Brit(ish)

Brit(ish) Plot Summary

Introduction

Afua Hirsch stands at the intersection of multiple worlds - British and Ghanaian, Black and white, insider and outsider. Born to a Ghanaian mother and British-Jewish father in affluent Wimbledon, her journey embodies the complex reality of mixed-race identity in contemporary Britain. As a successful barrister, journalist, and cultural commentator, Hirsch has navigated elite British institutions while constantly facing the question that has followed her throughout life: "Where are you really from?" This seemingly innocent inquiry reveals the persistent assumption that someone with her appearance cannot truly belong in Britain, despite being born and raised there. Through Hirsch's experiences, we witness the paradoxes of modern British identity - a nation that celebrates diversity while struggling to confront its colonial past, that claims colorblindness while maintaining racial hierarchies. Her story illuminates how race shapes everyday interactions, professional opportunities, and sense of belonging in supposedly post-racial societies. From her childhood in predominantly white Wimbledon to her search for connection in Ghana, from courtrooms to newsrooms, Hirsch's journey offers profound insights into the politics of belonging, the legacy of empire, and the possibility of creating new narratives that embrace the fullness of Britain's multicultural reality.

Chapter 1: Roots: Growing Up Mixed-Race in Britain

Afua Hirsch's childhood in Wimbledon during the 1980s and early 1990s placed her in a world of privilege and exclusion simultaneously. The affluent London suburb, known for its tennis tournament and leafy streets, provided material comfort but little cultural recognition for a mixed-race child with a Ghanaian name. Her middle-class upbringing included private education and enriching experiences, yet these advantages could not shield her from the persistent sense of otherness that followed her through childhood. School became the primary theater where Hirsch first encountered the politics of difference. Classmates would touch her hair without permission, ask where she was "really from," or make comments that highlighted her visibility in a predominantly white environment. These interactions, though often well-intentioned, reinforced the message that she was different in ways that mattered socially. The question "Where are you from?" became particularly loaded - when she answered "Wimbledon," the inevitable follow-up would be "No, where are you really from?" This persistent questioning implied that her Britishness required explanation in ways that her white peers' did not. Her parents, like many of their generation, adopted a "colorblind" approach to raising their children. They emphasized achievement, education, and middle-class values while rarely discussing race explicitly. This approach reflected a common belief in 1980s Britain that not acknowledging racial differences was the path to equality. However, this silence left Hirsch without the tools to understand or articulate her experiences of otherness. The contrast between her parents' silence on race and the world's insistence on noticing her difference created a confusing disconnect that would take years to reconcile. Hirsch's name became a particular site of identity negotiation. Her first name, Afua, marked her as visibly African in a society where Eurocentric names were the norm. She recalls teachers stumbling over its pronunciation and peers making it the subject of jokes. At times, she considered adopting her middle name, Hannah, to blend in more easily. This internal struggle over something as fundamental as what she was called reflected the broader tensions of growing up between cultures, never fully belonging to either. The absence of cultural mirrors - people who looked like her in positions of authority or cultural prominence - further complicated her sense of self. British media, literature, and history lessons presented whiteness as the unmarked norm while portraying Africa primarily through narratives of poverty, conflict, or exotic otherness. These representations left her with few positive models for understanding her Ghanaian heritage or how to integrate it with her British identity. It was only when she began actively seeking out Black British and African literature in her teens that she found reflections of experiences similar to her own. By adolescence, Hirsch had developed a heightened awareness of how race shaped her interactions and opportunities. She became adept at code-switching - adjusting her speech, behavior, and self-presentation depending on context. This adaptability was both a survival skill and a burden, requiring constant self-monitoring that her white peers rarely experienced. The cumulative effect of these experiences was a profound sense of displacement - of being, as she would later describe it, "British but not fully British, African but not fully African," existing in the hyphen between identities.

