobiographical than about general racism. I think it would make a lot more sense if i knew who she (the author) was, so I probably only recommend it if you already know her and know about her personal experiences.

All the actual stuff about racism seems so surface level and obvious (eg stop and search is racist, intersectional feminism is good), like it doesn’t delve into why this institutional racism exists or how it affects everyone. She just says some anecdotal examples. But I guess she’s not a political theorist so that’s why it’s all about her. But I just don’t like that.

She also has the opinion of “all White people are unconsciously racist” which I don’t think is a beneficial argument, especially when she barely explains what her definition of racism is. But whatever ig.

Also from the title you might assume it is about racism overall, but it is actually very Black-specific, with only slight references to other ethnic minorities. But again, it all comes down to the book basically being autobiographical instead of actually about racism in general.

I think maybe if you’re completely new to ideas of White privilege and you don’t know what institutional racism is, then reading this would be like eye-opening for you (as it seems to be for many other reviewers). But if you already know that (or literally have ever done basic sociology) this book is not worth it, it is just saying obvious things in really no depth at all.
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glittery_phoenix's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

5.0

This is an incredible, world-view shifting book that should be an essential read for every Brit. 

It conceptualises terms like race, racism, prejudice, colourism, intersectionality and institutional racism..... But it does so in a way that is not only digestible to the reader but creates a tangible mental map of how everything is connected. 

Touching on topics from history- the Atlantic slave trade to individual cases of assault, police brutality and injustice. This helps to explain the bigger picture of how things came to be, but also cultural turning points that had huge influence on the culture of Britian.

As someone from Liverpool I was very aware of our city's dark past with slavery, but the way Reni brings to life this history is brilliantly insightful while still rightfully difficult to learn about. 

I felt privileged to be taken on the journey of the author from her childlike innocence up to the empowering and beautifully eloquent woman she is at the time of writing. 

No review can do this justice, I can only implore you to read it. If it makes you uncomfortable then that is all the more reason to not shift your gaze. This book should be essential reading for every British person and anyone, of any race, who cares about understanding life experiences outside their own.
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withlivjones's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

An informative and eye-opening book that covers every single base when it comes to racism in Britain, from black history to the many flaws in the system to how racism intersects with feminism. Why are we not taught any of this at school?? Essential reading for white people so we can be true allies to people of colour. 
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narbine's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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gayelfboi's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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