Me being a black girl in London, whose mom is first-generation African and whose dad is West Indian, gives me a different view. I'm coming at soul from my own place.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
There are a lot of challenges I undeniably have faced as a black person both in the U.K. and in the U.S. that contrived to make me feel lesser than what I am.
I'm a member of the African diaspora: my parents left the Caribbean and came to London for a better life.
I found my place when I moved to London, where I chose to live, making my own tribe who were all from different backgrounds and places. The class thing is very dominant there, but in the cultural cross-fertilization, I felt a sense of belonging.
One of the things that's really, really present in 'Between the World and Me' is, I am in some ways outside of the African-American tradition.
I realize that I'm black, but I like to be viewed as a person, and this is everybody's wish.
As a black woman, my politics and political affiliation are bound up with and flow from participation in my people's struggle for liberation, and with the fight of oppressed people all over the world against American imperialism.
My family comes from New Zealand, but I'm a London girl. I was born and raised in London, but I've got the blood of a New Zealander, so I always kind of felt like I didn't belong - in a good way.
In all my novels, I deal with the many problems and prejudices which exist for Black people in Britain today.
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, the color of my skin and my rather peculiar background as an Ethiopian immigrant delineated the border of my life and friendships. I learned quickly how to stand alone.
I grew up in an environment in Birmingham that was really multicultural, with black kids, Irish kids, Indian kids.
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