Chapter 2: Confronting History: Britain's Colonial Legacy

Britain's relationship with its imperial past remains deeply ambivalent, characterized by selective remembering and strategic forgetting. Hirsch discovered this historical amnesia during her education, where Britain's role in the slave trade and colonization was either minimized or presented as a civilizing mission rather than a system of exploitation. The abolition of slavery was celebrated as evidence of British moral leadership, while the centuries of British participation in and profit from the trade received little attention. This sanitized version of history left her with questions about how her own family story connected to these larger historical forces. The wealth generated by empire permeated British society in ways that remain largely unacknowledged. From the grand buildings of London to the endowments of prestigious universities, colonial exploitation created fortunes that continue to shape contemporary Britain. Hirsch notes how cities like Liverpool and Bristol were built on slave trading profits, while banking institutions that financed colonial ventures evolved into the financial powerhouses of today. This economic legacy exists alongside cultural appropriation, where aspects of colonized cultures are consumed without recognition of their origins or the power dynamics that brought them to Britain. The erasure of Black British history particularly affected Hirsch's sense of belonging. Growing up, she had no knowledge of the long-standing Black presence in Britain dating back to Roman times, or of figures like Olaudah Equiano who campaigned against slavery in the 18th century. The absence of these narratives from mainstream education created the false impression that Black people were recent arrivals to Britain rather than having been part of its story for centuries. This historical erasure reinforced her feeling of being perpetually foreign in her own country, with no recognized claim to Britishness beyond her passport. Colonial thinking continues to shape contemporary attitudes toward race in subtle but persistent ways. Hirsch identifies how stereotypes about Black bodies, intelligence, and behavior that were developed to justify slavery and colonization continue to influence perceptions today. The hypersexualization of Black women, assumptions about Black athletic prowess, and associations between blackness and criminality all have roots in colonial ideology. These stereotypes affect everything from media representation to employment opportunities to everyday interactions, creating barriers to full acceptance regardless of individual achievement or contribution. Britain's reluctance to confront this history honestly creates what Hirsch calls a "culture of denial" that makes addressing contemporary racism nearly impossible. When racism is acknowledged at all, it is usually framed as individual prejudice rather than systemic inequality, allowing Britain to maintain its self-image as a tolerant, fair society. This denial is particularly evident in the common claim that Britain "doesn't see color" - a stance that, however well-intentioned, invalidates the experiences of those for whom race remains an inescapable reality. The insistence that racism is primarily an American problem further shields British society from examining its own racial hierarchies. For Hirsch, understanding this historical context became essential to making sense of her own experiences. The persistent questioning of her Britishness, the exoticization of her appearance, and the assumption that she must be foreign were not simply personal slights but manifestations of a colonial mindset that continues to influence who is seen as legitimately British. This realization shifted her perspective from seeing her identity struggles as individual problems to recognizing them as symptoms of broader historical and structural issues that affect all racialized minorities in Britain.

