Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

6 reviews

aliceintheuk4's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Wow. Just wow. David Olusoga has taken such an expansive and important topic and really done it justice in under 600 pages. Having watched ‘A House Through Time’ I knew he had a beautiful way of narrating the past, but this book is something else. Utterly heartbreaking, eye opening even for someone like me who considers themselves quite aware of Britain’s racist and downright evil history, Black and British is a must read for any Brit, regardless of beliefs. Such an important book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Racism, War, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Racism, and Racial slurs

adamjeffson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Xenophobia, Slavery, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Death

katypicken's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

 

Well, it took me a long time to finish this, but I'm glad I persisted.
This book is a perfect illustration of how the past shapes the present, for good and bad. How colonialism and the attitude that the white man is superior shape the racism of today. But also how centuries of history shape the many black communities in Britain today, and how many black people made Britain their home in the past, and how their children and grandchildren and however-many-greats grandchildren are British.
This book looked at the big picture -thousands of people kidnapped and sold into slavery, for example - but also focused down to individuals and their stories.
A must for anyone who wants an antidote to the white-washed history many of us were taught, and who wants to understand more of the multiracial and multicultural Britain we live in today.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

4.0

This was fantastic. It's a comprehensive look at Black history in the UK, which refutes the racist notion that being British and being Black are mutually exclusive, as well as the idea that the presence of Black people in the UK began with the Empire Windrush - in fact it dates back to the Roman Empire.
That makes for a long, detailed book which I've been reading gradually over the last few months because there's so much to take in. The history itself is both horrific and fascinating, but it's also important to note the subtitle. This is history which has often been deliberately erased, evident in the way Britain has downplayed its role in the slave trade and colonialism and focused on its role in abolition.
After reading Stamped From The Beginning earlier in the year and now this I feel like I've got a much better grasp on Black history in both the UK and the USA and understand how events in the two countries are connected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Hate crime, Police brutality, Violence, and Xenophobia

emilistevenson's review

challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Trafficking, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia