Reflecting the intersectionality she is committed to, Oluo brings her entire self to the authorial role. She is a blogger, newspaper and magazine writer, public speaker, community theater artist, queer Black woman, political science major, and single mom. Her conversations about race are informed by every aspect of her identity, as she tells the personal stories that begin each chapter. She also knows that her readers are unlikely to move forward based on anecdotal evidence alone, so she provides research to support her claims, although she insists that the personal racial experience is far more significant than a reductive set of data. She uses clear, direct language and is straightforward in calling America a white supremacy and describing the causes and effects of systemic racism. She refuses to let white people off the hook when they defend themselves with their good intentions; whether or not they're overtly racist, they benefit from a racist system that oppresses people of color. But she’s also hopeful, sympathetic, and encouraging, exhorting her readers to examine society and their roles in it.

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