A sensational essay that was straight to the point and perfectly written.
In 80 pages, Uwagba managed to create an essay in which she reflects on performative allyship following the murder of George Floyd. As a white person, it'll make you uncomfortable, which is exactly what it should do. If you're wanting to educate yourself and searching for literary sources then this essay is a fantastic place to start. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I gulped this book up in one night. I found myself nodding along so hard that my neck almost snapped off by the end. Otegha did a brilliant job of scribing how most Black women felt in the face of the world’s race awakening following the George Floyd murder.

From a brief note about micro aggressions in the workplace to the conflict we felt when our white peers felt instructed to “check in” and we were tasked with managing their expression of guilt.

Just…brilliant!

A short essay written after the death of George Floyd, it makes for uncomfortable but essential reading. As it's so short, so much of it is something that you want to highlight and take note of. This essay has highlighted the affect racism and well intentioned anti-racism has on Black people, that the constant exposure to things in real life and in the media can have such a damaging impact on not just mental health, but physical health. The other part that stood out to me was something I had read elsewhere previously, that part of friendship with white people means that out of nowhere you can be 'dropped through a trapdoor of racism at any moment', usually by means of a slip of the tongue or a casual comment at a party. A sensation that when it happens, it's a stomach lurch, trying to keep your face neutral to hide the embarrassment. Situations you might find yourself in by no virtue of your own, either it's friends of friends or at a party. It's made me be even more aware of these situations

Thank you to 4th Estate Publishing for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

It is hard to review nonfiction books, especially books as personal as this one since I always feel that I am rating someone's life and experiences and that doesn't sit right with me. With that being said, it also doesn't feel right not to give this short but unforgettable book a five-star rating. The author doesn't sugarcoat anything nor does she take the time to be gentle with her words. She just discusses the root of the problems being brought up and discusses how it may be possible to actually address them. With other books and essays that discuss social justice issues, I always feel as if something is missing, as if the issue in discussion is an iceberg and the solutions given only melt the tip of it but not what's underneath. I appreciate the author describing how it may be possible, and also may not possible, to melt all the ice away.

While this is very short (really one essay), it manages to have be incredibly impactful in few words. Otegha Uwagba has always struck me as a writer and commentator who really has her finger on the pulse of the moment. She speaks about the times we live in with a clarity and confidence that makes you want to keep reading.

At one point in speaking about the murder of George Floyd she writes, "I feel compelled by the sense that I am living through history to see everything, to take it all in and document it for posterity." Not only will many people relate to the sentiment, this book feels like a realisation of that in some ways. It's deeply relevant right now but also reads as something we could return to in 5 or 10 years and remember what this time was like.

Her examples of experiences with white people in liberal circles are both thought-provoking and all too common. She doesn't shy away from calling on white allies to be more proactively useful, to question the willingness to give up what it takes to progress. It makes for a challenging read but in all the right ways.

All told, it's a bit of essential reading that I'd recommend to anyone. Thanks so much to 4th Estate for allowing me to read it.

For a book so short, so well-penned, and so clear in its message, I found this startlingly difficult to digest. It made me confront many things about myself, which is never a comfortable position to be put in, but is a necessary one in order for true growth to occur and further alterations, in my thoughts and actions, to be made.

Uwagba begins this essay with a focus on a recent and tragic event, which horrified the world and was one of the many catalysts for protests crying out for racial equality - the murder of George Floyd. But, just what was it about this unjust act that so enraged and appalled the world, when so many similar crimes are committed at a disgusting and heart-breaking frequency?

It may not be the growth of humanity or purely altruistic actions that were the reasons. It may, in fact, be the current pandemic and imposed quarantine, instead. In Uwagba's own concise words:

Cut off from friends and family, without the usual trivialities to distract and comfort and sometimes only the endless scroll of the internet for company, we were a captive audience, an already raw nerve primed to absorb the sheer wickedness of what had happened to this man. Our phones stood poised to deliver on-demand horror at any time of day... Combine all this with a population already furious at the almost criminally incompetent politicians charged with protecting us, and on high alert for injustice of any kind, George Floyd's murder would be the kerosene on an already volatile situation, igniting an unprecedented reckoning that extended far beyond the frequently lethal bias of the criminal justice system, abruptly ripping back the bedcovers from the many systems and institutions that have anti-Blackness at their core.

