Whites: On Race and Other Falsehoods

In this powerful and timely personal essay, best-selling author Otegha Uwagba reflects on racism, whiteness, and the mental labour required of Black people to navigate the two.

Presented as a record of Uwagba’s observations on this era-defining moment in history – that is, George Floyd’s brutal murder and the subsequent protests and scrutiny of institutional racism – Whites explores the colossal burden of whiteness, as told by someone who is in her own words, ‘a reluctant expert’.

What is it like to endure both racism and white efforts at anti-racism, sometimes from the very same people? How do Black people navigate the gap between what they know to be true, and the version of events that white society can bring itself to tolerate? What does true allyship actually look like – and is it even possible?

Addressing complex interracial dynamics and longstanding tensions with characteristically unflinching honesty, Uwagba deftly interrogates the status quo, and in doing so provides an intimate and deeply compelling portrayal of an unavoidable facet of the Black experience.

Otegha’s profile has continued to grow from strength-to-strength, with over 20K Instagram followers and over 12k on Twitter. She has become a well-respected and valued writer and commentator.

Otegha also has a fantastic community as a result of her own project, Women Who, and her podcast, In Good Company, and she can utilise these connections upon publication.

LITTLE BLACK BOOK was a Sunday Times best-seller, which was a huge success.

WHITES will build upon the successes of titles such as WHY I AM NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE, BRIT(ISH), ME AND WHITE SUPREMACY, HOW TO ARGUE WITH A RACIST.

WHITES is an important book and the issues raised will deeply resonate with audiences and tap into a crucial time in our modern history.

Competition: Why I Am No Longer Talking to People About Race; Brit(ish), Me and White Supremacy; How To Argue with a Racist; White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism; Superior. Reni Eddo-Lodge; Robin DiAngelo; Layla Saad; Adam Rutherford; Angela Saini; Afua Hirsch Yomi Adegoke