"I wanted to write a play that celebrated the journey of our parents," explains [Kwame Kwei-Armah]. "A lot of the previous plays tell us the old, grey story about `No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish,' but that isn't very entertaining. "Growing up, I had a big nose but when Afrocentricty came in the '80s suddenly I had an African nose," recalls Kwame. "[Chris Monks] is White and together we have a play that is accessible to all communities," says Kwame. "It's not just about Black issues, it deals with universal themes like love, feeling inadequate and beauty."
The irony of the black man with his top off - such as almost any black music star you care to mention - is that it doesn't say to me: "Look at this wonderful black man with his six-pack." We were never wanted for our minds, which was why it was illegal to teach slaves to read. We were flesh, a commodity, labour. As today's black man shows off his pride and joy, the modern billboard becomes the equivalent of yesteryear's slave stocks. The tragedy with the flesh doesn't end there. Too many of us are impressed by a black fascism which fails to question the oppressive power structures of idealised family structures or the obsession with genes, blood and national pride.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
125 p, A novel by Trinidadian author Samuel Selvon. Its publication marked the first literary work focusing on poor, working-class blacks in the beat writer tradition following the enactment of the British Nationality Act 1948.
Byron,Margaret (Author) and Condon,Stéphanie (Author)
Format:
Book, Whole
Publication Date:
2012
Published:
London: Routledge
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
288 p., Presents a different perspective on post-war Caribbean migration to Britain and France. This book examines trends in migration patterns, household and family structures, social fields, employment and housing trajectories.
An analysis of the experience of African Caribbeans in the postwar period in Great Britain. Explores both the relationship between migration and racism and the formation of ethnic identity of these migrants. Also confronts the political implications of the new identities being forged by Black people in the country.
