So You Want To Talk About Race

Police brutality trials, white supremacist rallies, Black Lives Matter protests. Race is the story behind many of the stories we’re talking about these days. But to talk about race itself—to examine the way it shapes our society, visibly and invisibly—can feel scary and overwhelming. How do we talk about solutions for today’s problems without getting caught in the past? How do we address vast differences in racial perspective and experience? When we try to talk about race, these unanswered questions and hundreds like them make it likely that the discussion will end in hurt feelings, damaged relationships—maybe even violence.

As a “writer, speaker, and internet yeller” on race and social justice issues, Ijeoma Oluo knows the pitfalls, and she’s seen the fallout when the conversations don’t go well. She’s also seen what’s possible when connections are made across the divide, and she’s urging us to keep trying. So You Want to Talk about Race is designed to facilitate informed, positive dialog. Each chapter focuses on a question, such as: “What is cultural appropriation anyway?” “Why do I keep being told to check my privilege?” “If I don’t support affirmative action, does that make me racist?” “What is intersectionality, and why do I need it?” and even “But what if I hate Al Sharpton?” It’s a book for people of all colors and backgrounds—for anyone who wants to talk about race, or doesn’t want to but knows we need to. Ijeoma will appear in conversation with Dasha Kelly, founder of the Still Waters Collective.