What I'm Reading, Reni Eddo-Lodge, "Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race"

This book caused quite a stir in the UK when it came out last year and is still a prominent part of major bookshop window displays, so I was very much looking forward to diving into it. As the title suggests it’s about race and racism, with a particular focus on the UK, which I found very refreshing since most of the anti-racist works I read have a US focus. In particular I got a lot out of the bits documenting landmark events in my country’s history that have been swept under the rug like the lynching of Charles Wootton in 1919 in Liverpool, the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, and the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which happened just two days before I was born. I had never been told these stories, of vile British racism and the courageous anti-racist action taken against them, and it was powerful to see them set down. Tonally the book is very accessible, not too academic, and for that reason serves as a solid intro to contemporary activist thought on anti-racism. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race was originally the title of a blog post that sparked the interest that led to the writing of this book, and in a couple of places I wanted a deeper dive than was available here. Books like Falguni Sheth’s Toward A Political Philosophy of Race, Sherene Razack’s Casting Out, or Arun Kundnani’s The Muslims Are Coming would make excellent follow-up reading.

I did however have one serious bugbear. Despite its title the book contains an interview with Nick Griffin, the Whitest White person of them all. For those blessedly unfamiliar with Griffin, this bufotenine bloodsucker is a prominent English Holocaust Denier, white nationalist, and former leader of the far-right British National Party who all but disappeared some years ago when UKIP copied as much of his homework as they could without getting into trouble. Throughout the interview Griffin uses multiple - multiple - blatant anti-Semitic dogwhistles, and I was distressed to note that Eddo-Lodge appears to not have picked up on a single one of them. In fact she fails to challenge many of his central claims; her big “gotcha” moment is asking Griffin if he has ever considered that the things he says might hurt the feelings of people like her, a question he deflects capably because he’s fielded it many times before. Even more egregiously, Griffin cites one major source (which I will not name) to legitimise his claims. Eddo-Lodge does not follow up on that source. Whenever a white supremacist cites any kind of source our first step should always be to ask A) Does the source actually say that? since many white supremacists are barefaced liars of the worst order, and if it does, B) Do that source’s claims have any basis in reality or is it a load of bunk? Eddo-Lodge does neither of these things. In fact, later in the book she repeats the source’s supposed claims as if they are true. This struck me as not only baffling but shockingly irresponsible. It’s actually painful to read and spot all the moments Griffin is playing her. Although the interview is intended to give a window into the kind of views the author is arguing against it instead has the result of giving Griffin a massive platform without seriously challenging what he says.

I want to be able to recommend this book as an introductory anti-racist text because the chapters that don’t contain that interview are largely pretty good. However, before diving in do make sure you’ve read a primer on what anti-Semitism looks like and how to identify it. Maybe you could watch this video on white supremacist propaganda?

Thank you to Stacy Read, for sending me this book from my Amazon wishlist!