The months following this murder saw many hate crimes committed and many more Black individuals suffer at the hands of racist institutions and individuals, just as they had before, it also saw a rise in the movement of anti-racism, to work towards counteracting this. But this sudden concern over racial injustice, by White people, was long overdue and, again, heralded a question over its authenticity. It was an awakening for many, but was it also a reckoning?

One of the new 'woke' trends to emerge was that of sharing lists of Black authors in order to educate oneself. I myself was guilty of poring over these lists and sharing them on my own social media accounts without ever querying if there was anything wrong in doing so. Here is where this author really made me assess this action, as "the value of writing by black authors becomes determined by its ability to be of service to white writers." I had never assessed it in this light and found it sickeningly true.

Uwagba states she acknowledges the importance of education in order to understand the past and grow for the future, but performative activism has many White individuals reading a handful of books on Black suffering, which is the extent of their activism, and still heralding themselves as the perfect ally. The work does not stop there. Especially when praise is heaped on to you, via social media shares, for doing the bare minimum.

In order to truly back the anti-racist movement and prove yourself as an ally to marginalised communities you must put yourself in the position of challenging institutions, systems, and individuals who are actively destructive and prejudice against the Black community and who you, in turn, advantage from. There is still much to be done and we can all play more of a part in ensuring the names of individuals like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmuad Arbery are never forgotten but that racial murders like theirs becomes firmly something of the past.

Not sure wether to scream from the top of my lungs or just to be very silent. Both must read and humbling at the same time.

"How to tell white people that going on marches, patronising Black-owned businesses, reading Black writers, and amplifying our voices that all of that is not enough? That if they take allyship seriously, they stand to lose the privileges that are as integral to their lives as breathing. That losing those privileges is necessary. That allyship will cost them the shape of their lives as they know it. That I do not think they are willing to pay that price."
- Whites: On Race and Other Falsehoods by Otegha Uwagba

Whites is an essay that explores racism and white-efforts to end racism, especially after the brutal murder of George Floyd. It’s a short (80 pages) and no-bullshit essay. So many of us think that posting a black screen photo or reading a book written by a black author once a while is an effort enough to end racism.
The truth is, any substantial effort towards ending racism is not only educating ourselves, but actively taking steps towards utilising this education to change the status quo, especially when it ceases to benefit us.

I recently read some parts of Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, which links racism in America to casteism in India and Nazi Germany.
As an Indian, I realise that so many of us don’t support casteism in theory, but fail to actually do anything apart from voicing our opinions on social media or reading Arundhati Roy.

After reading Whites, I have realised that many of us are exactly like the white people who want to end racism but not want to pay the price for it. Real change will come only if we are willing to lose our privileges in actuality.
As Uwagba puts it, “Racism is so all-encompassing, so deeply rooted, so goddamn big, for lack of a better word. It seems obvious to me that it can't and won't be undone by white people performing these relatively modest actions, that to dismantle something of that magnitude requires opposing actions of a similar scale.”

Thank you Netgalley, Fourth Estate and Otegha Uwagba for the ARC.

A brilliant, short essay about Otegha Uwagba’s perception of white people as a Black woman in the UK.

Although short, she packs is so much important information that’s necessary for everyone, no matter their skin colour to read and process.

I’ll be purchasing a copy for myself and gifting it to friends and family!

With thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate for my ARC.

Wow! What an amazing and thought-provoking essay.

Uwagba brought feelings about white privileged allies front and centre, where some aren't really interested in real change. Something I've also noticed but didn't know how to articulate. Unapologetically honest, I loved it!

Powerful and thought-provoking essay

"Black people cannot ourselves abolish whiteness - white people will need to relinquish it. Allyship, almost by definition, involves actively divesting from the structures that oppress Black people and unfairly elevate white ones."

This powerful essay contains Otegha Uwagba's thoughts on navigating white spaces as a black person. Uwagba's language is both poetic and serves to awaken. It reflects the anger she has been (and should be) feeling. It is an important read, both for POC and for white people. It was not an easy read, because I - like many - have not been doing enough. But I will continue to speak up and do better.

such a thought-provoking essay which really confronted so many truths about white privileged allies - people who give support but only to an extent and still don't participate in enacting real change. the unapologetic anger was refreshingly honest.

