Ijeoma Oluo’s New Book Inspires Readers to Fight Against Racist Structures in U.S. Society

Nigerian-American author Ijeoma Oluo just published her third nonfiction essay collection titled Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World―and How You Can, Too with HarperOne on January 30. As the title suggests, the book is all about fighting against racist structures in society to create real change, however small one’s actions might be.

Oluo is already a New York Times–bestselling author because of her previous books So You Want to Talk About Race (2018) and Mediocre (2020), and this new book does not disappoint! So You Want To Talk About Race was basically a how-to guide on conversing about race and racism in the U.S. Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America brought up the issue of gender and the impact of white male supremacy on society throughout American history. Oluo’s third book is all about practicing instead of preaching – now that she has given us the tools to understand and converse about racism, she now encourages readers to enact real change.

Oluo’s mission and call to action for readers is no easy task. It is difficult for a nonfiction book to truly create personal and political change, but we admire Oluo’s high ambitions in this regard. According to the synopsis, Oluo wishes to “take our conversations on race and racism out of a place of pure pain and trauma, and into a place of loving action.” Moving beyond educational goals, Oluo both chronicles history and inspires action and change.

Oluo looks at many powerful systems in society such as education, media, labor, health, housing, and policing to underscore what is already being done to create change for intersectional racial equity. She also illustrates ways in which the reader can find entryways into change in these areas, or can bring some of the important work being done elsewhere to where they live. Overall, Be a Revolution is about understanding systems of oppressions and then working to create change from the inside (easier said than done, of course).

Olu shared with ABC News that she was inspired to write this book because of her own identity as a Black woman in America:

What inspired me was the community that has been there for me as a Black woman, that has been there for my family and my community, and recognizing that this is how we get by. We are part of multiple generations of community work and community care, and that is the story of survival for the Black community and so many communities in this country.

In an interview with ABC News, Oluo shared that she spoke to 30+ community leaders across the country to understand the resources needed to combat racism. She added, “I think it’s really important to recognize that work is being done in systems and outside of systems to help mitigate harm being done,” More than anything, people need to recognize when there are harmful systems in place and voice that this needs to change.

Ijeoma Oluo is a Nigerian-American writer and speaker. She is the author of So You Want to Talk About Race and Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America. Her work has been featured in the Guardian, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among others. She was in the 2021 Time 100 Next list and has twice been named to the Root 100. She received the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award and the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association.

If you are a fan of nonfiction that explores anti-racist activism, then Oluo’s Be a Revolution is a definite must-read!