Is “Mediocre” related directly or indirectly to the struggles of people of African descent? This book comes amid racial unrest and protests demanding change. But I love the book so much, I think it's a great book and I'm so proud of it. I already knew that it was going to be a more complicated book than my first, but I didn't know I would be writing it while being targeted by white supremacists, or during a pandemic, or during a global uprising for Black lives. This book really stretched me as a writer. Oluo: When the inspiration for “Mediocre” hit, I immediately knew I was going to write this book. Then when people were like, “Whoa, that's a provocative title," I was like, 'Oh, are we not calling it this anymore?"’ So when the title came to me it was pretty instant. I've always tried to call a thing a thing. As a Black woman, I and my peers are very familiar with it. The idea of mediocre white men and the harm that they cause is not new. Ijeoma Oluo: It didn't feel very provocative to me at the time.
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