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First Book of 2018! Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
What a beautiful choice of book. I’m looking forward to an informative reading start to 2018
Happy New Year, dears. I'm looking forward on reading it!
You’re speech made me so curious about this book that I can’t wait to read it!!! I will buy it and start reading it as soon as possible!!Have a great New Year Emma! Xxx
You are setting a really good example on how to respond to criticism, by seeking to learn more ❤️ Happy new year and can’t wait to read the book!
I am surprised you choose this book. I've been wanting to read it for awhile. I guess now I have an excuse to push it forward on my reading list.I'd also recommend the Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw- she coined the term "intersectionality".
And I think when you think about sexism, racism, or classism that will lead you to the work of liberation philosophy and theology.
Such as Paulo freire and Bell Hooks
How we get free- Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Pedagogy of the oppressed -Freire
Pedagogy of Hope- Hooks
Freedom is a constant struggle- Davis
Critical race theory- Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
The sexual contract- Carole Pateman
Great introduction Emma. Thought provoking. The book sounds interesting. Look forward to reading it. Happy New Year Everyone!
Thanks for the book choice! Well done. Happy New Years to all my fellow book lovers!
Happy New Year!! Thanks for the new book. In nice to be part of this book club . It change my life.
Emma wrote: "Dear OSS, Have you ever found that often at the moment when you feel ready to give up, throw it all in and walk away...is when breakthroughs are made? Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People Ab..."
year two of as many as it takes :)
Happy New Year everyone! I'm so happy this is the first book of 2018, I just put it on my tbr a few days ago anyway, so this a great reason to push it to the top of my list.
Emma wrote: "Dear OSS, Have you ever found that often at the moment when you feel ready to give up, throw it all in and walk away...is when breakthroughs are made? Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People Ab..."
Really interesting choice !! Already on my must-read list so I've got the perfect excuse now^^
On this day, your words are comforting in some ways. It's good to know that I'm not alone questioning myself. Everyone here is probably the same. So thank you for Our Shared Shelf, a place where we can talk freely.
And happy new year !!!
Excellent. Thank you for this opportunity to learn more and to understand beyond my own form of feminism. Happy 2018!
I look forward to reading this selection. The choices have all been great and very thought provoking. Happy New Year everyone!
SO looking forward to this one!And yes Emma, we grow when we challenge our own beliefs, and how we think. It's not always easy, but it's the only way really to do it.
To a great and prosper 3rd year of OurSharedShelf!
Thank you, Emma & OSS, for continuing to ask questions and challenge current thoughts and beliefs. I look forward to another year of thought-provoking reads - thank you so much for continuing this group into the new year! The first 2018 book is already in my hold list at the library!
Mod
The topic of race has been one constant thought of mine in the past couple of months, re: White Feminism and this book sound like it'll be an informative read - not to mention answer some of my own thoughts!
To a prosperous 2018 and a successful third year, one and all :) x
Can’t wait to read it. This has become a topic of interest in my own self-growth as well. Happy New Year everyone!
Molly wrote: "Thank you, Emma & OSS, for continuing to ask questions and challenge current thoughts and beliefs. I look forward to another year of thought-provoking reads - thank you so much for continuing this ..."OSS challenges beliefs all on its own - the more members, the more challenging, which is very good:)
To a prosper and wonderful 2018!
Seems like a great choice, Emma. I won’t be picking this up until March when the paperback is released, but I’ve had this book on my radar since it was first published and am glad I have a definitive reason to read it soonish.Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2018 is a good year for you all :)
Thank you for the new book for the new year Emma. I have met some wonderful people here on OSS who have become great dear friends. Bring on 2018! :)
I have to say that when Emma announced this group, I joined instantly for many reasons. But in general it was the love of the idea behind it. I have since failed spectacularly in keeping up with the books. This however seems like a very important book to rejoin in the discussions. Can't wait to start.
Mod
I think this may be one of my favorite forewords of yours as to why you've chosen a particular book! Perhaps because I felt so identified. In 2017 I have been more conscious that I ever was about race issues. I have begun to learn to constantly question what I'm told / think to be true / free from race issues. It's been eye opening, to say the least.
