![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In an extremely direct and accessible way, Akala examines mixed race identity and the racism, reduced expectations and stereotyping he was subject to as a black skin ned boy in 80s Britain. He is extremely bright and has used his knowledge abou t his heritage to articulately deconstruct much of our ‘typical’ British social context to reveal new insights – i nsights that those of us who are like me (a lso dual heritage, brown skin, a child of immigrants ) sort of knew but could never quite put their finger on. Īkala, who was born in the 80s to a British-Caribbean father and a Scottish-English mother, grew up in a single parent, working class family dependent on free school meals. ![]() I f inally got round to reading Native s: Race & Class in the R uins of E mpire by artist, writer, historian and educator, Akala, as I had been meaning to since he spoke at the ‘ sold-out ’ King’s Race Equality N etwork B lack H istory M onth event last year. Reading them felt like many things I previously only half understood had come into focus, while other things I had never thought to think about were beginning to emerge. Reading them fel t at once like a punch in the face, a hug, and something akin to the “ice challenge”. More recently, I was inspired by Caroline Criado-Perez’s Invisible Women. Way back in time, Mike Phillips’ Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain was a game changer. Every so often I experience a seismic change of understanding about myself, the world and societal issues. ![]()
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