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A review by thesinginglights
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
medium-paced
5.0
Akala is one of my favourite thinkers. Clear-eyed, well-informed, and just overall interesting. This is a brilliant blend of Akala's life and the socio-political context that informs him: he being a mixed-race man growing up in London, a fact that made his white mother be disowned by her family.
His story informs aspects of race in the UK from history and concurrently with his life, argued with accessible prose, similar to how he speaks in public. That's part of the draw: it's informative without being overwhelming and speaks deeply and broadly on topics. The one thing I would have liked a bit more of is his reflections on his adult life, of his music career and where he is currently. We get glimpses of it (especially for racial profiling) but the bulk of his personal stuff is from his childhood, especially when he was being a "roadman" in his teens.
His story informs aspects of race in the UK from history and concurrently with his life, argued with accessible prose, similar to how he speaks in public. That's part of the draw: it's informative without being overwhelming and speaks deeply and broadly on topics. The one thing I would have liked a bit more of is his reflections on his adult life, of his music career and where he is currently. We get glimpses of it (especially for racial profiling) but the bulk of his personal stuff is from his childhood, especially when he was being a "roadman" in his teens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery