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A review by fionag
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book destroys the idea that the ‘British aren’t racist’.
Written with such impactful writing and part biography part non fiction mix, Akala has taught me more about the British empires involvement in the slave trade and such than I ever learned in school. This book is not afraid of the nasty bits of history, which we all need to hear.
He actually deconstructs words like ‘race’ and ‘class’ that we all throw around and helps us understand these intersections. Being Scottish, I really like the chapter comparing his time in Jamaica and Scotland, and how racial identity changes depending on where you are. I also found his honestly about violence impactful as it was told not in a ‘I got out so you can too’ way but showed how easy it is to fall into when you’ve already been racialised as a criminal. Certainly made me think about how engrained racism is.
The book ends at the start of the Trump administration and the Brexit talks, which feels particularly poignant to me as I finished the book shortly after Brexit went through and the capitol had been stormed in reaction to Trump’s loss. The ending of the book highlights how important individual change is and I’m so glad I read this.
Written with such impactful writing and part biography part non fiction mix, Akala has taught me more about the British empires involvement in the slave trade and such than I ever learned in school. This book is not afraid of the nasty bits of history, which we all need to hear.
He actually deconstructs words like ‘race’ and ‘class’ that we all throw around and helps us understand these intersections. Being Scottish, I really like the chapter comparing his time in Jamaica and Scotland, and how racial identity changes depending on where you are. I also found his honestly about violence impactful as it was told not in a ‘I got out so you can too’ way but showed how easy it is to fall into when you’ve already been racialised as a criminal. Certainly made me think about how engrained racism is.
The book ends at the start of the Trump administration and the Brexit talks, which feels particularly poignant to me as I finished the book shortly after Brexit went through and the capitol had been stormed in reaction to Trump’s loss. The ending of the book highlights how important individual change is and I’m so glad I read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism