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Loud Black Girls: 20 Black Women Writers Ask: What’s Next?
An important and timely anthology of black British writing, edited and curated by the authors of the highly acclaimed, ground-breaking Slay In Your Lane . Slay in Your Lane Loud Black Girls features essays from the diverse voices of twenty established and emerging black British writers. ‘I so enjoyed stepping inside the minds of these younger women who have so much to say, so much to express, so much to challenge’ Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize winning author of Girl, Woman, Other Being a loud black girl isn't about the volume of your voice; and using your voice doesn't always mean speaking the loudest or dominating the room. Most of the time it’s simply existing as your authentic self in a world that is constantly trying to tell you to minimise who you are.
Now that we’ve learnt how to Slay in our Lanes, what’s next?
Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, authors of the acclaimed Slay in Your The Black Girl Bible , invite the next generation of black women in Britain – authors, journalists, actors, activists and artists – to explore what it means to them to exist in these turbulent times. From assessing the cultural impact of Marvel's Black Panther , to celebrating activism in local communities. From asking how we can secure the bag while staying true to our principles, or how we can teach our daughters to own their voices, to reclaiming our culinary heritage, the essays in Loud Black Girls offer funny touching and ultimately insightful perspectives on the question of ‘What’s Next?’ Foreword by Bernardine Evaristo
Now that we’ve learnt how to Slay in our Lanes, what’s next?
Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, authors of the acclaimed Slay in Your The Black Girl Bible , invite the next generation of black women in Britain – authors, journalists, actors, activists and artists – to explore what it means to them to exist in these turbulent times. From assessing the cultural impact of Marvel's Black Panther , to celebrating activism in local communities. From asking how we can secure the bag while staying true to our principles, or how we can teach our daughters to own their voices, to reclaiming our culinary heritage, the essays in Loud Black Girls offer funny touching and ultimately insightful perspectives on the question of ‘What’s Next?’ Foreword by Bernardine Evaristo
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2020
48 people are currently reading
1799 people want to read
About the author
Yomi Adegoke
14 books379 followersYomi Adegoke is a British journalist and author. She has written for The Guardian, The Independent and the Pool.
Of Nigerian heritage, Adegoke was born in East London and raised in Croydon. She attended the University of Warwick and studied law.
She published her debut novel, The List, in 2023.
Of Nigerian heritage, Adegoke was born in East London and raised in Croydon. She attended the University of Warwick and studied law.
She published her debut novel, The List, in 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
September 29, 2020
This is an excellent, thought-provoking and very relevant (long over-due) book written by and about black women in Britain today – some first (second, third …) generation British, others immigrants from Africa, some direct descendants of the Windrush generation. The chapters are all very well written and imminently readable – I found it difficult to put down, and was rather upset when it came to an end.
The voices of the writers are loud – but not strident. Their loudness has been necessary to ensure that they are finally heard. Each one of them deserves a much higher profile than they have had up until now – in the mainstream media as well as in the black community.
Although I do not agree with absolutely everything that the authors say, there are so many good points, and my eyes have been opened to many problems that black women have to face. Because I (as a white woman) do not see many of the daily prejudices and niggles that black women have to face, I had come to almost believe, that this was a problem in USA but not so big here in Britain, and especially not in London. This book set me straight. The overwhelming impression that I gained, was that it must be sooo exhausting being black and female, constantly having to moderate one’s behaviour, language, appearance. Being the best is never good enough for ‘normal’ society. But, then who decides what is good and the best – sadly not the people being (mis)judged:
These women are about setting their own standards, revelling in their culture (Black British, African-British, African …), their appearance, history and lives:
Other important points (a few among many)
1) Black people do not all think the same way:
2) Black British history IS British history, and should be taught as such – not just an add-on one month a year:
3) There is a lot of violence in the black community, but the way it is reported can add to the problems:
4) Unacknowledged privilege is not just a white-on-black problem, it can be found in many places:
If we could all accept that the world is a place of infinite variety, we would have a much healthier, happier existence. We are not all the same – nor should be. And no race, colour, gender, strata in society should feel themselves superior:
I highly recommend this book -to everyone.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The voices of the writers are loud – but not strident. Their loudness has been necessary to ensure that they are finally heard. Each one of them deserves a much higher profile than they have had up until now – in the mainstream media as well as in the black community.
“In a world that is often too quick to teach black women how to slowly slip silence in-between the plump space of our lips, to speak in more hushed tones – we are defiant, bolder and unapologetic with a promise to be greater than our foremothers who came before us.”
Although I do not agree with absolutely everything that the authors say, there are so many good points, and my eyes have been opened to many problems that black women have to face. Because I (as a white woman) do not see many of the daily prejudices and niggles that black women have to face, I had come to almost believe, that this was a problem in USA but not so big here in Britain, and especially not in London. This book set me straight. The overwhelming impression that I gained, was that it must be sooo exhausting being black and female, constantly having to moderate one’s behaviour, language, appearance. Being the best is never good enough for ‘normal’ society. But, then who decides what is good and the best – sadly not the people being (mis)judged:
These women are about setting their own standards, revelling in their culture (Black British, African-British, African …), their appearance, history and lives:
“Who and what are we divergent from? What is the standard and why? Why define us by what we are not instead of what and who we are?”
Other important points (a few among many)
1) Black people do not all think the same way:
“Whilst within the black community we realise and appreciate the heterogeneity of our existence, wider society isn’t as allowing of the diversity of our thought to be broadcast. These ‘exceptions’ are then called upon to define a singular black opinion on any given issue affecting the black community.”
2) Black British history IS British history, and should be taught as such – not just an add-on one month a year:
“Add to this mass immigration and a seismic demographic shift and it’s not surprising that so many people have simply given up on black British history entirely, with its American style accusatory polemic, which – while cathartic for the writer – does not advance the clarity or accuracy of the discussion. Which is a pity, because we have an opportunity here to escape from the bitter emotional circularity and reclaim our own specific narrative, with all of its stories, its horrors and triumphs, and frame it anew as part of the mainstream of this island’s history and its peoples, and not something separate or ‘apart’.”
“Although we may need Black History Month right now, I hope we won’t always need it, because Black History will be embedded in the very fabric of curricula in our primary and secondary schools, as well as universities and workplaces. This is vital for Black people, but also other people – especially white people. Ignorance of one’s history damages the oppressor as well as the oppressed.”
3) There is a lot of violence in the black community, but the way it is reported can add to the problems:
“I was familiar with this binary reporting from all the articles I had previously read, written in the aftermath of many children’s murders. They are either ‘angels’, and comments are solicited from their family, friends, teachers – anyone who can attest to the gravity of their loss; or they are ‘gang members’ and in these cases, when the loss means nothing more than statistics, it is the police and politicians who are invited to comment. Their lives become less meaningful, despite the fact that the descriptions of them are often unfounded. … The ‘gang’ label dehumanises young people, removing any right to victimhood they may have had and treating them simply as perpetrators.
Instead of asking ourselves, ‘How can we reduce violence?’ perhaps we should ask, ‘How can we build peace?’.”
4) Unacknowledged privilege is not just a white-on-black problem, it can be found in many places:
“As minorities in our home countries, we are constantly asking people to check their privilege, as we should and as they should. As a black woman existing in the world, I never thought I’d be in a position where I have to check mine, but as a returnee living in Nigeria, I realise I do.”
If we could all accept that the world is a place of infinite variety, we would have a much healthier, happier existence. We are not all the same – nor should be. And no race, colour, gender, strata in society should feel themselves superior:
“It is not racist to speak of Black people. It is racist to deny that you see colour. It is racist for difference to be a problem.”
I highly recommend this book -to everyone.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
August 14, 2020
Thank you 4th Estate, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, and Netgalley for my DRC in exchange for my impartial review.
I love reading anthologies by women on a variety of subjects, because I love reading women, period. This anthology brought together different black women from all over Britain, talking about different aspects of life as a black woman in the UK.
I really enjoyed this one, as it gave me different glimpses and peeks into a life I've never experienced myself. A lot of the authors in this anthology wrote amazing essays, and I enjoyed ever single one.
One of my favorite essays was Abiola Oni's, where she wrote about reinventing in order to find herself in Britain, and the harsh parallels between worlds. Eunice Olumide's essay about the lack of representation of black women in traditional media is another one I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is a book I'll definitely keep going back to, because it's just that good.
I love reading anthologies by women on a variety of subjects, because I love reading women, period. This anthology brought together different black women from all over Britain, talking about different aspects of life as a black woman in the UK.
I really enjoyed this one, as it gave me different glimpses and peeks into a life I've never experienced myself. A lot of the authors in this anthology wrote amazing essays, and I enjoyed ever single one.
One of my favorite essays was Abiola Oni's, where she wrote about reinventing in order to find herself in Britain, and the harsh parallels between worlds. Eunice Olumide's essay about the lack of representation of black women in traditional media is another one I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is a book I'll definitely keep going back to, because it's just that good.
May 27, 2021
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This has not impacted my review.
The experience of black women in the UK is something that I as a white young adult can ever relate too, but it doesn't mean I can't read and learn more about it. This anthology of 20 short essays from various black women in different industries shares experiences beyond which I would know about. This includes media, journalism, music, and so on. Each perspective is different and unique and provides a peek into how being a black, empowered woman has impacted each of these authors. This book was intersectional and included refugees and returnees, trans women, LGBTQ+ women, and it is not solely told from the point of views of cis straight black women which I enjoyed as well. I just don't think I enjoy non-fiction books in any capacity as I found myself kind of zoning in and out while reading this book, and it wasn't because I didn't enjoy the content but as I said, something I've come to realise about myself is that non-fiction doesn't hold my attention as well as fiction.
The experience of black women in the UK is something that I as a white young adult can ever relate too, but it doesn't mean I can't read and learn more about it. This anthology of 20 short essays from various black women in different industries shares experiences beyond which I would know about. This includes media, journalism, music, and so on. Each perspective is different and unique and provides a peek into how being a black, empowered woman has impacted each of these authors. This book was intersectional and included refugees and returnees, trans women, LGBTQ+ women, and it is not solely told from the point of views of cis straight black women which I enjoyed as well. I just don't think I enjoy non-fiction books in any capacity as I found myself kind of zoning in and out while reading this book, and it wasn't because I didn't enjoy the content but as I said, something I've come to realise about myself is that non-fiction doesn't hold my attention as well as fiction.
September 15, 2020
As a black British woman, this anthology of essays from black women really spoke to me. The essays address what the future might hold for black women in a post-Trump, post-Brexit era. There is frustration expressed in this collection, yes, but there is also a huge amount of hope and optimism in what could have been a depressing read. Seeing the voices of black women uplifted in this way, in a book that exists purely to celebrate black womanhood, made me feel proud of my black sisters and of myself.
If you are a black woman who has ever been dismissed or overlooked because of the colour of your skin then this book is for you; reading these essays will validate and uplift you in a world which often makes us feel that we are either too much or not enough. My favourite quote from the book encapsulates its empowering message, Toni-Blaze Ibekwe writes, "As we (black women) excel in every industry possible, the phrase 'the first black woman to' will become redundant and I cannot wait."
If you are a black woman who has ever been dismissed or overlooked because of the colour of your skin then this book is for you; reading these essays will validate and uplift you in a world which often makes us feel that we are either too much or not enough. My favourite quote from the book encapsulates its empowering message, Toni-Blaze Ibekwe writes, "As we (black women) excel in every industry possible, the phrase 'the first black woman to' will become redundant and I cannot wait."
October 1, 2020
An important and timely anthology of black British writing, edited and curated by the authors of the highly acclaimed, ground-breaking Slay In Your Lane. Slay in Your Lane Presents: Loud Black Girls features essays from the diverse voices of over twenty established and emerging black British writers, including Essays from: Yemisi Adegoke, Paula Akpan, Sheila Atim, Siana Bangura, Jendella Benson, Candice Brathwaite, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, to name a few. In Loud Black Girls, the authors of Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, ask black British female writers to focus on what happens next? – what does the future hold in the uncertain post-Brexit world of Donald Trump and the rise of the far-right, where there is also more opportunity for black woman to thrive than there has ever been before?
Despite young black women reading more than any other ethnic group in the UK, they are still largely invisible as published authors. Loud Black Girls seeks to change that by giving black women a voice and a platform. Readers can expect frank, funny and fearless contributions about what matters to black women today, from a range of prominent voices. This is an all-powerful and richly compelling collection of essays from some of the most prominent black women in the world today. Fierce, inspirational and accessible, this is an absolute must-read for those who wish to know and understand exactly what black girls are up against in our modern world. Only through raising awareness will we ever see real, meaningful change. Unreservedly recommended. Many thanks to Fourth Estate for an ARC.
Despite young black women reading more than any other ethnic group in the UK, they are still largely invisible as published authors. Loud Black Girls seeks to change that by giving black women a voice and a platform. Readers can expect frank, funny and fearless contributions about what matters to black women today, from a range of prominent voices. This is an all-powerful and richly compelling collection of essays from some of the most prominent black women in the world today. Fierce, inspirational and accessible, this is an absolute must-read for those who wish to know and understand exactly what black girls are up against in our modern world. Only through raising awareness will we ever see real, meaningful change. Unreservedly recommended. Many thanks to Fourth Estate for an ARC.
February 23, 2021
Striking, impressive and stately. There's no regurgitation in this. This is of the moment, it's that right now, 2020-era ish! I loved it! I love and pay my homage to the OG's as all the contributors in this series of essays did, but it's soooo sooo nice to read women of my age/demographic and who are making waves in their own ways, put something together so current and reflective of the Black Girl Experience and the current state of things! There was so much to love and so much to learn and so much to revel in.
First off, I loved the way Loud Black Girls was laid out. Each Black woman's contribution had an introduction to how they became involved in the Slay in Your Lane community, and how they were selected to contribute. It's so heart-warming to hear about how these Black women and girls found each other in the world. It's a joy to read about how they came together to shape and give back to each other and other Black women and girls, and men, in various ways through their writing, through their work and advocacy. They reflect on everything the highs, the lows, the ups and downs, what they want for their communities, what we want for the global community and the ways that we can/need to challenge all the structures around Black girlhood/womanhood to do better for us, for all Black girls and women.
I loved this entire series. It reminded me of this video that I love put together by the NY Times & Meg the Stallion, who's referenced in the book. I highlighted so much of this book and sent pages and paragraphs to friends and family.
One of my favourite essays was by Siana Bangura called 'Who built it and with what wood?': A Black Feminist 10-point(ish) Programme for Transformation. It read like the Black Panther 10-Point Program with a distinctly Black feminist lens and I was alll the way here for it! A couple of my favourite (and the most salient IMO) points include:
Those points can never be understated. Any vision of Black liberation that does not include everybody black, ain't worth it. Also, as Meg the Stallion said: "one thing abt me.. I'm gone laugh!" As much as we're striving, we need to hold that space for joy so tight to us. We need to laugh and be silly and enjoy our life, because Black women, we only got one life and it can't be spent just fighting non-stop.
This is a collection I highly encourage you to jump in with both feet. I'd love to read a collection like this of young Canadian Black women who are doing this. This was a perfect Black Futures Month Read. I love that these women across the diaspora really came together to give us something so timely.
First off, I loved the way Loud Black Girls was laid out. Each Black woman's contribution had an introduction to how they became involved in the Slay in Your Lane community, and how they were selected to contribute. It's so heart-warming to hear about how these Black women and girls found each other in the world. It's a joy to read about how they came together to shape and give back to each other and other Black women and girls, and men, in various ways through their writing, through their work and advocacy. They reflect on everything the highs, the lows, the ups and downs, what they want for their communities, what we want for the global community and the ways that we can/need to challenge all the structures around Black girlhood/womanhood to do better for us, for all Black girls and women.
I loved this entire series. It reminded me of this video that I love put together by the NY Times & Meg the Stallion, who's referenced in the book. I highlighted so much of this book and sent pages and paragraphs to friends and family.
One of my favourite essays was by Siana Bangura called 'Who built it and with what wood?': A Black Feminist 10-point(ish) Programme for Transformation. It read like the Black Panther 10-Point Program with a distinctly Black feminist lens and I was alll the way here for it! A couple of my favourite (and the most salient IMO) points include:
10. Freedom and Dignity for All Black People - Not Just Some: We cannot pick and choose which of us gets to be free - that is exceptionalism. Freedom must include the poor, working classes, the ill, the disabled, differently abled, trans, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, queer, fat, thin, ratchet, aliens, those in the West, the Global South, educated, not educated, differently educated, among us. - 72% in Loud Black Girls, Yomi Adegoke
11. Black Joy Must Be at the Forefront of it All: Let's face it: this struggle is a lifelong one - and that is not a loss. What is a loss, is if we can never find time for joy along the way. I've had enough of the consumption of Black grief, pain, sorrow and strife. Striving for Black joy must be central in our quest. It is foundational for any vision of freedom. - 72% in Loud Black Girls, Yomi Adegoke
Those points can never be understated. Any vision of Black liberation that does not include everybody black, ain't worth it. Also, as Meg the Stallion said: "one thing abt me.. I'm gone laugh!" As much as we're striving, we need to hold that space for joy so tight to us. We need to laugh and be silly and enjoy our life, because Black women, we only got one life and it can't be spent just fighting non-stop.
This is a collection I highly encourage you to jump in with both feet. I'd love to read a collection like this of young Canadian Black women who are doing this. This was a perfect Black Futures Month Read. I love that these women across the diaspora really came together to give us something so timely.
July 22, 2020
Despite being stereotyped as ‘loud’, Black women are still statistically the most invisible, overlooked people in modern society.
This is a collection of 20 short essays written by young British Black women; incredible authors, artists, writers and public figures, sharing their unique thoughts and experiences. Writers include gay and trans Black women, which I feel adds even deeper levels when reading about these experiences.
These pages are full of prejudices that I couldn’t even fathom facing. I am fully overwhelmed with heartache, honestly. As well as rage, sadness, frustration, and a desperate desire to shake vision into those who remain blind to the fact that Black people face a huge amount of challenges every single day. From raising children to dating, level of education and employment opportunities, so many aspects of society are a completely different experience depending on your skin colour. And that’s not even mentioning the (insane) fact that skin colour has cost so many people their lives.
Twenty voices, curated in a single collection, makes for an incredibly eye-opening experience – one that I highly recommend to anybody wanting to deeply understand not only how we ended up in this awful prejudice society, but to hopefully lessen the divide with each generation from here.
I have deducted a star simply because some of the essays are written in a way which requires me to sit with a dictionary very close by! My own shortcomings, but important for me to remember.
Favourite quote(s): The most important way to affect change is understanding that ignorance is not bliss, it’s straight up taking the piss. - Eunice Olumide
It’s a message that has been drilled into every black woman - you’re going to have to work even harder than everyone else because you have two strikes against you - your gender and your race. - Fiona Rutherford
Huge thanks to 4th Estate books and William Collins books for the chance to review it. It will be released on October 1st.