2017, I realized, has been the year in which I've made my first friends who are both American and POC. I have been lucky enough that they are also brilliant, articulate people who have been happy to share with me some of their thoughts and concerns. So I am indeed very excited that this is our first choice for 2018 and will do my best to come up with complementary readings and stuff to share with all of you.
In other words, January 2018! Whoa. Feels crazy to even type this. I am honoured to belong this community and humbled by so many of you peeps -by your testimonies, your thoughtfulness, your willingness to discuss so many issues, and to do it here. It is a pleasure, indeed.
Happy new year, Emma! This post deeply resonates with me because I was introduced to feminism by your UN speech and since have gone on to learn more about the complexities and intersections of feminism itself. I’m always learning and we seem to have been going along this transformative journey at the same time. Thanks for this months book and everything else you do. Here’s to 2018 being the year in which we learn, grow and work even more. X
Thanks, Emma! And happy New Year to everyone! I look forward to reading this with you all!
This book has been on my to be read list for a while, i have now bought it and will be reading it.
Nice choice of book. Happy New Year OSS!edit: i'm glad this place exist, i'm learning a lot about the world around me and myself.
Looking forward to coming back to our shared shelf and reading this.
Happy New Year Emma and everybody! I’m so happy to be happy part of this community one more year! :) the book seems very interesting, can’t wait to read it! Best regards.
Definitely gonna pick this one up! I am super interested in racism and have to learn a lot. Hopefully, this will help. HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!
Thanks Emma for continuing this group. And happy new year to everyone.I'm going to pick up this book as soon as i can !
Happy new year Emma! Can't wait to read this book
Dear Emma!Thank you for continuing OurSharedShelf, as it means so much to me. Yesterday I only wrote a short answer, because I didn't have much time.
I am so glad to see you picked a book like this - a book that will help us, we who need to understand, understand. And those that understand, a work that they can reference without having to do the emotional labour of educating us who we not understand. Educating is emotionally exhausting, it can be at least, I am sure you know what I mean.
I will buy this book as my birthday present for myself, as my birthday is on the horizon:)
Your message that you have written, is deeply moving, as it shows how you have learned, and for me there is nothing greater to see in a fellow activist than to see that they learned something. It is not only moving for this reason alone, but that you wrote that you were thinking about ending this great book club of ours - I am so glad you didn't, as OurSharedShelf means so much to me, and to many others as well.
When I think about OurSharedShelf, I think of a diverse group of people, diverse in age, gender, sexual orientation and religious belief. And I love OurSharedShelf for that. Our differences are not obstacles, they are opportunities to become more thoughtful humans and better feminists. I need to say it again, but I have learned through the people of OSS. In many ways. They became my best friends and are there for me when times are low AND high:) Thank you my friends, you know who you are.
When I think of OurSharedShelf, the picture of a ship comes to my mind. OurSharedShelf is the ship, and all us members are the crew and we sail the oceans from port to port, from book to book.
The oceans can be calm and idly, or stormy and a uncomfortable endeavor. So are the books we read - some of them are after our liking, some are not. Yet they all touch us and transform us, some more, some less.
When we work together, educate each other(of course only as much as we feel comfortable with concerning sharing personal information) and listen to each other, and think about what the other one says...
then we can really help others, because we change our behaviour:)
I am SO looking forward to reading this book, as I look forward to hearing a new perspective about race, and the more the better. Different experiences, different stories, they all need be heard.
We need to rethink what we teach in schools, and especially such core subjects as history.
Emma, I can't say what it meant to me to read the letter you wrote to introduce this book choice. I'm from the US and after a year that has just felt like we are moving backwards instead of forward in terms of race relations and images from nights like the one that occurred this summer in Charlottesville, VA that I will need to inception out of my head one day; I haven't been able to stop wondering where white people - particularly white women - are in terms of helping with this battle. I've questioned where their voices are. I've questioned where their minds, and where their hearts are. I myself have wondered whether you were an intersectional feminist or not (And let me tell you, have grown up on the Harry Potter films, LOVING you in them, becoming a huge fan of yours, and being nearly the same age on you - the cognitive dissonance I felt asking such question about you was a SUPER PAINFUL.)
It truly touched me to hear you say that you've taken time to really examine yourself in that regard. It's something I've been frustrated with for so long (with white women in general) and I actually started to tear up as I read the list of questions you've asked yourself since you've publicly taken on the feminist mantle and I teared up at the honesty with which you talked about how extraordinarily difficult that self-examination can be (I'm even tearing up as I write this comment! I'm strangely a big baby when it comes to racism). I can't say thank you enough, Emma. Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People about Race is a great place for people to start educating themselves and for other minorities to find solace in their exhaustion that, in 2017, this is still something we have still have to talk about. I read it myself about 5 months ago and it's full of so much truth, knowledge, and wisdom from Reni Eddo-Lodge. (Not to mention just objectively incredible writing. Woman knows how to wield a pen!)
Thank you again, Emma. I encourage everyone (even myself) to follow Emma's example of self-evaluation with regards to race, privilege, and feminism. Even past the point of comfort. Because that's where the good stuff lies. (At least that's what my therapist keeps tells me.) With time I've come to realize that sometimes people with privilege need time to see it and to cycle through the panic you mentioned. I'm not saying it's ideal. I'm not saying it's fair. But I do think (hope), one day, it will be worth it.
Because "As the Muggles say, 'Truth will out!'"
Best,
Sara
Thanks for the recommendation, Emma! I myself sometimes get so confused about what is feminism? what is it to be a feminist? Am i being a feminist correctly? that's why i think this book will be a big help! Thanks again for recommending this book and keep Our Shared Shelf ongoing, i could not imagine my life without it now, cause every two months i'm so eager and curious to know which book you've picked and what i will learn from it. So a big thanks to you, Emma and also i love you ♡
I’m really happy and grateful being part of the group. It has already became my habit to look forward to the new books every month/ two months during the last two years. Please keep it going! Can’t wait to start this one! Happy New Year Emma and thank you a lot!!
MeerderWörter wrote: "Dear Emma!Thank you for continuing OurSharedShelf, as it means so much to me. Yesterday I only wrote a short answer, because I didn't have much time.
I am so glad to see you picked a book like th..."
Meerder,
(hug)
:):)
Dear Emma. If you really get panicked when someone call you are racist, then, excuse me, but something's wrong. The only way to know whether you racist or not is to ask yourself. And of course you not a racist. So am i. Although, it looks like no matter how hard you try some people just going to hate you anyway. And If someone call you a racist just because you are white (can you imagine?), the only right answer to then is "get lost!". Sadly, a lot of so-called "people of colour", minorities or liberals are super-racist themselves, they hate white people simply cos they do( unacceptable), and they hate vastly superior(yes, it is) European culture. Well, guess what - too bad for them. You see, i like you a lot, (not just because you are pretty, which you are:), but mainly as a person. Even though my views is very differnt from yours, there is no way i will let myself offend you in any way. So, please - don't let anyone make you feel bad because of you race, color, or enything that you do or believe in. You are good person Emma, I can assure you of that.
I cannot wait to read this book! Looks fantastic :)
Robert wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Dear Emma!Thank you for continuing OurSharedShelf, as it means so much to me. Yesterday I only wrote a short answer, because I didn't have much time.
I am so glad to see you..."
Robert:
(hug)
Amazon Germany if anybody needs:https://www.amazon.de/Longer-Talking-...
Thalia:
https://www.thalia.at/shop/home/sucha...
Morawa:
https://www.morawa-buch.at/detail/ISB...
Happy New Year Emma! I'm looking forward to reading this book, great choice.
Happy New Year everyone! I'm so glad to start off the year with such a great book! I joined this group because, being a graduate student in a science field, my daily environment is heavily excluded from a majority of society sometimes, and I crave to be more educated in the world surrounding me. I am a huge human rights activist and even started my own non-profit here in the US to help provide food to orphaned children in Lesotho (called the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative). This book is already a huge eye opener for me and I don't know how I didn't come across it earlier! It's embarrassing to realize how I am ignorant to, and how much I still have to learn. Thanks to everyone in this group for being so supportive. I hope 2018 brings you all joy and happiness!
"White Feminism" could have been used in the 70's with reason. Now, it's just nonsense in my opinion.
You're clearly not a white feminist Emma.
Got this for Christmas so will definitely be reading this!
Arnaud wrote: ""White Feminism" could have been used in the 70's with reason. Now, it's just nonsense in my opinion.
You're clearly not a white feminist Emma."
White feminism is not about one's skin colour, but about attitudes.
It is called white feminism since mostly white women have these attitudes. It does not mean that a white woman is a white feminist.
I just created an account here !! Hi everyone!! I am from France ❤️ Happy new year !omg omg omg omg Emma... I love love love you so so so so so so much ! You showed my way in life and I am so happy to join this club to read all those beautiful books ❤️❤️❤️
MeerderWörter wrote: " .White feminism is not about one's skin colour, but about attitudes.It is called white feminism since mostly white women have these attitudes. It does not mean that a white woman is a white feminist. ."
Mmm could you create a separate thread for this Meerder? That's going to be something to unpack in the upcoming months.
Also: welcome to all the new OSS members who are joining in for the first time with this book! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the forums
Our Shared Shelf
Books mentioned in this topic
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (other topics)The Autobiography of Malcolm X (other topics)
There is so much racism, both in our past and present, that is not acknowledged and accounted for. I know this to be the case from my own education, and I know there is so much more for me to learn. This is why I’m excited to announce that our first book of 2018 is Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge which talks about the history of racism in Britain, and ways we can see, acknowledge and challenge racism. I am not supposed to have favourites, however this was the most important book for me this year.
When I gave my UN speech in 2015, so much of what I said was about the idea that “being a feminist is simple!” Easy! No problem! I have since learned that being a feminist is more than a single choice or decision. It’s an interrogation of self. Every time I think I’ve peeled all the layers, there’s another layer to peel. But, I also understand that the most difficult journeys are often the most worthwhile. And that this process cannot be done at anyone else’s pace or speed.
When I heard myself being called a “white feminist” I didn’t understand (I suppose I proved their case in point). What was the need to define me — or anyone else for that matter — as a feminist by race? What did this mean? Was I being called racist? Was the feminist movement more fractured than I had understood? I began...panicking.
It would have been more useful to spend the time asking myself questions like: What are the ways I have benefited from being white? In what ways do I support and uphold a system that is structurally racist? How do my race, class and gender affect my perspective? There seemed to be many types of feminists and feminism. But instead of seeing these differences as divisive, I could have asked whether defining them was actually empowering and bringing about better understanding. But I didn’t know to ask these questions.
I met a woman this year named Happy who works for an organization called Mama Cash and she told me this about her long history working in the women’s sector: “Call me out. But if you’re going to call me out, walk alongside me as I do the work”. Working alongside women like Happy is a privilege. As human beings, as friends, as family members, as partners, we all have blind spots; we need people that love us to call us out and then walk with us while we do the work.
This has been an amazing two years for me, working on Our Shared Shelf. There were moments when I wondered whether the club should be an ongoing thing. Thank you for making me sure that it would be crazy not to keep going in 2018.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed, laid themselves bare, been patient and compassionate or shared useful information with other members of the community. Thanks to those who hid books and posted their photos to Instagram, or started a talking circle or smaller club and met up in different parts of the world.
Everyone has their own journey, and it may not always be easy, but what I can promise is that you’ll meet some extremely cool people that you will REALLY love and respect along the way that will walk this path with you. You’re not alone. And even if you are, in a particular moment...remember you come from a long line of feminists who did this work, in the outside world but also inside themselves. As we move into 2018, I hope Reni Eddo-Lodge's book empowers and inspires you as much as it has me. I am looking forward to discussing it in more detail with you soon.
Love,
Emma xx