Reni Eddo-Lodge Biography
British journalist and author Reni Eddo-Lodge FRSL was born on September 25, 1989. Her writing mostly addresses feminism and reveals structural racism. She has contributed to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, curated by Margaret Busby, and has written for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Voice, BuzzFeed, Vice, i-D, and Dazed & Confused.
After the George Floyd demonstrations, her book Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (released in 2017) climbed 155 spots to the top of the UK non-fiction paperback chart in June 2020. At the same time, Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 novel Girl, Woman, Other topped the paperback fiction chart, marking the first time books by black British women headed both charts. She held the top spot in the British book rankings on June 16, 2020, making history as the first black lady from Britain to do so.
Reni Eddo-Lodge Early life and education
Nigerian mother Eddo-Lodge was born and reared in London, England. She went to Enfield’s St. Anne’s Catholic High School.
2011 saw her graduate from University of Central Lancashire’s English literature program. She got interested in feminist activism and the 2010 student protest movement while she was a student. She served as the University of Central Lancashire students’ union president from 2009 to 2012, and from 2012 to 2013 she was a chosen member of the National Executive Council of the National Union of Students.
Reni Eddo-Lodge Career
The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Voice, BuzzFeed, Vice, i-D, and Dazed & Confused are just a few of the publications Eddo-Lodge has contributed to as a freelance journalist.
Together with activist Caroline Criado Perez, Eddo-Lodge spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour in December 2013 about the year in feminism. Criado Perez appeared to insinuate Eddo-Lodge was participating in online harassment of other feminists during a discussion about intersectionality. Former Conservative MP Louise Mensch charged Eddo-Lodge with “bullying” notwithstanding Criado Perez’s apology for how her remarks could have been taken.
Additionally, Eddo-Lodge has discussed feminist topics on BBC Radio 3’s Night Waves. She served as a judge for the 2014 BBC Woman’s Hour Power List in April of that year. In July 2020, Lodge collaborated with Emma Watson and the WOW Foundation to lead a project that reimagined the London Underground Map. The 270 stops were given new names to honor women and non-binary individuals who had contributed to the history of the city. On International Women’s Day 2022, Haymarket Books plans to release the initiative after consulting authors, museums, and librarians.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, written by Eddo-Lodge, was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in June 2017 and is currently available in bookstores and online. Marlon James, the 2015 Booker Prize winner, said it was “essential” and “begging to be written” in one of the early favorable reviews. The book was criticized by others, including Trevor Phillips in The Sunday Times, who wrote that it examined “delicately knotted issues with all the subtlety of a blunderbuss.” In March 2018, the book was awarded the Jhalak Prize.
About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge, which debuted in March 2018 and has been named one of the best podcasts of 2018 by British GQ and Wired, was created by Eddo-Lodge and podcast producer Renay Richardson. The podcast investigated Britain’s contemporary connection with race as a companion to the book.
Eddo-Lodge was one of seven notable British women who were selected to be photographed for British Vogue in January 2018 to commemorate 100 years since British women won the right to vote. Eddo-Lodge appeared on the Powerlist’s Top 100 list of British citizens of African/African-Caribbean ancestry in the years 2020 and 2021.
Impact during the Black Lives Matter protests
The official Bookseller list saw a 155-place increase for Eddo-Lodge’s book Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race in June 2020. Following the murder of George Floyd and the accompanying worldwide Black Lives Matter rallies, sales increased. As a result, she made history as the first black British woman to sell more non-fiction books than fiction, with Bernardine Evaristo topping the fiction chart at the same time. “Dismayed by… the tragic circumstances in which this achievement came about,” wrote Eddo-Lodge. Eddo-Lodge became the first black British woman to hold the top spot in the overall British book charts on June 16, 2020.
Reni Eddo-Lodge Criticism
In an interview titled “Kemi Badenoch: The problem with critical race theory” that was published by The Spectator in October 2020, Badenoch, the Equalities Minister, charged that authors like Eddo-Lodge and Robin DiAngelo, whose books saw a spike in sales following the murder of George Floyd, were using critical race theory to segregate society.
In addition to criticizing Badenoch’s comments for their content, more than 100 prominent black writers, including Bernardine Evaristo, Malorie Blackman, and Benjamin Zephaniah, have accused her of putting the safety of anti-racist writers in peril by singling them out. Eddo-Lodge requested a correction and apology from The Spectator; they declined, but they did give her a column in which to respond; she has since filed a complaint with IPSO. The Independent published a correction after receiving a request from Eddo-Lodge and ran the identical story. Neither had contacted Eddo-Lodge ahead of publishing the stories.
Reni Eddo-Lodge Awards & Nominations
- 2010 Highly commended, Channel 4 News Young Blogger of the Year
- 2014 The Guardian’s Top 30 Young People in Digital Media
- 2014 The Root: 30 Viral Voices Under 30
- 2014 Elle Inspire 100
- 2015 MHP 30 to Watch Award
- 2018 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Color
- 2018 The polemic Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race topped a public poll of 20 books shortlisted by the UK Booksellers Association as the most influential book written by a woman.
- 2018 Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing for Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (joint winner)
- 2021 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL)
Reni Eddo-Lodge Social Media
Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Instagram username is @renieddolodge.
Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Twitter handle is @renireni.
Reni Eddo-Lodge Personal Life
Reni Eddo-Lodge hasn’t displayed a married boyfriend or husband. She doesn’t have a child that the media is aware of.
Reni Eddo-Lodge Net Worth
The total net worth of Reni Eddo-Lodge is thought to be $5 million. She has never been one to prioritize financial success, and her activism and writing are motivated by a love for social justice rather than individual wealth.
Reni Eddo-Lodge has really challenged how capitalism creates systemic inequality and spoken out strongly in favor of more economic equality. She’s devoted to using her platform to bring about change despite her success.
Where was Reni Eddo Lodge born?
Nigerian mother Eddo-Lodge was born and reared in London, England. She went to Enfield’s St. Anne’s Catholic High School.