Chapter 3: The Body as Battleground: Race and Appearance

The body becomes a site of profound alienation when you are visibly different in a society that claims not to see race. For Hirsch, this experience began early - she remembers the hypervisibility of her brown skin, curly hair, and African features in predominantly white Wimbledon. Her physical appearance marked her as different in ways that transcended her British accent, education, or cultural references. This bodily otherness created a disconnect between her internal sense of self as British and the external perception of her as foreign, a gap that could not be bridged through achievement or assimilation. Hair emerged as a particularly fraught battleground in Hirsch's experience of embodied difference. In a society where straight, flowing hair dominated beauty standards, her natural texture became a source of both curiosity and criticism. High street hairdressers would openly refuse to cut or style her hair, claiming they "didn't do hair like hers." Products marketed for "frizzy" hair did nothing for her curls, while those designed for Black hair were relegated to specialty shops in areas like Brixton or Peckham. These everyday exclusions reinforced the message that her body was abnormal, requiring specialized knowledge and products that fell outside mainstream British consumer culture. The sexualization of Black bodies added another layer of complexity to Hirsch's experience. As a teenager, she became aware of stereotypes about Black female sexuality that dated back to colonial times, when African women were portrayed as hypersexual and primitive. These stereotypes manifested in the way her developing body was perceived and commented upon, creating uncomfortable attention that her white female peers did not experience in the same way. The legacy of figures like Sarah Baartman, the "Hottentot Venus" who was exhibited as a curiosity in 19th-century Europe, continued to shape how Black female bodies were viewed and valued. Professional settings introduced new dimensions to these bodily politics. In courtrooms and newsrooms, Hirsch encountered unspoken expectations about appropriate appearance that were deeply racialized. Natural hairstyles were often deemed "unprofessional," while clothing that looked conventional on white colleagues might be perceived as "flashy" or "inappropriate" on her. These double standards created additional labor for Black professionals, who had to carefully manage their self-presentation to avoid triggering stereotypes while still maintaining authenticity. The pressure to appear "respectable" according to white norms while being judged by different standards created what Hirsch calls "exhausting mental gymnastics." The cumulative psychological impact of these experiences is what scholars call "racial battle fatigue" - the stress that comes from constantly navigating environments where your body is scrutinized, exoticized, or devalued. Hirsch describes developing a heightened awareness of how she was perceived in different spaces, constantly adjusting her behavior and appearance to manage others' reactions. This hypervigilance, though a necessary survival strategy, exacted a toll on her mental health and sense of belonging. The freedom to simply exist in one's body without it becoming a political statement remained elusive in a society still structured by racial hierarchies. Despite these challenges, Hirsch gradually developed strategies for reclaiming her body from external projections. Learning about the political history of Black hairstyles helped her understand her hair as a connection to heritage rather than a problem to be solved. Engaging with Black British beauty cultures provided alternatives to mainstream standards that had excluded her. Most importantly, connecting with others who shared similar experiences created spaces where her appearance was normal rather than exceptional. These acts of reclamation did not eliminate structural racism, but they provided essential resources for navigating its impact on her embodied experience.

Chapter 4: Seeking Home: The Journey to Ghana

The search for belonging eventually led Hirsch toward Ghana, her mother's homeland and a place she hoped might offer the acceptance that eluded her in Britain. Her first visit as a teenager proved transformative - stepping off the plane, she was overwhelmed by the sensation of being in a country where everyone looked like her. "The thing that struck me the most is that everyone is Black," she wrote in her diary. "It's so amazing, like nothing I've ever seen before!" This visual belonging created an immediate sense of possibility, a glimpse of what it might feel like to move through the world without the burden of hypervisibility. Ghana offered Hirsch tangible connections to her family history that had been abstract in Britain. In Aburi, the town where her ancestors had settled, she found physical places that featured in family stories - the botanical gardens, the old colonial buildings, the markets her grandmother had described. These locations grounded her heritage in specific geography rather than vague notions of "Africa." Meeting extended family members who shared her features and name provided a sense of continuity and belonging that had been missing in her British life, where her Ghanaian heritage had often been reduced to exotic background rather than living tradition. However, the reality of life in Ghana quickly complicated Hirsch's initial euphoria. Despite her Ghanaian name and appearance, cultural differences marked her as foreign. Locals called her "obruni" (foreigner) when they heard her British accent or noticed her Western mannerisms. Her limited knowledge of Twi, the local language, created barriers to deep connection. These experiences revealed that belonging is about more than shared ancestry or appearance - it encompasses language, cultural knowledge, and lived experience that cannot be acquired through heritage alone. The realization that she was perceived as an outsider in Ghana just as in Britain created a painful sense of double displacement. Years later, as an adult, Hirsch made the momentous decision to relocate to Ghana with her partner and young daughter. This move represented more than a casual expatriate adventure - it was an existential choice to prioritize her Ghanaian identity and create a life where her daughter might grow up without the racial othering she had experienced. "Britain and I are done," she declared, frustrated by years of being made to feel like an outsider despite her achievements and contributions. The move to Ghana represented a rejection of conditional belonging in favor of what she hoped would be a more authentic connection to her maternal heritage. The reality of living in Ghana rather than visiting as a tourist brought both rewards and challenges. Hirsch appreciated the normalcy of being in a Black-majority country, where race receded from the foreground of daily interactions. She valued the opportunity to deepen her understanding of Ghanaian culture, history, and language beyond the superficial knowledge she had acquired in Britain. The experience of raising her daughter in a context where blackness was the norm rather than the exception fulfilled an important aspect of her relocation goals. Yet Ghana did not provide the uncomplicated belonging Hirsch had hoped for. Economic inequality created stark divides between returnees from the diaspora and locals. Her professional identity and class position set her apart in ways that sometimes felt as significant as racial difference had in Britain. Most importantly, she discovered how deeply British she was in countless small ways - her expectations, reference points, and worldview had been shaped by her upbringing in ways that could not simply be discarded. This realization led to a more nuanced understanding of her identity as inherently transnational, belonging fully to neither Britain nor Ghana but to the space between them.

Chapter 5: Navigating Elite Institutions: Law, Media, and Race

Britain's elite institutions - from prestigious universities to the legal profession to major media organizations - present particular challenges for those marked as racial outsiders. Hirsch's journey through these spaces reveals how power, privilege, and exclusion operate beneath the surface of supposed meritocracy. At Oxford University, where she studied as an undergraduate, she encountered an institution built on colonial wealth that remained overwhelmingly white in both its student body and curriculum. The university's traditions, architecture, and cultural references celebrated an imperial past that had subjugated people who looked like her, creating a profound sense of alienation despite her academic success. The legal profession, which Hirsch entered after university, exemplified how institutional racism functions in supposedly objective systems. As a barrister, she joined an ancient profession steeped in tradition, where success depended not just on legal knowledge but on cultural capital and social connections. The rituals of the Bar - from the wearing of wigs and gowns to the formal dinners at the Inns of Court - reinforced its exclusivity and connection to Britain's colonial past. Within this environment, Hirsch found herself constantly navigating others' assumptions about her capabilities and belonging, aware that she was often viewed as an exception rather than evidence that the profession was truly open to all talents. Media institutions presented similar challenges when Hirsch transitioned to journalism. Despite public commitments to diversity, newsrooms remained predominantly white and middle-class, with decisions about what constituted news and how stories should be told reflecting these limited perspectives. As a journalist covering Africa, she encountered deeply embedded stereotypes about the continent that shaped editorial decisions. Stories about conflict, poverty, and disaster were prioritized over those highlighting innovation, culture, or ordinary life. These patterns reflected not just individual bias but institutional cultures that reproduced colonial viewpoints despite surface-level diversity initiatives. The concept of the "good immigrant" emerged as a particularly insidious aspect of institutional racism. Hirsch observed how people of color in elite spaces faced pressure to demonstrate exceptional achievement, gratitude, and conformity to be accepted as legitimate members. This conditional acceptance created psychological burdens that white colleagues rarely experienced, requiring constant self-monitoring and performance. The fact that this pressure extended to British-born minorities revealed how deeply racialized British institutions remained, with whiteness treated as the unmarked norm and non-whiteness as perpetually foreign regardless of citizenship, education, or contribution. Navigating these environments required developing what sociologist Arlie Hochschild calls "emotional labor" - the work of managing one's feelings and expressions to fulfill the emotional requirements of a job or social role. For Hirsch, this meant carefully calibrating her responses to microaggressions, choosing when to challenge racism and when to let it pass for strategic reasons, and constantly adjusting her self-presentation to appear "professional" without triggering stereotypes. This additional labor, invisible to white colleagues, created both practical and psychological barriers to advancement that could not be overcome through individual effort alone. Despite these challenges, Hirsch found ways to use her positions within elite institutions to challenge their exclusionary practices. As a barrister, she advocated for clients from marginalized communities who faced systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system. As a journalist, she created space for stories and perspectives that had been overlooked or misrepresented in mainstream coverage. Through her writing and public speaking, she named institutional racism directly rather than using the euphemisms that often characterize British discussions of race. These acts of resistance did not transform institutions overnight, but they created small openings that others could potentially widen.

Chapter 6: The Politics of Belonging in Post-Brexit Britain

The 2016 Brexit referendum exposed deep divisions in British society, with questions of national identity and belonging at their core. For Hirsch, the vote to leave the European Union revealed how contested the definition of Britishness remains, particularly regarding race and immigration. The referendum campaign mobilized nostalgia for empire and anxiety about demographic change, with promises to "take back control" resonating particularly strongly in predominantly white areas. The result suggested a Britain still struggling to reconcile its imperial past with its multicultural present, uncertain about what kind of nation it wanted to become. In the aftermath of the referendum, hate crimes against minorities surged dramatically, creating an atmosphere of heightened vulnerability for people of color regardless of their citizenship status. Hirsch documented disturbing incidents where even established British citizens faced verbal abuse, property damage, and physical attacks. The phrase "go back to where you came from" became a common refrain, directed at anyone perceived as foreign - including those born and raised in Britain. These experiences demonstrated how Brexit had unleashed latent xenophobia that had been simmering beneath the surface of British society. The concept of "integration" emerged as a central focus of post-Brexit political discourse, though its meaning remained contested. Politicians across the spectrum emphasized the importance of immigrants integrating into British society, but rarely defined what this meant or acknowledged the barriers to full participation that systemic racism creates. Hirsch questioned whether integration is truly possible in a society that continues to treat whiteness as the unmarked norm of Britishness while perpetually marking non-white citizens as foreign regardless of their cultural practices, language, or contributions. Media coverage of immigration reflected and reinforced these tensions. Hirsch analyzed how newspapers and television programs consistently framed immigration as a problem to be managed rather than a normal feature of modern societies. Success stories of immigrant contribution were presented as exceptions rather than evidence of broader patterns, while negative incidents received disproportionate attention. This framing shaped public perception and political discourse, creating a climate where restrictive policies appeared necessary and reasonable despite evidence of immigration's economic and cultural benefits. The experience of being mixed-race in post-Brexit Britain added particular complexity to questions of belonging. Hirsch noted how mixed-race individuals were sometimes held up as evidence of successful integration or a post-racial future, while simultaneously facing persistent questioning about their origins and authenticity. This contradictory positioning - being both celebrated as embodiments of multiculturalism and excluded from full Britishness - reflected broader societal ambivalence about racial difference. The increase in mixed-race relationships and children had not eliminated racial hierarchies but had complicated them in ways that revealed their continuing power. Despite these challenges, Hirsch identified emerging counter-narratives that offered alternative visions of British identity. Young Britons, particularly in diverse urban areas, increasingly embraced hybrid identities that incorporated multiple cultural influences without apology or explanation. Artists, writers, and musicians created work that celebrated rather than erased Britain's multicultural reality. These cultural expressions represented not just resistance to exclusionary nationalism but the active creation of new forms of Britishness that acknowledged the country's complex history and diverse present. Through these evolving identities, Hirsch glimpsed possibilities for a more inclusive British future despite the challenges of the post-Brexit landscape.

