Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala

19 reviews

emcatbee's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Colonisation, and Cursing

Moderate: Antisemitism, Cancer, War, Violence, Trafficking, Rape, and Police brutality

charleygxrl's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

booksjessreads's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book was so educational and so thorough. I couldn't put it down. Akala has such an eloquent and emphatic style with his part-autobiography, part-polemic, of racism in the UK.

His book discusses the insidiousness of racism in the UK, but how colourism and racism differs in varying degrees in different countries - tying them altogether. It is true that international events and occurrences in the Commonwealth and the Global South resonated with African and Caribbean communities here in Britain. His book demonstrated how the interconnectedness of the world allowed black Britons to feel connected to black culture, yet so far from it, whilst being racially excluded from their home in the UK.

His accounts of how 'liberal' white people in the UK perpetuate racism continually, and that it is this type of oppression that hits the UK the hardest. One of the parts that intrigued me the most was his discussions and his own personal experiences with racism within the school system. Teachers, and the institution of education itself, holds its hand up to say that the system purposefully disadvantages those of non-white backgrounds, yet equally does nothing about it.

Every single page in this book gave me an extremely poignant and heartbreaking personal account of racism, yet intertwined with statistics and studies that backed up these experiences. Akala is one of many.

This book for me was 5 stars and there is no force on earth that would let me give it any less. I was fully astounded by this book and I am going to read it again and again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Violence

questingnotcoasting's review

challenging informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

This completely lived up to all the glowing reviews I'd seen. I meant to read it last month but didn't get round to it and I'm glad I didn't leave it any longer. Akala's writing is articulate, incisive and witty and he interweaves his lived experience with history so smoothly. He examines the way race and class intersect and builds a clear argument against the common misconception that the UK is a meritocracy. That in particular wasn't news to me but there was so much history here that I knew nothing about, including some fairly recent events. I just read Black and British by David Olusoga and I feel like the two books complement each other very well. I found them both really enlightening, especially in the way they dismantle the myths Britain has built around its history of colonialism and slavery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

rubyhosh's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Rape

stormwise's review

challenging informative reflective

4.5

Akala does a fantastic job of explaining how modern discrimination is rooted in imperialism, exploring how contemporary examples of racism are influenced by history. 

I personally found the chapters revolving around Akala's experiences at school the most compelling; they address the long-lasting impact of racial bias on schoolchildren and recall the bullying and gaslighting of bigoted teachers. The autobiographic elements of this book really drive home Akala's points - he hasn't just researched this topic, he's lived it. 

This book is an incredible tool that can be used when debating the uninformed, the ignorant and the prejudiced on matters of racial inequality - it even pauses for an interlude that addresses the most common arguments. Anyone who is interested in anti-racist reading, particularly with a focus on the UK, will benefit from reading this book - and I'm tempted to also recommend it to anyone who still doesn't think that racism is a problem in the UK. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence

zulliekinz's review against another edition

hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

An excellent look at the dynamics often ignored but always at play in British and European society. I learn a lot that I didn't know before and understood so much more about Britain's history as a white power. Akala manages to weave in humour to an incredible array of dark subjects and his storytelling is so warm and powerful because of this. 

I listened to the audible version of this book and it was read by the man himself - he lands the tone of his words so well and it made for an even more thoughtful authentic and somehow enjoyable read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, and Slavery

paleghosty's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I read this as part of the Decolonise UoM Radical Readers Book Club and I'm so glad I got the chance!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Police brutality, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Rape, Islamophobia, and Antisemitism

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia