Afua Hirsch > Quotes

“Britain has no ‘white history’. British history is the multiracial, interracial story of a nation interdependent on trade, cultural influence and immigration from Africa, India, Central and East Asia, and other regions and continents populated by people who are not white, and before that, invasion by successive waves of European tribes most of whom, had the concept of whiteness existed at the time, would not have fitted into it either.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“I had never met anyone like Sam before. His life revealed to me that if you are poor, and black, with an African surname and a community of poor, black immigrants around you, parents who are not equipped to guide you, a school which expects nothing from you, except a life of crime or low-paid, unskilled labour – because of your race and class – and older children who offer you quick solutions to your safety, by joining gangs, then becoming a lawyer, say, takes something special.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“as a child, Sam had learned to hide from his mother on his birthday, to avoid her feeling any pressure to buy presents he knew she could not afford.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“Englishness" as an identity is still regarded as exclusive. Englishness is not an identity that many English people regard as open to immigrants.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“What makes those with perceived 'English' identities different from others in the UK? One answer is that, unlike Wales, Northern ireland and Scotland, with their devolved legislatures, separate languages and tangible and distinct culture, England's identity as distinct from the rest of the UK is less secure.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“Our history of the last 20 years seems to have been one long series of retreats and humiliations, from Suez to Aden, from Cyprus to Rhodesia,’ he lamented, in a mournful ode to the symbols of Britain’s faded power.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging