About once every five years I pick up a non-fiction book that leaves me speechless in wonder. I’ve been lucky this year, because I’ve had a few of these – some memoir, some topical. This book, however, is arguably the most deeply impactful book I have read or expect to read for a decade or more.
Akala is a successful hip hop artist in the UK, and is known for political and social commentary within his music. Because of this he has expanded his focus to working in schools and poor communities and advocating on public platforms for re-assessment of racial and social problems and the “solutions” the government chooses to implement. This book is a culmination of his own personal experience as a mixed-race (Jamaican and Scottish-English) man who was racialized as black and grew up in relative poverty in a rough part of London, and what must be years of research into how race is and has been interpreted and imposed, not only in England, but in other parts of the world as well. As such he is in a position to share this vast knowledge-base with a passion and immediacy that makes it impossible to ignore.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, this book deals largely with the intersection of class and race in England – both historically and today. Akala does an amazing job of succinctly presenting relevant and important events throughout England’s history that have created the climate people of colour deal with in England today. There is so much between these covers that I’m struggling to sum up what exactly is here. So let’s do a quick list:
- Akala explores the misconceptions that lead to fearmongering and dangerous assumptions around what it is to be black, particularly in urban settings
- He debunks the idea that there is an essential element to blackness that leads to violence or criminal behaviour (a concept that has been cultivated and disseminated by and in service of nations who sought to dehumanize and exploit black peoples and cultures)
- He takes apart some of the most common misconceptions surrounding racial discussions – that black kids are not as smart as their white counterparts (using statistical information gleaned from academic performance and testing), that “black-on-black” violence is an epidemic, that the current knife violence in the media in England is a “black” issue, and that race is the most (or only) important factor to consider when looking at the intersection of criminal activity and black youth
- He expands from these negative assumptions to show how they are used to justify everything from neglect to outright hostility towards black people in the UK, and why this is such a big concern for the future
- He looks at how propaganda has been used throughout history to foster covert and overt racism in British culture
- He looks at statistics of crime and which communities have the highest rates of violent crime (spoiler: it’s primarily white communities)
- He looks at the importance of education and a sense of racial history and pride in predicting the future prospects of children (being expelled from school nearly always leads to future time spent in prison)
- He considers how for-profit prisons and a media focus on race as a defining factor in crime combine to create justification for racial profiling and increased rates of incarceration that serve to bolster the prison-industrial economy in Britain
And this is just the few things I can think of off the top of my head. Every page of this book brings up an important (and often shocking) piece of information or shared experience, and they build one upon the other to the irrefutable conclusion that we do not, as is often said (particular by white, middle and upper class people who like to think of themselves as socially aware), live in a “post-racial” world. Not even close. We live in a world where institutionalized racism has become sneakier but no less sinister. Akala posits that we are at a crucial point in history when we need to have difficult discussions and fight for human rights that it’s easy to feel have already been won, because they are always at risk of being eroded (if, indeed, they are actually won in the first place).
This book is more than a history lesson; it is a call to action. We need to continue working on assumptions and confronting all facets or racism and prejudice we encounter. We need to stop kicking “difficult” kids out of school and start finding ways to address the root causes for their behaviour before it gets to that point. We need to break the cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy that leads young black people to feel devalued by the very country that is supposed to offer them opportunity and security. And most of all, none of us should become complacent about our perceptions of and interactions with one another, none of us should take media representations of race-based social commentary at face value, and none of us should forget that it takes effort to be aware and conscious of the ongoing harm done by racist ideologies.
I’m sure I’m wording this incorrectly in places or interpreting it slightly left of the centre of Akala’s presentation, but you can see (I hope) through my attempt to present his ideas the value and necessity of them. Let him tell you himself. His eloquence and incredible range of knowledge will make you as emotionally invested in this issue as he is (if you aren’t already), and you will learn some valuable lessons along the way. I’d also recommend the audiobook version because it is read by the author, and hearing this information in his own voice is an unparalleled experience.
I’m so glad I heard about this book, and even more pleased I didn’t wait to pick it up. As a white person who benefits in many ways I’m not even aware of from the cultural inheritance of my skin colour and the privilege it provides, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to learn more about the pain and suffering that bought and continues to pay for that privilege. It is a topic we all need to become better educated and informed about, and one that is at the very centre of any fight for human rights, because it intersects with all of them in one manner or another. Please read this book, or if you don’t have the time, just do a quick search for Akala on YouTube. It is full of fantastic interviews, speeches and conferences where he shares a lot of the information found on these pages. It will be well worth your time, and likely draw you into an extended rabbit hole in the best possible way. Here are a few of my favourites to get you started:
- Socially woke Rapper “AKALA” Live Australian Tv Interview May 6 2019
- Rapper Akala on Linking Knife Crime to Race | Good Morning Britain
- Akala (Full Interview) – VladTV
- Akala | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union
- Akala: “The battle of Britishness in the age of Brexit”
- Hip-Hop & Shakespeare? Akala at TEDxAldeburgh (I particularly love this one as it shows the poetry of hip hop and also the appeal to today’s youth of Shakespeare.)
I hope I have convinced even a few of you to pick up this fantastic book, and I would love to discuss it further in the comments with any of you who have read or are interested in reading it! It truly is an important and interesting read. Possibly the best book of the year so far for me!
From the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, to his first encounters with racist teachers – race and class have shaped Akala’s life and outlook. In this unique book he takes his own experiences and widens them out to look at the social, historical and political factors that have left us where we are today.
Covering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, Natives will speak directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class that are at the heart of the legacy of Britain’s racialised empire. – Goodreads
Book Title: Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire
Author: Akala
Series: No
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Two Roads
Released: March 21, 2019 (First released May 17, 2018)
Genre: Non-Fiction, Race, Social Justice
Pages: 352
Date Read: August 20-September 4, 2019
Rating: 10/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.58/5 (2,045 ratings)
