Writer Nalo Hopkinson on Discussing Race

Caribbean-Canadian writer and novelist, Nalo Hopkinson discusses the mechanics and importance of having an honest and open discourse about race, with people who've decided that doing so is somehow racist.

In this clip, Hopkinson speaks on how ineffective silence is when trying to address race, and recalls a discussion between another Black writer and a woman who insisted that she "didn't see race" or make it a problem in her life; to which the other writer replied, "If you can't see something that threatens my life daily, you can't be my ally." 

Hopkinson also stresses the importance of learning to address matters of race, while still acknowledging that none of us are a monolith and won't respond the same when interacting in similar scenarios; in other words, we need to learn how to acknowledge that people are different, and learn to respect those differences without resorting to oppressive silencing. We need to learn how to discuss race, deal with the myriad of emotions those discussions will provoke, and learn how listen when someone’s sharing their lived experience, without growing defensive. 



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