Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored

AFRO-CARIBBEAN. COLOURED. ETHNIC MINORITY. IMMIGRANT. BAME. URBAN. WOKE. FAM. BLACK. These are just some of the terms being wrestled with in Black, Listed, an exploration of twenty-first century Black identity told through a list of insults, insights and everything in between. Taking a panoramic look at global Black history and contemporary culture, this book investigates the ways in which Black communities (and individuals) have been represented, oppressed, mimicked, celebrated and othered. Part autobiographical musing, part pop culture vivisection, it's a comprehensive attempt to make sense of blackness from the vantage point of the hilarious and insightful psyche of Jeffrey Boakye. PRAISE FOR BLACK, LISTED: 'This book gives a voice to those whose experience is persistently defined, refined and denied by others' David Lammy, Guardian 'A panoramic exploration of black identity' Elle 'Urgent, timely reading' AnOther Magazine 'Inventive, refreshing and humorous' Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other 'A truly radical book, which manages to be unflinching and constantly entertaining' Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

About the Author :
Jeffrey Boakye is a writer and teacher originally from Brixton in south London, now living in Yorkshire with his wife and two sons. He has a particular interest in issues surrounding education, race and popular culture. Jeffrey has taught English in secondary schools and sixth form colleges since 2007. His first book, Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials, and the Meaning of Grime was published in 2017. Black, Listed is is his second book.

Review :
Intense and compelling from the very beginning, Jeffrey Boakye bravely explores the ways in which people with darker skin are located in language . . . This book gives a voice to those whose experience is persistently defined, refined and denied by others. Boakye shows how language does not always have to be insulting, offensive or loaded, it can also be incredibly emancipatory, particularly when the black community takes ownership of the terms of prose . . . If blackness is a maze, then we must be the ones who design it. With architects like Jeffrey Boakye, I'm optimistic we can build ourselves an authentic future A truly radical book, which manages to be unflinching and constantly entertaining Inventive, refreshing and humorous . . . Boakye's quirky dictionary of black-related terms never fails to surprise and entertain A radical exploration of black British culture that is as entertaining as it is politically weighty Wit abounds in Jeffrey Boakye's insightful Black, Listed, a kind of periodic table of 60 words and phrases used down the ages to describe black people Light-footed cultural analysis riffs elegantly on subjects including Meghan Markle and Marvel's Black Panther . . . a sharp critic A panoramic exploration of black identity Boakye aims to challenge, complicate and undo assumptions about what blackness means, often taking surprising routes . . . Black, Listed covers some terrain similar to that of recent books such as Akala's blistering Natives and Reni Eddo Logdge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, and while Boakye may share those authors' political intent, his humour sets him apart. He is a winningly funny "tour guide". . . The unpredictable range of his references is exciting . . . As he argues against the endlessly problematic ways in which blackness has been categorized and codified, taking on the "biggest and the blackest of the big black stereotypes", the text bobs, weaves and wanders - always one thrilling step ahead Boakye is a witty, passionate guide in this thoughtful examination of what black culture and identity mean in Britain Urgent, timely reading Boakye's exploration of language, race and the ways in which we use both to demean and repress people is thought-provoking, occasionally irreverent and always interesting Insightful and funny, combining history with personal musings and pop-culture references, it's a comprehensive guide to Black identity in Britain today