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On 30 July 2024, the world’s attention turned to the United Kingdom, where a series of anti-immigrant riots erupted in several cities. While it might be tempting to view these riots as a singular event spurred by rumours about the immigrant status of the suspect of a knife attack, it is crucial to consider them within their larger political contexts. Significantly, the violence accompanying these riots is the latest iteration of the systemic and physical violence that has historically plagued immigrants—especially African immigrants—in the country. It is yet another evidence against the long-standing myth of a post-racial Britain.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books that will help you understand the plight of African immigrant in the UK. From fiction to photography, whether works of historical research or social commentary, the books on this list span genres and eras to paint a vivid picture of the African immigrant experience in the UK.
Read our recommendations below.
SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN
AUTHOR: BUCHI EMECHETA
GENRE: FICTION
Second-Class Citizen is veteran Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta’s 1974 semi-autobiographical novel. It was one of the first novels that explored the realities of African immigrants in the UK.
It follows the story of Adah, a young Igbo woman living in Lagos and frequently dreaming of moving to the UK. When she gets a job at the American consulate as a library clerk, she is a step closer to her dreams. Along the line, she meets and marries Francis, a young man with plans to travel to the UK to study law. Shortly after Francis moves to England, Adah joins him to start a family in the new country.
Upon her arrival, Adah finds that England is not the paradise she often dreamt about, but instead a hell hole for Black immigrants. The conditions of African immigrants’ lives in the country makes Francis comment that Africans in England are essentially ‘second-class citizens.’ Against all odds (poverty, racism, misogyny, and domestic violence,) Adah works hard to provide for her family while still pursuing her own goal of becoming a writer. Read The Republic’s review of Second-Class Citizen here.
FOREST GATE
AUTHOR: PETER AKINTI
GENRE: FICTION
Set in the eponymous East London district, Forest Gate is Peter Akinti’s stunning debut. The novel is narrated by a young Somalian refugee, Armeina, whose brother, Ashvin, has just committed suicide. Ashvin and his best friend James, despondent about the poverty that assails them, decide to commit a double suicide. Only Ashvin dies; James wakes up in a hospital guilt stricken. As Armenia struggles to come to terms with her brother’s death, she finds herself drawn to James. A strong bond forms between Armenia and James, both of whom must find a way, against all odds, to make a home together.
Forest Gate paints a vivid picture of the ugliness of contemporary Black British experiences. It has been described as ‘hot with fury’, indicting Britain for persisting to keep its Black immigrants politically and socially segregated.
BLESS THE DAUGHTER RAISED BY A VOICE IN HER
Author: WARSAN SHIRE
Genre: POETRY
British poet, Warsan Shire, stuns with her 2022 release, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head. It is a collection of poems that continues Shire’s tradition of detailing the experiences of immigrant women. It follows a young girl’s solitary journey to womanhood, drawing inspiration from Shire’s own life and the experiences of refugees and immigrants in the UK. It is a lyrical masterpiece, with many poems so memorable they border on anthemic. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head is a book that will make you feel deeply.
Cassava Republic Press is proud to announce the launch of their inaugural $20,000 Global Black Women’s Non-Fiction Manuscript Prize dedicated to exceptional works by Black women. Deadline: 30th June 2024. Learn more here.
BRIT(ISH): ON RACE, IDENTITY, AND BELONGING
Author: AFUA HIRSCH
Genre: NON-FICTION
Born to a British father and Ghanian immigrant mother, Afua Hirsch was raised in London. A mixed-raced woman living in England, she often struggled with the question of identity, with the complexities of identifying as British while been racialized as Black. In Brit(ish): On Race, Identity, and Belonging, she explores this complexity.
The book is part memoir and part social commentary interrogating the notions of race, identity, and belonging in the context of contemporary Britain. In this book, Hirsch addresses structural racism, taking a deep dive into the past to trace out Britain’s colonial history and its lasting impact on contemporary race relations and national identity. She also examines how race intersects with other aspects of identity like class and gender, challenging the ‘post-racial’ facade that is being pulled over Britain’s deeply racial society.
BLACK AND BRITISH: A FORGOTTEN HISTORY
AUTHOR: DAVID OLUSOGA
GENRE: NON-FICTION
Historian David Olusoga’s 2016 book, Black and British: A Forgotten History, was published as an accompaniment to his BBC TV documentary series of the same title. Like the series, it explores the long and complex history of Black people in Britain. It traces the presence of Black people in Britain from Roman times to the present day, covering over 1,800 years of history. Olusoga highlights present day issues of racism and identity in modern Britain, examining how deeply institutionalized racism is in British society, and the lasting effects this has on its Black citizens.
By interweaving personal stories with broader historical narratives, Olusoga challenges the common perception that Black history in Britain began with post-war immigration. It brings to light lesser-known aspects of British history, serving both as a historical text and commentary on contemporary issues of race and identity in Britain.
HOME IS NOT A PLACE
AUTHOR: JOHNNY PITTS AND ROGER ROBINSON
GENRE: PHOTOBOOK
Two Black British creatives, a photographer and a poet, decide to embark on a journey around the British coast. The question that propels them is: what is Black Britain? Home is Not a Place is the answer they find. A book of photographs and poems, it shines a light on the lives of contemporary Black British people living outside major cities, capturing the diversity and complexity of Black British life.
GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER
AUTHOR: BERNADINE EVARISTO
GENRE: FICTION
British author Bernadine Evaristo’s masterpiece, Girl, Woman, Other is an ambitious novel that tells the story of twelve characters across different generations, classes, and backgrounds. Most of them are Black British women, and though each gets a dedicated chapter exploring her live and preoccupations in England, their lives often intersect—even if only thorugh chance encounters. There are Amma, a middle-aged lesbian playwright; her university-student daughter, Yazz; Hattie, a 93-year-old farmer; and Grace, Hattie’s mother, whose story is set in the early 20th century—just to name a few. The novel is as populated with many different subjects as it is with many different characters. Some of the questions it raises pertain to what it means to be politically pure as opposed to ‘selling out’; how to navigate a relationship with a man as a feminist; and how to build a successful corporate career as a Black woman living in the England.