This is Why I Resist: Don't Define My Black Identity

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Its author, Dr Shola has spent her life in anti-racism circles, studying how race affects people’s lives. She tells me, however, that the stars aligned in 2020 – so she could finally speak through her first book. All of these incidents touched social media and our headlines, and they are reflected in Dr. Shola’s unapologetic prose. The six weeks writing it were, she says, “emotionally exhausting and exhilarating at the same time”. I’m not saying ‘don’t get promoted’. By all means, you know, fly. I have no issue with that. But you have to fly at the expense of denying people who are from your ethnicity the opportunity to fly like you. At last year’s virtual Conservative Party conference, home secretary Priti Patel condemned the tactics of BLM and Extinction Rebellion protesters, as she criticised the “hooliganism and thuggery” seen on the country’s streets.

This is Why I Resist by Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu - Waterstones This is Why I Resist by Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu - Waterstones

And on the same balance, I’m saying: here is what is happening. I would love to have a conversation with you. My book is that conversation. Perhaps some things you already agree with, some things you were not aware of, some things you totally disagree with: here is my conversation with you. Her frustration isn’t just about racism, she explains, but rather how racism manifests itself in the very fabric of our society. A searing and striking read, the women’s rights activist and lawyer tells me that her work has been a couple of years in the making. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a lawyer, activist, political commentator and founder of the publication Women in Leadership.She also uses quotes from other public figures to support her arguments. For example, this one from Bishop T.D. Jakes still rings in my mind today: “If you know who you are, then you know you’re not. if you don’t know who you are, somebody can ascribe to you any identity onto you, and you will morphe into what they want you to be.” Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a lawyer, political commentator and activist for women’s rights, diversity and inclusion, law and politics. If you are not already aware of who Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is go onto YouTube and search ‘Piers Morgan’. A wealth of heated Good Morning Britain debates will appear and amongst those, you will see Mos-Shogbamimu frequently feature. Mos-Shogbamimu is notoriously known for these debates, especially over the fact that she called Britain institutionally racist and Morgan disregarded it as nonsensical. In the first chapter, ‘Does White Privilege Whitewash Racism’, Mos-Shogbamimu looks closely at what allows people like Piers Morgan, to ignore such statements as falsity. This Is Why I Resist for me came out at a significant time in British History – in the same year that images of George Floyd’s murder ricocheted around the world, and led to protests around the globe. Being that Dr Shola’s voice is one of the loudest in Britain’s race relations, this gave her ample opportunity to display her book on her now instantly recognisable mantelpiece, whilst conducting television interviews via Zoom. The pandemic also found most of us grounded indoors, with plenty of time to do some extra reading. I think it’s important on the issue of race inclusion that we use every medium possible because every medium is already being used against race inclusion. So why not use the same medium to educate, to break down nuances, to make these subjects much more approachable by being yourself and saying ‘look, this is what this means’? What I’m doing there is deconstructing some very nuanced points in 60 seconds.”

Book Review | This Is Why I Resist - Madeline Wilson-Ojo Book Review | This Is Why I Resist - Madeline Wilson-Ojo

Look, the conversation around white supremacy and the way white supremacists’ rhetoric is cloaked with an aura of respectability – it wears suits today, it wears nice dresses today, it’s on TV today.

Like Dr Shola or not, one thing you cannot argue with is that she’s self-aware. She knows she’s a polarising figure and she understands that she makes the majority of Britons uncomfortable. But does she care?… Exactly. No. If you are interested in interviewing Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu for your TV show, Thought leadership articles,Newspaper or Publications, booking her for a live event or require any additional information regarding Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu then please fill in the enquiry form. It’s incredibly exhausting and almost like a vicious cycle that we have to keep explaining, trying to educate and trying to respond.”

This why I resist | TED Talk Shola Mos- Shogbamimu: This why I resist | TED Talk

The rest of the book goes on to describe and define racism in all its forms, using case study examples from The UK and The USA. With chapters such as “Does Reverse Racism Exist?”, “Who’s Playing The Race Card?” and “Can I Be Me?”, she goes in-depth into debunking the concept of “reverse racism”, explains why anti-semitism is not racism, and why discrimination against class and discrimination against race are not to be conflated. Being that her book was released last year, the examples she uses to support her arguments are still very fresh in our collective memories – I guess this makes her writing relatable and easy to understand.This is not about people pointing fingers and going ‘all white people are racist’, ‘cause that’s not true. All white people are not racist and I point out in the book that we have white allies who for the longest time, you know, over centuries, who have fought the good fight to end racial inequality and racial injustice, and some of them even lost their life and liberty in this good fight. Direct, unapologetic and urgent in her message which centers on the individual doing ‘something now to break away from the structures that choke us, in all areas of life’, Mos-Shogbamimu, an activist, lawyer and political commentator, doesn’t disappoint with this book. We talk about last year, one in which, had it not also been combined by the worst pandemic in a century – although this has also highlighted extreme racial inequalities – would be remembered primarily for protests over race, the tumbling of statues, footballers taking the knee. In 2020, says Mos-Shogbamimu, “what people saw was that the lid was blown off the repressed and internalised suppression of speaking out”. She opens her book with a quote from The Telegraph: ” Arguably one of the most toxic voices in Britain’s race relations debate.” Unfortunately for Remainers, the negative impact that’s going to come from Brexit – this is not going to be like, you know, the plagues that hit Biblical Egypt,” says the 45-year-old.

This is Why I Resist - Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu — Bad Form This is Why I Resist - Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu — Bad Form

Mos-Shogbamimu adds: “I am not surprised that they are talking about protecting certain statues without any sensitivity or understanding about the representation of these statues in the legacy of slavery and the legacy that continues systemic racism in our country today. I am not surprised. What is there to expect?” This book will challenge you. It will make you think. Bust most importantly, it will inspire you take action.Inclusive, exciting and focused, This Is Why I Resist is a fantastic point of reference for intersectional anti-racism work, no matter who you are.’ Munroe Bergdorf