What an incredible essay. It's very short but every word, every sentence, every single page drew me in. Uwagba has a mesmerising way of writing. Every single thing she says is precise and meaningful. This essay concerns itself with the ripple effect of the period following on from George Floyd's death. How does a Black person navigate a white space and can true white allyship exist?

Her thoughts are mostly constructed from notes she made five years before, but she was prompted to write this due to Floyd's death. She discusses many things, all were thought provoking and very hard hitting points. Topics include performative allyship, why the trend of compiling an anti-racist educational list isn't enough, the romanticisation of the Black struggle, and what true allyship looks like - something a lot of people who claim to be allies won't be read to hear about it.

Everyone should read this, it doesn't matter what you enjoy reading just read it. (Also people who are into essays and want to know what true allyship looks like!)

Read read read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Wow. Uwagba's essay is extremely powerful, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what it feels like to be black in the UK and what we need to do to change the system. Uncomfortable to read as a white person, as it should be, Uwagba decries anti-racist reading lists as not enough and begs white British people to take an active role in fighting systemic racism wherever they see it. An urgent call-to-arms.

This book is so so important and I feel so honoured to have been approved to review it. Although uncomfortble reading I savoured every word. Amazing.

An astonishing, gripping exploration of myth of whiteness. As someone who did (and does) much of what the author describes here in the name of allyship (reading the anti-racist books, posting the Black square, etc), I was challenged and confronted. I spent a long time afterwards considering my actions the true meaning of allyship, and thinking about better, more informed, more action-based steps to work harder on destroying white supremacy and systemic racism. I want to give this book to everyone I know.

I appreciated this eloquent and sharp personal essay on racism. The essay describes personal feelings and Uwagba's experiences within social groups with white people and discusses the backlash after Geroge Floyd's death. I think everyone should take the time to pick this up, because it pushes you to think of behaviours of yourself and others and this critical thinking is definitely long overdue. Posting black squares on social media and then going back to posting outfit pictures is not really helping..white people need to leave their comfort zones. Exceptional essay.

Thank you for my copy Netgalley and 4th Estate.

I heard about this book from The High Low podcast, where Otegha Uwagba was a guest.

It’s a short essay - it took me about 20 minutes to read in total - but it is incredibly powerful and uncomfortable reading.

Otegha Uwagba’s essay could not be more timely. It’s been written and published during the pandemic, so it refers specifically to the pandemic, the death of George Floyd and the response to it, particularly from whites people.

And the discomfort and self-examination this essay provoked in me, as a white person, is it’s intended purpose. It’s directly aimed at people like me - well meaning white people who have done the reading and shared the links and watched the documentaries. People who think they’re doing something. Uwagba explains how none of this is enough.

I found this incredibly powerful and thought-provoking. Yes it’s uncomfortable reading, but it’s discomfort I should be feeling. As Uwagba’s says at the end of the book:

“White privileged is an exceedingly comfortable perch to occupy, at least from what I can gather. To give it up will be as materially inconvenient and difficult for white people as that privilege currently is for black people”

Whites is a powerful essay by Otegha Uwagba about what it is to co-exist with white people when you yourself are not white. As a white reader, it provokes real discomfort and self-examination which Otegha Uwagba has stated was her aim. I read it in one sitting (it is not long and broken down into a number of different sections which each deal with different aspects of co-existing with white people and the impact this has had on her personally and in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd.) I made so many notes, I recognised so many behaviours she described and I felt real shame when I knew I too have exhibited some of those behaviours (anyone else buy some books?). As a white reader, it is a tough read but reading it is the easy bit. As she states “Allyship, almost by definition, involves actively divesting from the structures that oppress Black people and unfairly elevate white ones. It is the surrendering of racialised privileges, the turning down of the advantages your skin colour affords you. In the moment that white privilege offers itself up to you, can you - will you - say no?” A must read.

Thanks to 4th Estate and Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

Otegha looks at racism, allyship, and more. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, and the seismic impact it had not just in the US, but also here in England; this short read posed some poignant food for thought for me with regards to race and my own experiences, as a woman of Nigerian descent living in the UK..