Chapter 7: Creating New Narratives: Redefining British Identity

The journey toward belonging ultimately requires creating new narratives that expand traditional understandings of national identity. For Hirsch, this process begins with confronting history honestly - acknowledging Britain's colonial past and how it continues to shape present inequalities. She argues that Britain cannot move forward until it reckons with the violence and exploitation that built its wealth and power. This historical honesty is not about inducing guilt but about creating a more accurate foundation for contemporary identity, one that includes all the stories that have shaped the nation rather than just those that center whiteness and imperial glory. Education emerges as a crucial battleground in this narrative struggle. The British curriculum has traditionally presented a sanitized version of history that minimizes colonial violence and erases Black British contributions. Hirsch advocates for educational approaches that include multiple perspectives, teaching young people about figures like Mary Seacole alongside Florence Nightingale, or acknowledging how the Industrial Revolution depended on cotton harvested by enslaved people. These educational interventions are not about political correctness but historical accuracy, providing all students with a more complete understanding of how Britain became the nation it is today. Media representation plays an equally important role in expanding narratives of Britishness. Hirsch notes how increased diversity in film, television, and literature has begun to challenge stereotypical portrayals of minority communities. Shows like "I May Destroy You" by Michaela Coel present complex Black British characters whose racial identity is neither erased nor their defining feature. These representations provide cultural mirrors for young people of color while also normalizing diversity for white audiences, gradually shifting perceptions of who counts as authentically British. The success of these productions demonstrates public appetite for stories that reflect Britain's multicultural reality rather than nostalgic fantasies of homogeneity. Language itself becomes a site of narrative reconstruction. Hirsch examines how terms like "BAME" (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) lump together vastly different experiences under one label, obscuring important distinctions and reinforcing the idea of whiteness as the unmarked norm against which others are defined. Similarly, phrases like "playing the race card" or "identity politics" function to delegitimize discussions of racism by framing them as strategic maneuvers rather than reflections of lived experience. By developing more precise and honest language to discuss race and identity, Hirsch suggests, Britain might create space for more productive conversations about belonging and difference. For those with mixed heritage, creating new narratives often involves integration rather than choosing between identities. Hirsch describes her own journey toward embracing the complexity of being both British and Ghanaian, both Black and mixed race. This integration does not resolve all tensions or eliminate experiences of othering, but it provides a more stable foundation for navigating a world that continues to categorize people in simplistic terms. By refusing to choose between aspects of her identity, Hirsch models a form of belonging that is not dependent on purity or exclusion but on embracing multiplicity as a legitimate way of being British. The most powerful new narratives emerge from communities themselves rather than being imposed from above. Hirsch highlights grassroots movements like Black Lives Matter UK, which connects British racial justice struggles to global movements while addressing specifically British manifestations of systemic racism. Cultural institutions like the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton preserve and celebrate Black British history, creating resources for identity formation that were unavailable to previous generations. These community-led initiatives demonstrate how belonging is actively created through collective effort rather than passively received through official recognition or legal status.

Summary

Afua Hirsch's journey illuminates the complex reality of identity in a world still shaped by colonial legacies and racial hierarchies. Her experiences reveal how belonging remains contested terrain for those whose appearance or heritage marks them as different from narrow conceptions of national identity. Through her navigation of elite British institutions, her exploration of her Ghanaian heritage, and her confrontation with historical amnesia, she demonstrates that identity is not fixed but fluid - constantly negotiated in response to external perceptions and internal growth. The persistent question "Where are you really from?" reflects not just individual curiosity but societies still struggling to reconcile imperial pasts with multicultural presents. The most profound insight from Hirsch's story is that true belonging requires not just individual adaptation but societal transformation. Britain, like many former colonial powers, must confront its imperial history honestly and expand its definition of national identity beyond implicit associations with whiteness. This process demands more than superficial celebrations of diversity; it requires fundamental reconsideration of narratives, institutions, and everyday interactions. For those navigating complex identities in such societies, Hirsch's journey offers validation of their experiences and permission to embrace the fullness of their heritage. Her story speaks most powerfully to those living at the intersection of different cultures and histories, but offers essential insights for anyone seeking to understand how identity operates in our increasingly interconnected yet divided world.

About Author

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Afua Hirsch

Afua Hirsch is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for The Guardian newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. She is the author of the 2018 book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, receiving a Jerwood Award while writing it.

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