Black Lives in ScotlandTelling Our Stories
£19.99
About this book
Shares over 50 in-depth interviews of Black Scottish born and New Black Scots from Africa and the Diaspora
- Includes an interweaving of Scottish-Caribbean history and its impact on the lives of contemporary Black Scots, Scottish Windrush Stories (including Sir Geoff Palmer) as well as the author’s own story growing up in Scotland
- Explores comparisons of the United States and Scotland related to race, Scotland’s slavery past and links to the present and Scotland as a multiracial country
- Contains stories of Black Scots from birth to adulthood as well as stories of Black newcomers to Scotland, challenges experienced and strengths earned
Do you ever wonder what life was like for the one Black child or few Black children, you knew growing up in Scotland? What happened to those children? Do you consider their experience to be part of Scotland’s legacy? Are they even Scottish? Are you one of us? Jeanette Davidson was one of these children. Setting the scene within Scotland’s spotted racial history and ongoing social and cultural context, she relates poignant stories of challenge, love, hostility, support, vulnerability, strength, abandonment, resilience, empowerment, accomplishment and identity of Black Scots growing up in the country, from babyhood to adulthood. Understanding their importance to a strong, evolving multiracial Scottish society, she also includes narratives of new immigrant families from Africa and the Diaspora. The book addresses “from the inside” the myths and realities of Scottish values and history related to people of African descent and sheds light on daily life, community, belonging, surviving, Black-Scottish identity, anti-racist behaviour, truth, liberation, hope and possibilities for the future.
Reviews
Jeanette Davidson has written a magnificent book with a narrative brilliance that engages the reader from the very first page! The book is a treasury of stirring stories, inspired writing and suspense. Davidson's search for Europe and Africa is a personal triumph of research and testimony.
This is an amazing book! Jeanette Davidson tells her own story and the stories of other Black Scottish people in a way that will have you feeling that you’re sitting by a warm fireplace in her home hearing rarely told tales of survival and community building.
Using her own compelling memories, along with the experiences of others, Davidson reminds us that since the past is built on the financial benefit gained from supporting slavery or the actual enslavement of human beings, our world is held together by a horrendous legacy which must be acknowledged in order to move forward.
Black Lives in Scotland is a must read for all … and reveals how in Scotland the continuous struggle for global liberty and personal freedoms remains a lasting hardship.
This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how the social construction of race and racism have shaped modern Scotland.
An excellent exploration of the complexities facing people of African descent living in Scotland both historically and in the current era.
Table of contents
List of Figures
Foreword
Acknowledgements
I. Opening Stories
1. Introduction
2. A Foundation for Telling Black Scots’ Stories
3. Scottish Stories from the Past
II. Growing Up in Scotland (1950s to 2000s)
4. Black Babies and Children
5. My Story as a Baby and Child
6. Black Teens and Young Adults
7. My Story as a Teen and Young Adult
8. Black Adults and Where They Are Now
9. My Story as a Black Adult
III. New Black Residents of Scotland
10. New Residents from Africa and the Caribbean
11. New Residents from the United States, England and Northern Ireland
IV. Reflections on Scotland’s Multiracial Past, Present and Future
12. Reflections, Dreams and Hopes
Notes
Index