This is a collection of 20 short essays written by young British Black women; incredible authors, artists, writers and public figures, sharing their unique thoughts and experiences. Writers include gay and trans Black women, which I feel adds even deeper levels when reading about these experiences.
These pages are full of prejudices that I couldn’t even fathom facing. I am fully overwhelmed with heartache, honestly. As well as rage, sadness, frustration, and a desperate desire to shake vision into those who remain blind to the fact that Black people face a huge amount of challenges every single day. From raising children to dating, level of education and employment opportunities, so many aspects of society are a completely different experience depending on your skin colour. And that’s not even mentioning the (insane) fact that skin colour has cost so many people their lives.
Twenty voices, curated in a single collection, makes for an incredibly eye-opening experience – one that I highly recommend to anybody wanting to deeply understand not only how we ended up in this awful prejudice society, but to hopefully lessen the divide with each generation from here.
I have deducted a star simply because some of the essays are written in a way which requires me to sit with a dictionary very close by! My own shortcomings, but important for me to remember.
Favourite quote(s): The most important way to affect change is understanding that ignorance is not bliss, it’s straight up taking the piss. - Eunice Olumide
It’s a message that has been drilled into every black woman - you’re going to have to work even harder than everyone else because you have two strikes against you - your gender and your race. - Fiona Rutherford
Huge thanks to 4th Estate books and William Collins books for the chance to review it. It will be released on October 1st.
October 11, 2020
The fact is that plurality, polyvocality, multiplicity - however we describe it - functions to counterbalance invisibility and reductionist stereotyping.4.8 stars
I loved how many different perspectives this anthology collects, and the multivocality it makes space for on the experience of being a Black woman, today, in the past, looking to the future. This anthology perfectly illustrates the complex danger of stereotypes and how it puts undue pressure on people to act a certain way - especially when you don't want to play into a stereotype but also want to be true to your natural personality. Some essays were 'tighter' with a clear theme while others were more meandering, but all were fascinating. While all are thoughtful essays, I did tend to find the former category easier to follow.
Many anecdotes, ideas and experiences in these essays really resonated, and I definitely became aware of points I'd not previously considered, for example the racism in the Western media's reporting of the apparent negative health effects of an Afro-Caribbean diet as opposed to analysing systemic health inequalities (as discussed in Kuba Shand-Baptiste's essay).
Here's a few of my favourite quotes:
Not every change needs to begin with a fanfare.
- Candice Brathwaite
The best black complex is the materialisation of a Darwinian 'survival of the fittest' mode that black people develop in corporate spaces, which falsely encourages us to believe that only other black individuals are our competitors. Why? Because white mediocrity does not exist: societal structures does not allow whiteness to be mediocre.
...[T]he idea of hyper(in)visibility where black individuals are seen as a hyper-visible, indivisible collective (the 'other') and individuality is reserved as a privilege of whiteness.
- Elisabeth Fapuro
This is the dance of history, with progressive leaps forward being met with vicious opposition from those wishing to keep the status quo.
- Jendella Benson
I've had enough of the consumption of Black grief, pain, sorrow and strife. Striving for Black joy must be central in our quest. It is foundational for any vision of freedom.
- Siana Bangura
Taking my time with this anthology helped me absorb the essays better than if I'd binged the whole book, so personally I'd recommend reading a couple essays at a time, letting them sink in (maybe ruminate on the ideas a little) before beginning the next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for an eARC for an honest review.
August 30, 2020
The important thing about educating yourself is understanding you will never reach the end. I’m so glad I’ve read Loud Black Girls as it’s presented me with lots of new perspectives, lots of different points I ignorantly hadn’t considered before, and has allowed me an understanding of how our racist world has been shaped to be that way.
There are twenty essays here detailing how black women have been minimised, ignored, and stereotyped in our society. From places like the workplace, the media, and even in the home, we hear about misrepresentation, motherhood, online abuse, and how black women of history have been erased.
Reading this as a white woman will make you realise just how much you never realised before. You’ll feel mindless, guilty, privileged that none of this has ever, or will ever, happen to you. But I think we should feel like that.
This is such an important and powerful collection of opinions and facts, one which can and should be read by everyone, whether the aim is to learn, or to feel part of a community and see your feelings and culture articulated perfectly.
There are twenty essays here detailing how black women have been minimised, ignored, and stereotyped in our society. From places like the workplace, the media, and even in the home, we hear about misrepresentation, motherhood, online abuse, and how black women of history have been erased.
Reading this as a white woman will make you realise just how much you never realised before. You’ll feel mindless, guilty, privileged that none of this has ever, or will ever, happen to you. But I think we should feel like that.
This is such an important and powerful collection of opinions and facts, one which can and should be read by everyone, whether the aim is to learn, or to feel part of a community and see your feelings and culture articulated perfectly.
September 1, 2020
I may not be the target audience for this book but that didn't stop me from absolutely adoring this book.
Short essays from brilliant British Black women cover a range of topics including motherhood, the problems with the labels of BAME and POC, and "returnees" to Nigeria.
Every essay was 5 star - a rarity for any anthology - and the editors have clearly put a lot of consideration into the flow of this book as there is a feeling of thematic continuity from essay to essay.
Short essays from brilliant British Black women cover a range of topics including motherhood, the problems with the labels of BAME and POC, and "returnees" to Nigeria.
Every essay was 5 star - a rarity for any anthology - and the editors have clearly put a lot of consideration into the flow of this book as there is a feeling of thematic continuity from essay to essay.
May 21, 2021
When we talk about DECOLONIZING YOUR BOOKSHELVES, we mean this book right here. An anthology of essays comprising the trials and tribulations of second, third and even fourth-generational Black British women, "Loud Black Girls" showcases the perspectives of 20 individuals who are speaking out against a fundamentally broken system. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who wants to understand, and eventually act upon, the systemic discrimination that continues to permeate society today. From discussing the experiences of Black teenage girls in prejudice school systems, to the never-ending struggle to be accepted by peers and neighbors, to the potentially harmful notion of "Black Excellence", to the challenging of stereotypes over what it means to be Black in Britain, "Loud Black Girls" is educational in a way that only #ownvoices can be. Honest, nuanced, and enlightening.
The women in this book are loud - but not because of an harmful typecast - but because both their opinions and reason drown out the generations of racism that they have had to endure. Even if the reader, as in this case myself, is not Black, it is impossible to ignore the stories shared and fights endured by the writers of these essays.
Thank you Yomi Adegoke, 4th Estate, and NetGalley for this #gifted ebook in return for an honest review.
The women in this book are loud - but not because of an harmful typecast - but because both their opinions and reason drown out the generations of racism that they have had to endure. Even if the reader, as in this case myself, is not Black, it is impossible to ignore the stories shared and fights endured by the writers of these essays.
Thank you Yomi Adegoke, 4th Estate, and NetGalley for this #gifted ebook in return for an honest review.
February 3, 2022
I listened to 𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗗 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗦 from Slay in Your Lane as an audiobook, and was also approved to read an electronic copy of the book on Netgalley. Thank you to 4th Estate for approving my request to read this fantastic collection of essays from 20 black, British, women writers, collated by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené.
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𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲.
Elizabeth Uviebinené.
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Loud Black Girls is, quite simply, a book everyone should read and listen to. And it should be read/heard with open-mindedness and empathy, not defensiveness.
It should be no surprise to anyone in the 21st Century to hear stories of how the society we live in is a racist one. However, it may be a surprise to learn all the nuanced ways that racism is exploited for capital gain, and hopefully it may change the way you think, and certainly should change the way you behave online.
And by that, I don't mean being conscious about what you say in an effort to not be racist - that's a given. We all need to take a step back from the world of social media at times, and consider how we are being emotionally manipulated, before we blindly share the latest outrage post or negative news article.
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𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 ‘𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲’ 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗸. 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀.
Jendella Benson
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Loud Black Girls does, understandably, include views that are rooted in frustration, especially in a post-Brexit Britain and a post-Trump world.
It covers some very specific modern instances of where racism has been perpetuated, including how the press and a significant portion of the British public have treated Meghan Markle, and the outrageous response to Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel for an upcoming live action movie of The Little Mermaid; If you have an issue with a black women being cast as a fictional creature like a mermaid, you really need to stop and consider why you hold that view.
But the collection does also focus on black joy and hope, and on recognising the legacy of each of the amazing women who have contributed to this anthology.
I especially loved hearing the stories about family, and love, and Princess Peace's grandfather, in particular, seemed like a wonderful man.
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𝗛𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲, 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲, ‘𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵��𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰.’
Princess Peace
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There is no doubt that family can evoke complex feelings, and that how we are treated as children does have lasting effects on us as an adult.
It's wonderful to hear stories of all women, and how they are raising their children to be independent and strong, but especially amazing to hear stories of brave young girls, and their mothers who are breaking cycles of oppression that can be rooted in both gender and race - especially when these stories also highlight the wonderful male role models that support this change, like Candice Braithwaite, and her Grandad and Husband.
In sharing her story about her daughter, and about how her daughter shows her family respect without agenda, Braithwaite's pride and love resonates off the page, and hearing about her daughter's innocence and kindness really moved me.
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𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗰𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
Candice Braithwaite
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When it comes to workplaces, we all inherently know that black people, and especially black women, are underrepresented.
We regularly hear the rhetoric 'the first black/BAME woman to'... as though we are meant to see this as only a positive thing, when there should be more than one black woman doing everything as the norm. Currently these things are noteworthy, but they shouldn't be, and as Toni-Blaze Ibekwe says: 𝗔𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲 ‘𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼’ 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁.
I do think a lot of workplaces still need to completely change their own structures and challenge their own racist practices, whether they are inadvertently racist or not. I'm sick of the false narrative around D&I 'forums' or 'committees' that do nothing other than make the employer look falsely progressive. I really hope in time this will change.
I have also witnessed awful hiring practices myself throughout my career, where candidates from overseas are viewed as somehow 'lesser than' simply because their degree is from a University that isn't in the UK or the US. This clearly should not be the norm.
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𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱, 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗔 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿.
Elisabeth Fapuro
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(Cont'd in comments)
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𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲.
Elizabeth Uviebinené.
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Loud Black Girls is, quite simply, a book everyone should read and listen to. And it should be read/heard with open-mindedness and empathy, not defensiveness.
It should be no surprise to anyone in the 21st Century to hear stories of how the society we live in is a racist one. However, it may be a surprise to learn all the nuanced ways that racism is exploited for capital gain, and hopefully it may change the way you think, and certainly should change the way you behave online.
And by that, I don't mean being conscious about what you say in an effort to not be racist - that's a given. We all need to take a step back from the world of social media at times, and consider how we are being emotionally manipulated, before we blindly share the latest outrage post or negative news article.
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𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 ‘𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲’ 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗸. 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀.
Jendella Benson
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Loud Black Girls does, understandably, include views that are rooted in frustration, especially in a post-Brexit Britain and a post-Trump world.
It covers some very specific modern instances of where racism has been perpetuated, including how the press and a significant portion of the British public have treated Meghan Markle, and the outrageous response to Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel for an upcoming live action movie of The Little Mermaid; If you have an issue with a black women being cast as a fictional creature like a mermaid, you really need to stop and consider why you hold that view.
But the collection does also focus on black joy and hope, and on recognising the legacy of each of the amazing women who have contributed to this anthology.
I especially loved hearing the stories about family, and love, and Princess Peace's grandfather, in particular, seemed like a wonderful man.
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𝗛𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲, 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲, ‘𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵��𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰.’
Princess Peace
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There is no doubt that family can evoke complex feelings, and that how we are treated as children does have lasting effects on us as an adult.
It's wonderful to hear stories of all women, and how they are raising their children to be independent and strong, but especially amazing to hear stories of brave young girls, and their mothers who are breaking cycles of oppression that can be rooted in both gender and race - especially when these stories also highlight the wonderful male role models that support this change, like Candice Braithwaite, and her Grandad and Husband.
In sharing her story about her daughter, and about how her daughter shows her family respect without agenda, Braithwaite's pride and love resonates off the page, and hearing about her daughter's innocence and kindness really moved me.
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𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗰𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
Candice Braithwaite
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When it comes to workplaces, we all inherently know that black people, and especially black women, are underrepresented.
We regularly hear the rhetoric 'the first black/BAME woman to'... as though we are meant to see this as only a positive thing, when there should be more than one black woman doing everything as the norm. Currently these things are noteworthy, but they shouldn't be, and as Toni-Blaze Ibekwe says: 𝗔𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲 ‘𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼’ 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁.
I do think a lot of workplaces still need to completely change their own structures and challenge their own racist practices, whether they are inadvertently racist or not. I'm sick of the false narrative around D&I 'forums' or 'committees' that do nothing other than make the employer look falsely progressive. I really hope in time this will change.
I have also witnessed awful hiring practices myself throughout my career, where candidates from overseas are viewed as somehow 'lesser than' simply because their degree is from a University that isn't in the UK or the US. This clearly should not be the norm.
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𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱, 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗔 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿.
Elisabeth Fapuro
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(Cont'd in comments)
October 6, 2024
i was so excited for this collection of essays and was unfortunately left feeling disappointed. the essays all raised important and interesting points, yet are extremely surface level - even the essays i liked the most failed to actually dive deeper into the topics they discussed and i felt like i didn’t gain much from reading them as a result. for that reason, despite still getting something out of the essays, i can’t rate this collection more than a 3.5 despite so badly wanting to. i was also disappointed by the lack of diversity - queer, disabled voices etc.
one thing this collection did highlight for me though was the importance of actively seeking out diverse and nuanced african voices and stories. partly as a result of growing up in australia (versus my year in the uk for example, where i was much more readily exposed to such voices/stories) and just due to general racism/western media/ignorance, my knowledge/consumption of africa and african voices/stories is embarrassingly minimal and while i am aware a lot of the stereotypes we are taught about the continent aren’t true, i have nothing to replace them with (a few specific things i am going to look up based on one of the essays: the lost libraries and manuscripts of timbuktu, the script nsibidi)
- a toni morrison quote that one of the essays briefly mentioned that i’d forgotten about and want to remind myself of: “The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”
essays that stood out
- introduction by elizabeth uviebinene - the three bears effect was so interesting!! - “many of the stereotypes aimed at black and asian people were diametrically opposed, positing white people in the middle as ‘just right’… minorities are only ever understood in relation to whiteness…characterised as ‘too’ something’ or ‘not enough’ something else”
- finding myself in britain by abiola oni - realising the different forms of internalised racism that you develop growing up in the country of the coloniser versus a colonised country (despite blackness being everywhere)
- the ‘shuri’ effect: the age of #blackexcellence, the falsehood of black mediocrity, and the absence of the black middle by elisabeth fapuro - the commodification of black excellence, problems with being held to higher standards - should be allowed to just exist, puts black people in competition with each other, “we are never given the privilege of the average”
- eating britains racism by kuba stand-baptiste - never really considered how caribbean food/people is considered unhealthy/associated with fatness, how the “appreciation of larger and different body types across a number of african and evidence nations [was considered] evidence of ‘savagery’
- the quandry of securing the bag by paula akpan - the commodification of self, how to balance authenticity and progress with reality of paying bills; do you work with companies that are now actively including your community, even if their reasons for doing so are financial? (“did i really need that new book to add to my growing pile of unread books? it turns out, yes, yes i did” so true paula)
- the meghan markle effect made mixed race identity a hot topic, but are we any further forward? by phoebe parke - raised the point she is uncomfortable with the term ‘white passing’ - she didnt explain why at all but i did some googling and thought it was an interesting point - this article explains the problems with the term quite well i think
- a crocus ruminates: thirty thoughts on turning thirty by selina thompson - loved the self-love, embracing ageing etc. side of this most. but also addresses some similar themes to some of the other essays, but perhaps with a bit more depth/fleshed out answers: “whenever we make gains in visibility and representation we simultaneously risk losing our integrity and political grit, as we become thriving parts of systems that have betrayed us and our communities since their inception… political complicity”; “what does it look like to be ‘excellent’ in how we practice freedom?”
- building peace: the case for centring healing in our approach to address violence - temi mwale - how widespread/normal violence is in the daily lives of many and the impacts this has, “aftercare is a form of prevention”, “who is entitled to victimhood?”, need for abolition and support and healing
- homecoming by yemisi adegoke - the need for balanced and nuanced stories. recognition that the moving back of the diaspora are privileged; see/experience these countries differently from those who grow up in them - but of course we always see these privileged voices (those who move back or away) more than those who stay
one thing this collection did highlight for me though was the importance of actively seeking out diverse and nuanced african voices and stories. partly as a result of growing up in australia (versus my year in the uk for example, where i was much more readily exposed to such voices/stories) and just due to general racism/western media/ignorance, my knowledge/consumption of africa and african voices/stories is embarrassingly minimal and while i am aware a lot of the stereotypes we are taught about the continent aren’t true, i have nothing to replace them with (a few specific things i am going to look up based on one of the essays: the lost libraries and manuscripts of timbuktu, the script nsibidi)
- a toni morrison quote that one of the essays briefly mentioned that i’d forgotten about and want to remind myself of: “The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”
essays that stood out
- introduction by elizabeth uviebinene - the three bears effect was so interesting!! - “many of the stereotypes aimed at black and asian people were diametrically opposed, positing white people in the middle as ‘just right’… minorities are only ever understood in relation to whiteness…characterised as ‘too’ something’ or ‘not enough’ something else”
- finding myself in britain by abiola oni - realising the different forms of internalised racism that you develop growing up in the country of the coloniser versus a colonised country (despite blackness being everywhere)
- the ‘shuri’ effect: the age of #blackexcellence, the falsehood of black mediocrity, and the absence of the black middle by elisabeth fapuro - the commodification of black excellence, problems with being held to higher standards - should be allowed to just exist, puts black people in competition with each other, “we are never given the privilege of the average”
- eating britains racism by kuba stand-baptiste - never really considered how caribbean food/people is considered unhealthy/associated with fatness, how the “appreciation of larger and different body types across a number of african and evidence nations [was considered] evidence of ‘savagery’
- the quandry of securing the bag by paula akpan - the commodification of self, how to balance authenticity and progress with reality of paying bills; do you work with companies that are now actively including your community, even if their reasons for doing so are financial? (“did i really need that new book to add to my growing pile of unread books? it turns out, yes, yes i did” so true paula)
- the meghan markle effect made mixed race identity a hot topic, but are we any further forward? by phoebe parke - raised the point she is uncomfortable with the term ‘white passing’ - she didnt explain why at all but i did some googling and thought it was an interesting point - this article explains the problems with the term quite well i think
- a crocus ruminates: thirty thoughts on turning thirty by selina thompson - loved the self-love, embracing ageing etc. side of this most. but also addresses some similar themes to some of the other essays, but perhaps with a bit more depth/fleshed out answers: “whenever we make gains in visibility and representation we simultaneously risk losing our integrity and political grit, as we become thriving parts of systems that have betrayed us and our communities since their inception… political complicity”; “what does it look like to be ‘excellent’ in how we practice freedom?”
- building peace: the case for centring healing in our approach to address violence - temi mwale - how widespread/normal violence is in the daily lives of many and the impacts this has, “aftercare is a form of prevention”, “who is entitled to victimhood?”, need for abolition and support and healing
- homecoming by yemisi adegoke - the need for balanced and nuanced stories. recognition that the moving back of the diaspora are privileged; see/experience these countries differently from those who grow up in them - but of course we always see these privileged voices (those who move back or away) more than those who stay
December 4, 2021
During lock down I read Slay in Your Lane by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené. Feminism is an interest of mine and so I was eager to read it. In my own ignorance I only really ever thought about what feminism meant for me. Sounds strange to say but it was almost as though I saw feminism as a one size fits all thing. How wrong I was. Having read Slay in Your Lane my eyes were opened to how feminism effects everyone – especially those who are (incorrectly) seen as ethnic minorities – feel the impact of feminism and the patriarchy differently. Since then I have tried to read wider on the subject, to learn more and to be able to be more inclusive with my feminism beliefs.
For that reason, Loud Black Girls was a fantastic read. Take away my reason for reading it and it was still brilliant. The voices of the women within the book are diverse, feisty, strong and forthright. The arguments they put forward are powerful. The stories they share are engaging. Furthermore, they are voices that I have mainly never come across and deserve further attention.
And for that reason Loud Black Girls is so very important.
Loud Black Girls – 20 Black Women Writers Ask: What’s Next? by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené is available now.
For that reason, Loud Black Girls was a fantastic read. Take away my reason for reading it and it was still brilliant. The voices of the women within the book are diverse, feisty, strong and forthright. The arguments they put forward are powerful. The stories they share are engaging. Furthermore, they are voices that I have mainly never come across and deserve further attention.
And for that reason Loud Black Girls is so very important.
Loud Black Girls – 20 Black Women Writers Ask: What’s Next? by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené is available now.
October 11, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This has been a hard review write and don't think it will do the book justice regardless. However I will try to convey my thoughts the best I can. This book is not only wanted but is also needed in today's world. As with all anthologies, some contributions resonated more with me that others and I wanted more - both from the essays themselves and in the form of more essays, but this is a never ending discussion that right now continues to remain incomplete and unresolved so this is by no means a criticism of this book and in fact, I see this book as the start of the continuation of a long over due conversation. The voice of Back British Women must no longer be silenced.
I think this is an important and timely book although maybe publication should have been pushed back to allow for the events of 2020 to be given additional consideration, but I hope there will be updates and continuation of this is the form of additional editions with more generations of Black British Woman contributing,
I have already purchased the book and I'm proud to have it on my bookshelf.
This has been a hard review write and don't think it will do the book justice regardless. However I will try to convey my thoughts the best I can. This book is not only wanted but is also needed in today's world. As with all anthologies, some contributions resonated more with me that others and I wanted more - both from the essays themselves and in the form of more essays, but this is a never ending discussion that right now continues to remain incomplete and unresolved so this is by no means a criticism of this book and in fact, I see this book as the start of the continuation of a long over due conversation. The voice of Back British Women must no longer be silenced.
I think this is an important and timely book although maybe publication should have been pushed back to allow for the events of 2020 to be given additional consideration, but I hope there will be updates and continuation of this is the form of additional editions with more generations of Black British Woman contributing,
I have already purchased the book and I'm proud to have it on my bookshelf.
March 11, 2021
Wonderful and thought-provoking essays by various black women who share their experiences in the world. Each one brought different perspectives and their thoughts on how society needs to move forward. An important step is in reckoning with our past and understanding the role black women have played across different societies. Most of the writers are from the UK, but draw on examples occurring in the US as well. As one writer wrote about "understand that black history is global history", that everyone must learn the past and embed black history in every curriculum around the world. I don't agree with some of the other reviewers that they are not the target audience; this book is for everyone, as Siana Bangura says about history, learning and understanding, and moving forward, "this is vital for Black people, but also other people - especially white people. Ignorance of one's history damages the oppressor as well as the oppressed."
October 7, 2020
Loud Black Girls is a collection of essays by 20 Black British female voices who discuss what it means to be a loud Black girl in the times we are living in. When you read the word loud, don’t read it as a term to describe literal volume but read it as a term to describe how these women are striving to be their most authentic selves in a world that has already decided who they are and will be.
What I enjoyed about this book was that each woman brought something different to the table. While one talked about raising a child to be an independent thinker, another talked about the impact of blackexcellence. While one discussed my favourite (not) question, ‘Where are you from?’ and figuring out your identity, another discussed what it means to be first generation in a country different to where your parents grew up.
There were so many things that I could relate to in this book; being British, being first generation, learning and being part of one culture at home whilst learning and trying to fit into another culture at school. I enjoyed reading about the similarities in growing up and being that I have had to these women (slight fan girling as my husband is from the same area as one of the writers) but I also enjoyed learning about aspects of their lives that I didn’t know about.
This is a great place to start to transition from the ‘saying’ to the ‘doing’ regarding allyship. Because a collection of 20 voices means 20 diverse perspectives of what it means to be a Black British Woman.
What I enjoyed about this book was that each woman brought something different to the table. While one talked about raising a child to be an independent thinker, another talked about the impact of blackexcellence. While one discussed my favourite (not) question, ‘Where are you from?’ and figuring out your identity, another discussed what it means to be first generation in a country different to where your parents grew up.
There were so many things that I could relate to in this book; being British, being first generation, learning and being part of one culture at home whilst learning and trying to fit into another culture at school. I enjoyed reading about the similarities in growing up and being that I have had to these women (slight fan girling as my husband is from the same area as one of the writers) but I also enjoyed learning about aspects of their lives that I didn’t know about.
This is a great place to start to transition from the ‘saying’ to the ‘doing’ regarding allyship. Because a collection of 20 voices means 20 diverse perspectives of what it means to be a Black British Woman.
September 28, 2020
A collection of essays by British black women , including Candice Brathwaite, Fiona Rutherford and Eunice Olumide,along with many others. As a white woman I am not the target audience for this as it’s a book for young black women, that’s not to say I or white women shouldn’t be reading this, it definitely should be read as part of our ongoing anti racism journey, just more that it’s written for Loud Black Girls and they will benefit from this most. This covers the positivity they have to share, their stories and the not so positive in the discrimination they faced, how much harder they had to work to succeed and ‘fit in’ and while their is frustration, discrimination this is filled with so much more hope. An essential read.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
December 10, 2020
This is a book I felt like I needed to read.
Touching on many topics such as white supremacy, white saviours, micro aggression, the patriarchy and many other things - and told from 20 black women in captivating essays!
These essays challenge the perceptions that the world has of black women and people. They question: “why do you call us this?” and “why do you say that?”
It’s a call for us to check ourselves, and allow black voices to rise up. As well as make way for a time of no more “first black woman to...”, but herald all the achievements that black women are continuously doing.
Touching on many topics such as white supremacy, white saviours, micro aggression, the patriarchy and many other things - and told from 20 black women in captivating essays!
These essays challenge the perceptions that the world has of black women and people. They question: “why do you call us this?” and “why do you say that?”
It’s a call for us to check ourselves, and allow black voices to rise up. As well as make way for a time of no more “first black woman to...”, but herald all the achievements that black women are continuously doing.
September 17, 2025
I really enjoyed this book, a collection of essays written by British black women in our society and the discussion of what’s next for black women in the future. I liked that this was UK focused as it was something that I haven’t seen covered/read in books yet specifically. I found this really educational as it covered an array of topics such as appearance, racism, identity, being a part of the diaspora, having space at the table, relationship with home foods, being a minority in industry, moving back to the homeland, motherhood, feminism, sexuality, education, mental health, violence and also love. Although I think this book specifically was written for the audience of a black woman, I still had many things I could relate to and even if I didn’t I could also learn from. There were lots of vulnerable pieces of women’s experiences from schools to adulthood and also their connection to identity and it has allowed me to better understand from a black women’s perspective what their experience in the UK has been like. Highly recommend!
October 15, 2020
This is a great collection of essays by black women about their thoughts, their lives and what they would like people to know instead of stereotypes and misconceptions.
I will say I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half, I do wonder if it might have been good to group the essays by similar themes or ideas, I ended up getting mixed up with who wrote what. That said, I learnt a lot while reading this, things I would never know from experience. As a white woman reading, it gave me more insight into what it means to be a black woman and reaffirmed why we need to make sure feminism is inclusive of all women and their experiences.
This was a 3.5 star read from me, worth a read!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the opportunity to review.
I will say I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half, I do wonder if it might have been good to group the essays by similar themes or ideas, I ended up getting mixed up with who wrote what. That said, I learnt a lot while reading this, things I would never know from experience. As a white woman reading, it gave me more insight into what it means to be a black woman and reaffirmed why we need to make sure feminism is inclusive of all women and their experiences.
This was a 3.5 star read from me, worth a read!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the opportunity to review.
July 24, 2020
I firmly believe it is a remarkable moment when you come across a book you know will change your life.
In this anthology of black British writing, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, the authors of Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, ask the next generation of established and emerging black British women – authors, journalists, actors, activists and artists – to explore what it means to them to exist in these turbulent times.
What they write are twenty incredibly powerful essays; every single one emphasizing why women need to make themselves heard.
Here’s a hard hitting excerpt from Candace Braithwaite’s essay ‘To Be Seen and Heard, That’s Where Power Is...’:
“When I speak to people about our society, I often use a pyramid to help illustrate my point. At the top of the pyramid are white men. Just below them comes white women, and after that it’s men and women of any other race except black. The final slab of the pyramid belongs to black men. And black women? We don’t even get gifted a space on the pyramid. We are the pillars, entrenched by the soil, holding the pyramid aloft but never given the chance to be seen, let alone heard.”
It is also of note that multiple authors draw a parallel between Black and Asian women and how government policies disproportionately affect these minorities more than any other group. A lot of the observations and analyses will resonate with Asian readers as well.
If there is one sentence that captures the essence of what this book is about and why it needs to change, it is this quote at the beginning of the book, credited to writtenbyhanna (Twitter): "Black women will always be too loud for a world that never intended on listening to them."
A highly recommended read.
This ARC courtesy of Netgalley and 4th Estate Books, an imprint of Harpercollins UK.
In this anthology of black British writing, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, the authors of Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, ask the next generation of established and emerging black British women – authors, journalists, actors, activists and artists – to explore what it means to them to exist in these turbulent times.
What they write are twenty incredibly powerful essays; every single one emphasizing why women need to make themselves heard.
Here’s a hard hitting excerpt from Candace Braithwaite’s essay ‘To Be Seen and Heard, That’s Where Power Is...’:
“When I speak to people about our society, I often use a pyramid to help illustrate my point. At the top of the pyramid are white men. Just below them comes white women, and after that it’s men and women of any other race except black. The final slab of the pyramid belongs to black men. And black women? We don’t even get gifted a space on the pyramid. We are the pillars, entrenched by the soil, holding the pyramid aloft but never given the chance to be seen, let alone heard.”
It is also of note that multiple authors draw a parallel between Black and Asian women and how government policies disproportionately affect these minorities more than any other group. A lot of the observations and analyses will resonate with Asian readers as well.
If there is one sentence that captures the essence of what this book is about and why it needs to change, it is this quote at the beginning of the book, credited to writtenbyhanna (Twitter): "Black women will always be too loud for a world that never intended on listening to them."
A highly recommended read.
This ARC courtesy of Netgalley and 4th Estate Books, an imprint of Harpercollins UK.
January 29, 2021
My Interest
My interest came from Liz’s review. I had just read Austin Channing Brown’s I’m Still Here, so I thought it would be interesting to read the same issues from a British perspective. And, I was right–it was.
In the interest of fairness, I will say that I willfully skipped two of the essays as both had the potential to give me heart attack #2. I am committed to ending racism, but not to having a second heart attack. Yes, of course, one was the Markle-praise blather essay.
The Essays
If you wondered where Prince Harry learned of the supposed institutionalized racism of the UK look no further. It and other Markle-ish phrases like thrive not just survive are all in here. Yes, the book is newer than that phrase, but these authors have all told their stories before. Some are very well known speakers, influences, and crusaders for the causes of racial justice and feminism. I’m all for those causes, by the way, I just don’t want to be preached at about them by a Prince who had to have secret help to get an A-level in art at one of the most privileged schools on earth and who quit an Army desk job out of boredom and lack of education or by a failed actress whose only claim, to fame is the marrying said prince. These women, however, are the real deal. The people doing the work. I willingly listened to them. They didn’t study Diana interviews and practice shedding fake tears to deliver these lines. They lived the experiences–and not at very exclusive Beverly Hills girls school, either. #Megxitnow
The essays that caught my eye and held my attention and really made me think included one that is likely the most controversial. Remember, I did NOT say, that I agreed with all, or any, of it! It made me think,
Siana Bagura’s “Who built it and with what wood?” A Black Feminist 10-point (-ish) Programme for Transformation
If you follow the news, much of her essay will be familiar from the more intelligent discussions of the Black Lives Matter protests. Much, but by no means all of what she advocates is very good and very sensible:
Take up space, use your voices. This is 2020-speak for GET INVOLVED.
Language Matters (see #5)
End White Supremacy/White Fragility (very moving to write this a day after the champions of White Supremecy breached the U.S. Capitol). I’m not clear on what “White Fragility” truly means, but I have enough of a notion of it to understand where she is going.
[Really 4 & 7]Capitalism is killing SOME of us and the Tools of Wellbeing Shouldn’t Be A Luxury. Capitalism– I don’t buy into this argument. Capitalism works. What doesn’t work is the hodge-podge of social programs in the US and in a few other countries to help raise the poor to a decent standard of living, to receive a fair/equal education, and to obtain equal health care–especially mental health care. Those programs fail spectacularly. Health care, housing, education–those should never be “luxuries.” I do not agree that they are a “right” in that governments should provide them though. But there should be a high enough minimum wage to make them possible.
[Really 5 & 6]Decolonize Diversity and Black History is Global This one overlaps perfectly with Austin Channing Brown’s scathing (and totally deserved) take on the ethnicity of the month type of diversity programming or programming that praises Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., to the sky but doesn’t focus on what the wrongs were he was fighting to right or mention that most are still with us. This essay also goes into the need to stop using euphemisms that hide people. “Diversity” “inclusion,” “of color” are some of the words that render especially blacks invisible. There should be no need for Black History Month because history shouldn’t be segregated in the first place.
Let’s Abolish the Police and Address the Prison-Industrial Complex I do not agree at all with abolishing the police. I do think it is time we train them to prevent, rather than punish, when possible. The UK and the USA have some of the worst prisons in the Industrialized “first” world. Punishment does NOT work. We make it impossible for people to change and re-enter society with a chance of making that change permanent. For-Profit Prison is an obscene idea and it has been shown that inmates from For-Profit Prisons have even less chance on the outside.
A Black Feminist Analysis is Needed in the Conversation on Climate Justice. Sure, why not.
Freedom & Dignity for all Black people. I disagree that the phrase Black Lives Matter means only so-called “CIS” black men.
The other essays I liked touched on the African Diaspora returning to the continent, a memoir of growing up trying to fit or not fit stereotypes, an engaging memory of a girl’s empowerment by her upbringing, and the power of women who get their finances together–that last being essential to women of any race or nationality or sexual identity.
Loud Black Girls: 20 Black Women Writers Ask: “What’s Next?”
My Verdict
3.5
3.5
October 18, 2020
Loud Black Girls is an anthology of essays written by some truly inspiring Black Women. I've never read a book like this, a series of essays based on a singular topic but in different environments.
I'm going to add my disclaimer in here, as a white woman there is no way I can understand the experiences of these amazing women who have written these essays. But it is my job to educate myself on their experiences and points of view to be a better person and to stand with all people.
I loved reading this book, it is incredibly insightful, thought-provoking and very relevant. The book is based on the experiences of being a Black Woman in Britain. The writers in this book all express their experiences or thoughts on this topic in different areas of life that are meaningful for them. As you read you can truly feel their passion, their emotions and it is impossible not to connect with these women.
The title of this book "Loud Black Girls" is about the stereotype forced on Black women today, that they are louder than other women. This is essentially not true and a bias representation but the authors use this as their podium to tell us their stories. The written voices are loud and clear, telling us their experiences and thoughts, inviting us into their worlds.
As a non-fiction book and a book of essays personal to their writer, there is nothing I can say that is bad on this content. I won't be telling you anything specific on the essays either because it could spoil them. I will tell you that there was not a single essay I did not enjoy reading, that each essay made me reflect on myself and how I can improve myself to support these incredible women. To stand shoulder to shoulder with them. This book will remind every reader regardless of colour or sex that Black women are here and they are succeeding.
Coming out of this book, reading some of these women's history, Black History, I realised that my own education as a child and even as a grown adult is missing Black British History. Their History is our History and we should be sharing it, teaching it at every level. Britain isn't just the White rich people and what they've done. There are more layers to British History than that and we need to take the blinkers off and truly look around.
Overall, this is one of the most educating reads of 2020 for me. Reading the lessons these women are giving me through their stories. These stories provoked several emotions in me. Laughter, Anger, Sorrow and Embarrassment. The latter based on my own missing education and appreciation for these women. This anthology is so valuable to all and full of engaging topics and opinions.
If you enjoy other peoples perspectives, their stories. If you're prepared to educate yourself on the experiences of others. If you want to understand more about the thoughts and experiences of Black British Women and open your eyes to what they bring to our society then you have to read this book.
I'm going to add my disclaimer in here, as a white woman there is no way I can understand the experiences of these amazing women who have written these essays. But it is my job to educate myself on their experiences and points of view to be a better person and to stand with all people.
I loved reading this book, it is incredibly insightful, thought-provoking and very relevant. The book is based on the experiences of being a Black Woman in Britain. The writers in this book all express their experiences or thoughts on this topic in different areas of life that are meaningful for them. As you read you can truly feel their passion, their emotions and it is impossible not to connect with these women.
The title of this book "Loud Black Girls" is about the stereotype forced on Black women today, that they are louder than other women. This is essentially not true and a bias representation but the authors use this as their podium to tell us their stories. The written voices are loud and clear, telling us their experiences and thoughts, inviting us into their worlds.
As a non-fiction book and a book of essays personal to their writer, there is nothing I can say that is bad on this content. I won't be telling you anything specific on the essays either because it could spoil them. I will tell you that there was not a single essay I did not enjoy reading, that each essay made me reflect on myself and how I can improve myself to support these incredible women. To stand shoulder to shoulder with them. This book will remind every reader regardless of colour or sex that Black women are here and they are succeeding.
Coming out of this book, reading some of these women's history, Black History, I realised that my own education as a child and even as a grown adult is missing Black British History. Their History is our History and we should be sharing it, teaching it at every level. Britain isn't just the White rich people and what they've done. There are more layers to British History than that and we need to take the blinkers off and truly look around.
Overall, this is one of the most educating reads of 2020 for me. Reading the lessons these women are giving me through their stories. These stories provoked several emotions in me. Laughter, Anger, Sorrow and Embarrassment. The latter based on my own missing education and appreciation for these women. This anthology is so valuable to all and full of engaging topics and opinions.
If you enjoy other peoples perspectives, their stories. If you're prepared to educate yourself on the experiences of others. If you want to understand more about the thoughts and experiences of Black British Women and open your eyes to what they bring to our society then you have to read this book.
September 25, 2020
Loud Black Girls is an anthology of essays by 20 young Black British women, edited by the authors of the critically-acclaimed Slay In Your Lane. It covers a wide range of topics, from food to film, childrearing to the criminalisation of young black people, and all sorts in between.
The contributors reflect on their experiences of becoming ‘loud black girls’ - that is, embracing and putting forward their authentic selves - the achievements of black women over the past decade, and the things that still need to change. The overall message is that having taken so many leaps forward in recent years, things can only get better for the next generation of black women.
On one level, this is a self-help book for young black women, so it’s not really ‘for’ me - and given the volume of advice books that assume whiteness as the default, it’s good to see more and more books coming out that black readers can relate to. Loud Black Girls offered me an opportunity to gain insight into what it’s like to be the only black woman in the room, and the prejudices, labels and assumptions that arise. The writers described experiences that hadn’t crossed my mind before, which made me more aware of my privilege and angry on their behalf.
A key message of Loud Black Girls is hope. The authors have achieved success in a range of exciting careers, opening the door for the next generation. They talk about the work and achievements of other black women who have broken through society’s barriers in ways that seemed impossible just a few years ago, and the increased visibility of anti-racist movements.
I was especially interested in, and moved by, their stories of coming to embrace their blackness, having been led to believe while they were growing up, for example, that black hair and African food were inferior and they should shun them in order to fit in more with the white people around them.
But it’s not all so positive. The contributors also talk about how they’ve had to work so much harder than white people to win the same places at the table - and then, when they get there, their presence is questioned and they feel guilty, wondering whether they’ve colluded with the racist system and should have broken the table instead.
Internet trolls are a bigger issue for black women than any other group, black women are especially impacted by COVID-19 and austerity, and black people are criminalised and treated unfairly by the justice system from a young age. The message is clear: equality and diversity initiatives don’t go far enough; we need to be anti-racist in order to make a truly fair society, and tackle the institutional racism that exists in schools, the police, workplaces and many, many other systems and settings.
Loud Black Girls is interesting and thought-provoking, and offers hope for the future.
The contributors reflect on their experiences of becoming ‘loud black girls’ - that is, embracing and putting forward their authentic selves - the achievements of black women over the past decade, and the things that still need to change. The overall message is that having taken so many leaps forward in recent years, things can only get better for the next generation of black women.
On one level, this is a self-help book for young black women, so it’s not really ‘for’ me - and given the volume of advice books that assume whiteness as the default, it’s good to see more and more books coming out that black readers can relate to. Loud Black Girls offered me an opportunity to gain insight into what it’s like to be the only black woman in the room, and the prejudices, labels and assumptions that arise. The writers described experiences that hadn’t crossed my mind before, which made me more aware of my privilege and angry on their behalf.
A key message of Loud Black Girls is hope. The authors have achieved success in a range of exciting careers, opening the door for the next generation. They talk about the work and achievements of other black women who have broken through society’s barriers in ways that seemed impossible just a few years ago, and the increased visibility of anti-racist movements.
I was especially interested in, and moved by, their stories of coming to embrace their blackness, having been led to believe while they were growing up, for example, that black hair and African food were inferior and they should shun them in order to fit in more with the white people around them.
But it’s not all so positive. The contributors also talk about how they’ve had to work so much harder than white people to win the same places at the table - and then, when they get there, their presence is questioned and they feel guilty, wondering whether they’ve colluded with the racist system and should have broken the table instead.
Internet trolls are a bigger issue for black women than any other group, black women are especially impacted by COVID-19 and austerity, and black people are criminalised and treated unfairly by the justice system from a young age. The message is clear: equality and diversity initiatives don’t go far enough; we need to be anti-racist in order to make a truly fair society, and tackle the institutional racism that exists in schools, the police, workplaces and many, many other systems and settings.
Loud Black Girls is interesting and thought-provoking, and offers hope for the future.
September 13, 2020
"Being a loud black girl isn't about the volume of your voice; and using your voice doesn't always mean speaking the loudest or dominating the room. Most of the time it's simply existing as your authentic self in a world that is constantly trying to tell you to minimise who you are."
Following the success of Slay In Your Lane and the accompanying journal, this is an anthology of 20 essays by black British women looking to the future. Reading it as a white woman, I could relate to some of the challenges discussed (protected by my white privilege from all of them). It gave me insights into how black women feel and what they want from the future. It's a powerful and vital piece of work that made me joyous, sad, angry, ashamed and determined to continue to be, and teach my children to be, a better ally to black women. I urge you to read this.
Below are the contributing authors and a brief summary of their essay:
⭐Abiola Oni - a recent immigrant, part of the second wave of black migration to Britain.
⭐Candice Brathwaite - experiences as a black mother, challenging that children should be 'seen and not heard'.
⭐Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff - being a shy black girl.
⭐Elizabeth Fapuro - explores Black women's relationship with Black excellence and the absence of the Black middle.
⭐Eunice Olumide - representations of black women in film, television and music: the mammy, the ho, the heroine, and the angry black woman.
⭐Fiona Rutherford - the importance of financial literacy.
⭐Jendella Benson - owning narratives by recording and documenting black lives.
⭐Kuba Shand-Baptiste - the politics of race and Caribbean food.
⭐Kuchenga - black love as a transsexual woman.
⭐Nao - what post-Brexit Britain may look like for black women.
⭐Paula Akpan - the allure of 'secure your bag politics'.
⭐Phoebe Parke - mixed race identity and the importance of language and labels.
⭐Selina Thompson - on turning thirty.
⭐Sheila Atim - links between global uncertainty and it within black lives.
⭐Siana Bangura - Black Feminist 10-Point programme for transformation.
⭐Sophia Thakur - writes to her daughter about belonging.
⭐Temi Mwale - failure to address the needs of young black people is negligence and leads to violence.
⭐Toni-Blaze Ibekwe - Black women's deconstruction of stereotypes.
⭐Yemisi Adegoke - Diaspora and the motherland.
Following the success of Slay In Your Lane and the accompanying journal, this is an anthology of 20 essays by black British women looking to the future. Reading it as a white woman, I could relate to some of the challenges discussed (protected by my white privilege from all of them). It gave me insights into how black women feel and what they want from the future. It's a powerful and vital piece of work that made me joyous, sad, angry, ashamed and determined to continue to be, and teach my children to be, a better ally to black women. I urge you to read this.
Below are the contributing authors and a brief summary of their essay:
⭐Abiola Oni - a recent immigrant, part of the second wave of black migration to Britain.
⭐Candice Brathwaite - experiences as a black mother, challenging that children should be 'seen and not heard'.
⭐Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff - being a shy black girl.
⭐Elizabeth Fapuro - explores Black women's relationship with Black excellence and the absence of the Black middle.
⭐Eunice Olumide - representations of black women in film, television and music: the mammy, the ho, the heroine, and the angry black woman.
⭐Fiona Rutherford - the importance of financial literacy.
⭐Jendella Benson - owning narratives by recording and documenting black lives.
⭐Kuba Shand-Baptiste - the politics of race and Caribbean food.
⭐Kuchenga - black love as a transsexual woman.
⭐Nao - what post-Brexit Britain may look like for black women.
⭐Paula Akpan - the allure of 'secure your bag politics'.
⭐Phoebe Parke - mixed race identity and the importance of language and labels.
⭐Selina Thompson - on turning thirty.
⭐Sheila Atim - links between global uncertainty and it within black lives.
⭐Siana Bangura - Black Feminist 10-Point programme for transformation.
⭐Sophia Thakur - writes to her daughter about belonging.
⭐Temi Mwale - failure to address the needs of young black people is negligence and leads to violence.
⭐Toni-Blaze Ibekwe - Black women's deconstruction of stereotypes.
⭐Yemisi Adegoke - Diaspora and the motherland.
March 12, 2022
It probably won't come as a surprise that some of these essays are worthy of a 5-star rating, while others come in more at the 2-star level.
What did come as a surprise--to this reader, at least--was how the brief personalized introductions that preceded the piece of each writer seemed so uniformly condescending in tone. By the fourth one I couldn't even bear to skim-read, just went straight to the essay.
A couple of times I found myself thinking, "Man, some of this stuff seems really tone deaf," and then I had to remind myself that it was a pre-Covid pandemic effort on the part of most involved; and that, were they to be writing today, their takes on certain matters would most definitely be informed by everything that's gone down in the world since March of 2020.
Wish I could give Loud Black Girls 3.5 stars because, overall, the book was interesting, educating, and informative on everything from history to pop culture with food and international relations and economics and everything else in between. Oh, and of course racism. One word I learned today was misogynoir, a noun defined by Oxford Languages as dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against black women. "Misogynoir shows how sexism and racism manifest in black women's lives to create intersecting forms of oppression."
WORTH REPEATING FOR THE RECORD
From The Intro By Yomi Adegoke
".....in a world where white men are the default. Everything else is considered a derivation or anomaly."
From The 'Shuri' Effect By Elisabeth Fapuro
"In order to morally justify the purely economic motives for intervention, colonisation had to be premised on the idea that black people were intellectually inferior to their white counterparts. The combined effect of imperialism, colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade on the black consciousness, therefore, was to perpetuate the idea that black achievement is anomalous. This was done through highly unimaginative means including the removal of black people from their land to try and suppress their knoweledge of their culture and history, creating a global mainstream media designed to focus on white achievement and bulding global economic and educational structures centered around whiteness."
What did come as a surprise--to this reader, at least--was how the brief personalized introductions that preceded the piece of each writer seemed so uniformly condescending in tone. By the fourth one I couldn't even bear to skim-read, just went straight to the essay.
A couple of times I found myself thinking, "Man, some of this stuff seems really tone deaf," and then I had to remind myself that it was a pre-Covid pandemic effort on the part of most involved; and that, were they to be writing today, their takes on certain matters would most definitely be informed by everything that's gone down in the world since March of 2020.
Wish I could give Loud Black Girls 3.5 stars because, overall, the book was interesting, educating, and informative on everything from history to pop culture with food and international relations and economics and everything else in between. Oh, and of course racism. One word I learned today was misogynoir, a noun defined by Oxford Languages as dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against black women. "Misogynoir shows how sexism and racism manifest in black women's lives to create intersecting forms of oppression."
WORTH REPEATING FOR THE RECORD
From The Intro By Yomi Adegoke
".....in a world where white men are the default. Everything else is considered a derivation or anomaly."
From The 'Shuri' Effect By Elisabeth Fapuro
"In order to morally justify the purely economic motives for intervention, colonisation had to be premised on the idea that black people were intellectually inferior to their white counterparts. The combined effect of imperialism, colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade on the black consciousness, therefore, was to perpetuate the idea that black achievement is anomalous. This was done through highly unimaginative means including the removal of black people from their land to try and suppress their knoweledge of their culture and history, creating a global mainstream media designed to focus on white achievement and bulding global economic and educational structures centered around whiteness."
March 30, 2021
First of all, thank you to NetGalley and 4th Estate publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
•
Oftentimes people, particularly and primarily white people are under this illusion that not only does racism not exist (it fucking does) but that black women in particular don’t have it hard. This book sheds light on how important it is to not be ignorant towards the silencing of black women in particular. I’m so grateful I got to read such an empowering book and hope that all black women (and children) feel empowered by the black voices who are rightfully claiming back their space to speak up and loudly!!
This book is so eye opening, even to things about racism you might already be aware of, there’s always deeper layers to it and this book is so important In expanding your education on poignant topics such as this and drive you to not only be an ally but an loyal activist , particularly if you’re a white person.
I found this so deeply moving and needed. I want black women to shout louder, it’s utterly devastating how much erasure comes into play towards black women’s voices and their identities as a whole.The vulnerability and resilience shown by these wonderful women is inspiring and deeply touching, I feel grateful I got to read such beautiful and haunting words. This is just a small look into their lives, these women are strong, fierce and tenacious and I’m completely in awe of them.
I’m so grateful I got to read such an eye-opening, poignant book full of wonderful, empowering women. I can’t recommend this enough, and I truly hope that this helps younger generations of black girls to encourage them to be themselves but also make them feel seen and heard, in a world where white supremacists encourage the erasure of black voices, particularly those from black women and girls.
•
Oftentimes people, particularly and primarily white people are under this illusion that not only does racism not exist (it fucking does) but that black women in particular don’t have it hard. This book sheds light on how important it is to not be ignorant towards the silencing of black women in particular. I’m so grateful I got to read such an empowering book and hope that all black women (and children) feel empowered by the black voices who are rightfully claiming back their space to speak up and loudly!!
This book is so eye opening, even to things about racism you might already be aware of, there’s always deeper layers to it and this book is so important In expanding your education on poignant topics such as this and drive you to not only be an ally but an loyal activist , particularly if you’re a white person.
I found this so deeply moving and needed. I want black women to shout louder, it’s utterly devastating how much erasure comes into play towards black women’s voices and their identities as a whole.The vulnerability and resilience shown by these wonderful women is inspiring and deeply touching, I feel grateful I got to read such beautiful and haunting words. This is just a small look into their lives, these women are strong, fierce and tenacious and I’m completely in awe of them.
I’m so grateful I got to read such an eye-opening, poignant book full of wonderful, empowering women. I can’t recommend this enough, and I truly hope that this helps younger generations of black girls to encourage them to be themselves but also make them feel seen and heard, in a world where white supremacists encourage the erasure of black voices, particularly those from black women and girls.
November 27, 2021
What a great essay collection. I felt like I could connect so much to what was being said.
I enjoyed the variety of topics covered in this anthology and favourites included:
-To be seen and heard, that is where the power is by Candice Braithwaite.
-The 'Shuri' Effect: the age of #blackexcellence, the falsehood of black mediocrity and the absence of the Black Middle by Elisabeth Fapuro. This was amazing. I shared some of this with my boss as the day before we had a BLM workshop for some students and it highlighted a lot of the things I was trying to say.
-Eating Britain's Rascim by Kuba Shand-Baptiste. This really brought to light how many black kids try to westernised themselves, even in the simple things of food and the acceptance (or lack thereof) of their culture in comparison to their white friends, and what is seen as "normal" and what "should" be eaten, which often times is from the white perspective.
-The Meghan Markle Effect made mixed race identity a hot topic, but are we any futher forward? By Phoebe Parke
-As loud as Lagos Traffic by Princess Peace. I especially liked the poetry sprinkled within this essay.
-A crocus ruminates: 30 thoughts on turning 30 by Selina Thompson
-What happens next? By Sheila Atim
-Who built it and with what wood? : a black feminist 10-point (ish) programme for transformation by Siana Bangura.
Homecoming by Yemisi Adegoke. This was a strong final essay, courtesy of one of the creators of the anthology's sister, talking about an interesting experience of being a returnee in Nigeria.
This was such a great collection and I'll have to go back and read the first book.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
I enjoyed the variety of topics covered in this anthology and favourites included:
-To be seen and heard, that is where the power is by Candice Braithwaite.
-The 'Shuri' Effect: the age of #blackexcellence, the falsehood of black mediocrity and the absence of the Black Middle by Elisabeth Fapuro. This was amazing. I shared some of this with my boss as the day before we had a BLM workshop for some students and it highlighted a lot of the things I was trying to say.
-Eating Britain's Rascim by Kuba Shand-Baptiste. This really brought to light how many black kids try to westernised themselves, even in the simple things of food and the acceptance (or lack thereof) of their culture in comparison to their white friends, and what is seen as "normal" and what "should" be eaten, which often times is from the white perspective.
-The Meghan Markle Effect made mixed race identity a hot topic, but are we any futher forward? By Phoebe Parke
-As loud as Lagos Traffic by Princess Peace. I especially liked the poetry sprinkled within this essay.
-A crocus ruminates: 30 thoughts on turning 30 by Selina Thompson
-What happens next? By Sheila Atim
-Who built it and with what wood? : a black feminist 10-point (ish) programme for transformation by Siana Bangura.
Homecoming by Yemisi Adegoke. This was a strong final essay, courtesy of one of the creators of the anthology's sister, talking about an interesting experience of being a returnee in Nigeria.
This was such a great collection and I'll have to go back and read the first book.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
May 5, 2022
This book is must a read !!
This anthology consists of essays detailing the various perspectives and realities of Black British women.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Particularly the individualism of each chapter and how each author unpacks the impact of stereotypes on Black women.
As a Black man, this book really opened my eyes and taught me a lot.
I really liked the way Elisabeth Fapuro explored the notion of Black excellence and the absence of a Black middle class.
Eunice Olumide thoroughly delves into the depictions of Black women within society, looking at the social ramifications of such depictions and how Black women are exploited.
I really found Fiona Rutherford’s essay on financial literacy and Independence thought-provoking.
Kuchenga shed light on the experiences of Black trans women very well, particularly with regards to the lack of safe spaces and impact of misogyny.
I enjoyed reading the essay written by Princess Peace in which she examines the impact of xenophobia and family pressures.
Sophia Thakur articulates herself very well in her essay, championing the importance of Black women embracing their roots, culture and blackness.
Temi Mwale also raises pertinent points with regards to youth violence and growing up in marginalised communities.
For me this book is a necessary and timeless read.
Definitely a book for your collection and one that a lot of people need to read.
This anthology consists of essays detailing the various perspectives and realities of Black British women.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Particularly the individualism of each chapter and how each author unpacks the impact of stereotypes on Black women.
As a Black man, this book really opened my eyes and taught me a lot.
I really liked the way Elisabeth Fapuro explored the notion of Black excellence and the absence of a Black middle class.
Eunice Olumide thoroughly delves into the depictions of Black women within society, looking at the social ramifications of such depictions and how Black women are exploited.
I really found Fiona Rutherford’s essay on financial literacy and Independence thought-provoking.
Kuchenga shed light on the experiences of Black trans women very well, particularly with regards to the lack of safe spaces and impact of misogyny.
I enjoyed reading the essay written by Princess Peace in which she examines the impact of xenophobia and family pressures.
Sophia Thakur articulates herself very well in her essay, championing the importance of Black women embracing their roots, culture and blackness.
Temi Mwale also raises pertinent points with regards to youth violence and growing up in marginalised communities.
For me this book is a necessary and timeless read.
Definitely a book for your collection and one that a lot of people need to read.
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