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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
'Black women will always be too loud for a world that never intended on listening to them.'
At school, we're "disruptive" and "overconfident" if we show up as ourselves; at work, we're "aggressive" and "intimidating" when we challenge the status quo and "sassy" if deemed palatable to our colleagues; our laughter is inappropriate on public transport and in restaurants. Slay In Your Lane's LOUD BLACK GIRLS anthology takes the label foisted upon Black girls as a means to silence us, and turns it on its head, creating a space for readers to listen to the voices of Black British women, instead of those who seek to define them.
In LOUD BLACK GIRLS, Yomi and Elizabeth have gathered 20 Black British women - from activists to authors to actors - to write about a range of topics important to them. From Kuchenga's 'I Love Us For Real', a mediation on loving Black men and a radical reconfiguration of Black love from a black trans woman’s perspective, to Elisabeth Fapuro's 'The Shuri Effect' which wrestles with the maxim and effect of "Black excellence"; from Paula Akpan's 'The Quandary of Securing the Bag' a rumination on maintaining integrity while producing paid content, to Sophia Thakur's beautiful 'A Poem For Baby Girl' - this collection demonstrates what we already knew: we have THEE RANGE.
In the ways these essays combine the personal, lyrical and academic, there's something that will speak to everyone. Get the audiobook if you want to hear the writers read their own work / feel like you're having a deeply needed catch-up with a friend.
At school, we're "disruptive" and "overconfident" if we show up as ourselves; at work, we're "aggressive" and "intimidating" when we challenge the status quo and "sassy" if deemed palatable to our colleagues; our laughter is inappropriate on public transport and in restaurants. Slay In Your Lane's LOUD BLACK GIRLS anthology takes the label foisted upon Black girls as a means to silence us, and turns it on its head, creating a space for readers to listen to the voices of Black British women, instead of those who seek to define them.
In LOUD BLACK GIRLS, Yomi and Elizabeth have gathered 20 Black British women - from activists to authors to actors - to write about a range of topics important to them. From Kuchenga's 'I Love Us For Real', a mediation on loving Black men and a radical reconfiguration of Black love from a black trans woman’s perspective, to Elisabeth Fapuro's 'The Shuri Effect' which wrestles with the maxim and effect of "Black excellence"; from Paula Akpan's 'The Quandary of Securing the Bag' a rumination on maintaining integrity while producing paid content, to Sophia Thakur's beautiful 'A Poem For Baby Girl' - this collection demonstrates what we already knew: we have THEE RANGE.
In the ways these essays combine the personal, lyrical and academic, there's something that will speak to everyone. Get the audiobook if you want to hear the writers read their own work / feel like you're having a deeply needed catch-up with a friend.
Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uvibinene were inspired to write Slay in Your Lane when they realised there were no books aimed at young Black British women to help them navigate their 20s, in work and outside of it. And it is a great read.
As a non-black woman, this book was a necessary look at how young black women face twice (and then some) the barriers to success in work and education, but also in getting their health needs seen to and being in a relationship. Adegoke and Uvibinene both write chapters on each theme, bringing their own experiences through their writing. I also really appreciated the amount of successful black women they interviewed and quoted throughout - even if I was slightly embarrassed by the amount of women who have done amazing things that I had not heard of.
As a non-black woman, this book was a necessary look at how young black women face twice (and then some) the barriers to success in work and education, but also in getting their health needs seen to and being in a relationship. Adegoke and Uvibinene both write chapters on each theme, bringing their own experiences through their writing. I also really appreciated the amount of successful black women they interviewed and quoted throughout - even if I was slightly embarrassed by the amount of women who have done amazing things that I had not heard of.
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.
I read most of this book in two sittings. Facts, stories of lived experience, and lots of great advice. Strongly recommend.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
From BBC radio 4 - Book of the week:
Two friends explore what it means to be young, black and female in the UK today.
Young black women are facing uniquely challenging experiences in all aspects of their lives. And these experiences are not necessarily the same in the UK as they are in the US. So, when best friends Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené searched for a book that addressed these challenges they realised there was nothing that specifically addressed being black, British, young and female - and you could add to that smart, ambitious and mostly invisible.
Slay in Your Lane is the love child of exasperation and optimism - part guide, part history, part snapshot of the state of the nation. Examining aspects of life including education, work, health, and everyday racism, it's an honest and provocative book offering advice alongside some startling statistics, as well as stories and anecdotes from interviewees including some of the most successful black women in Britain today.
Written and read by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené with additional recorded interviews.
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b91szx
Two friends explore what it means to be young, black and female in the UK today.
Young black women are facing uniquely challenging experiences in all aspects of their lives. And these experiences are not necessarily the same in the UK as they are in the US. So, when best friends Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené searched for a book that addressed these challenges they realised there was nothing that specifically addressed being black, British, young and female - and you could add to that smart, ambitious and mostly invisible.
Slay in Your Lane is the love child of exasperation and optimism - part guide, part history, part snapshot of the state of the nation. Examining aspects of life including education, work, health, and everyday racism, it's an honest and provocative book offering advice alongside some startling statistics, as well as stories and anecdotes from interviewees including some of the most successful black women in Britain today.
Written and read by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené with additional recorded interviews.
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b91szx
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced