Speaking of Race

Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism—and How to Do It

De: Celeste Headlee

Narrado por: Celeste Headlee

A Boston Globe Most Anticipated Fall Book

In this urgently needed guide, the PBS host, award-winning journalist, and author of We Need to Talk teaches us how to have productive conversations about race, offering insights, advice, and support.

A self-described “light-skinned Black Jew”, Celeste Headlee has been forced to speak about race - including having to defend or define her own - since childhood. In her career as a journalist for public media, she’s made it a priority to talk about race proactively. She’s discovered, however, that those exchanges have rarely been productive. While many people say they want to talk about race, the reality is, they want to talk about race with people who agree with them. The subject makes us uncomfortable; it’s often not considered polite or appropriate. To avoid these painful discussions, we stay in our bubbles, reinforcing our own sense of righteousness as well as our division.

Yet we gain nothing by not engaging with those we disagree with; empathy does not develop in a vacuum and racism won’t just fade away. If we are to effect meaningful change as a society, Headlee argues, we have to be able to talk about what that change looks like without fear of losing friends and jobs, or being ostracized. In Speaking of Race, Headlee draws from her experiences as a journalist, and the latest research on bias, communication, and neuroscience to provide practical advice and insight for talking about race that will facilitate better conversations that can actually bring us closer together.

This is the book for people who have tried to debate and educate and argue and got nowhere; it is the book for those who have stopped talking to a neighbor or dread Thanksgiving dinner. It is an essential and timely book for all of us.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

©2021 Celeste Headlee (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

maybe start with Chapter 7

the whole book is excellent
The best part are the solutions in
Chapter 7 Take Turns and Be Specific

Required reading/ listening

Basically, everyone should read this book. This is not the only book on or about racism that you should read, but it’s a great first book or next book on the subject. This will help you understand how to take those next steps to deal with race and racism in your community.

It’s nice to hear the author read her own work.

Thank You for letting Me know that I'm not alone

Your book gave me hope that we can become a full, loving society. We all need to listen more. I will start with me. Thank You.

Practical

I appreciated the practical and honest advice offered by the author. This book is useful for both those with little and much experience talking about race with others.