So You Want to Talk About Race Characters

Oluo’s mother is a white woman who marries a black man and gives birth to Oluo and her brother Aham. Oluo and her mother have a disagreement about the extent to which Oluo’s mother can understand the lived experiences of people of color.

Oluo’s son is an eight-year-old boy who’s frustrated that it’s not safe for him to play with his toy gun outside after Tamir Rice is killed by the police. His teachers also threaten him at school because he refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Aham is Oluo’s brother. He experiences significant racial discrimination in school.

Oluo’s well-meaning friend unintentionally offends Oluo when he suggests that it’s better to focus on class inequality than on racial oppression.

The coworker is a racist colleague of Oluo’s. They have an argument about welfare and benefits.

Oluo’s friend is a person who tells her that she shouldn’t be calling out offensive comments as racist after she has a fight with a racist coworker.

Natasha is a mother whose young son Sagan faces discrimination in school.

Sagan, Natasha’s son, is a five-year-old black boy who’s discriminated against in school for being too rambunctious.

Nick is a white boy who, along with his sister Amy, joins in when neighborhood kids use racial slurs against Oluo and Aham.

Amy is a white girl who, along with her brother Nick, joins in when neighborhood kids use racial slurs against Oluo and Aham.

Liz is Nick and Amy’s mother. She assumes that Oluo and Aham are spoiled and rude when they become withdrawn after experiencing racism.

Oluo’s boss’s boss is a senior executive who offends Oluo when he makes comments about her hair.

Jennifer is a girl who teases Oluo about her big lips.

The theater director is a colleague of Oluo’s who repeatedly uses racial slurs during a dinner party.

Crenshaw is a race theorist who coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989.

Alexander is a race theorist who wrote The New Jim Crow. Oluo agrees with Alexander that affirmative action is insufficient to eliminate racial discrimination in the U.S.

Peterson is a sociologist who coined the term “model minority” in 1966.

Bland was a young black woman who died in police custody in 2015 after being arrested for a traffic violation.

Rice was a young black boy who was shot and killed by police in 2014 while playing with a toy gun.

Trump is the president of the United States as of 2020. Mass protests erupted after his election in 2016 due to his campaign platform, which many viewed as racist and sexist.

Obama is the first black president of the United States. He was in office from 2009 to 2017.

Bush was president of the U.S. from 2001 to 2009. Oluo discusses Bush’s outrage at being accused of racism.

Kennedy was president of the U.S. from 1961 to 1963. He introduced “affirmative action” policies during his presidency to help reduce opportunity gaps in education and offer federal employment opportunities to people of color.

Reagan was president of the U.S. from 1981 to 1989. During his presidency, Reagan cut funding to “affirmative action” policies in the U.S. despite ongoing discrimination against people of color in education and the workforce.

Sharpton is a black civil rights activist, religious minister, and U.S. politician.

Jackson is a black civil rights activist, religious minister, and U.S. politician.

King was a black civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1968. Oluo says that teachers tend to laud him for his pacifist approach to civil rights.

Malcom X was a black civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1965. Oluo says that teachers tend to demonize him as an angry black man who “hates white people.”

Rock is a black comedian and actor who produced a popular documentary in 2009, Good Hair, about people of color’s hair.

West is a black musician who accused George W. Bush of racism.

Winfrey is a black media icon.

Beyoncé is a black singer and pop-culture icon.

Presley was a famous white musician. Oluo cites Presley’s music as an example of cultural appropriation.