My opponent tonight is activist and author Ijeoma Oluo.
Here's what you need to know.
Her new book is called So You Want to Talk About Race.
I can't wait for the sequel-- Friendship-Destroying Argument.
(laughter)
She's the editor-at-large at The Establishment,
a media platform run and funded by women.
I look forward to mansplaining truth to power.
And Harper's Bazaar called her book
"One of the ten books to read in 2018."
Stop planning my life, Harper!
Ijeoma Oluo, everybody. Welcome.
-Thanks for having me. -Ijeoma?
(applause and cheering)
So you want to talk about race.
I generally... do not.
Why are you making me talk about race?
Well, I figured titling it,
So You've Been Dragged Kicking and Screaming
-Into Talking About Race was a bit long. -That is long.
Yeah. So I figured I'd give you the benefit of the doubt,
since you're there, you have to have the conversation.
Might as well say you wanted to do it in the first place.
-Great. So you're putting me in a position of power. -Yeah.
How do I win, how do I win the conversation about race?
You know what's interesting is you really can't win
a conversation about race.
Well, uh, you got to give me a shot, you know?
So we're talking about lived realities, right?
If you say that you had cereal for breakfast,
and I say no, you did not have cereal for breakfast,
I can't really win that conversation.
If I say I had oatmeal, so that means you didn't have cereal,
there's no winner in that conversation.
When we're talking about race, we're talking about
what I experience as a black woman,
what you experience as a white man.
There's no winner when we're talking about lived experiences,
there's only understanding.
Well, what if I ate all the eggs so nobody could have breakfast?
That's an experience that we all share.
I'm the guy who gets breakfast and you don't.
Is that... ?
Well, then the conversation really is about
why you ate all of the eggs and you felt that was appropriate.
And that might have something to do with race.
-You think so? -It might.
I don't see. I don't...
(applause and cheering)
I just have an instinct to want everything and more,
and neglect other people having the equal amount.
I... I don't see the connection.
Um...
I want to look at your book here.
Your titles of each chapter,
they kind of do the interview for me.
You break it down each chapter, what is racism?
Why am I always being told to check my privilege?
Why can't I touch your hair?
I just call it-- I just got called racist, what do I do now?
Hypothetical, I just got called racist, what do I do now?
(laughter)
I would say, first take a deep breathe
before you start responding and say,
"No I'm not racist. I didn't do anything racist."
Stop and listen and think, "Someone is trying to give me
"an opportunity to learn about my actions
and how they may be harming someone."
And pause and think, "Where can I learn?"
Ask more questions.
Ask what you said or did that might have been racist.
And maybe Google a little, because chances are,
you're not the first person to do that thing.
And chances are someone's written a lot
about why it is racist.
Are these conversations happening in America?
Do people want to have this conversation?
These conversations are definitely happening,
but when they happen without thought and care,
it's pretty much just a shouting match.
But we need to be able to talk about race,
because believe it or not,
we're always talking about race.
We're talking about it in the ways
in which we don't ask people what they need
and what their experiences are.
We're talking about it in our every day decisions.
So we might as well try to do it with a little thought and care.
-Did you see the Super Bowl last night? -I did not.
I did, like you, though, see a lot of the commercials.
There were great commercials, right?
Isn't it inspiring that we've gotten to a place
where somebody like MLK can sell us trucks?
I'm gonna have to impose a moratorium
on white people ever talking about Martin Luther King.
-It's-it's something that I feel like, -I'm great.
um, has been abused.
I will first say, write a book report on Martin Luther King,
and then maybe you can talk about him,
because until it's been shown
that it can be done responsibly by white America,
I think it's best to leave that to us for now.
Isn't he a good gateway hero to start talking about race?
Oh, I would absolutely love it if people would listen
-to what Dr. King said about race. -Okay, okay, okay, okay.
That's one angle. Do you have something else?
I know my book is called So You Want to Talk About Race,
but it's really, so some people need to listen about race
while other people talk about race.
And the people who need to listen are kind of like you.
Tell me something I already know.
What you already know
is that race is in everything.
And when you are not talking about race,
when you think you're not talking about race,
you're talking about whiteness,
because it has infused our entire culture.
So if you don't want to say "play the race card,"
you'll start talking about race with more intention,
so that way we can actually discover issues
of racial oppression in this society, and get to the point
where things maybe won't be always about race.
-It's in everything? -Everything.
-It's like paprika. -Yes.
Good to know.
Her book is called, So You Want to Talk About Race.
Ijeoma Oluo, everyone.