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I see friends who moved to london, then move out of london, to raise kids in spaces closer in spirit to where they grew up. I grew up in a multicultural inner city, moving to the countryside, commuter belt town, isn't going to give me that, and I want to raise my kids around other people of colour
I do think about this sometimes. Not that I'm going to have kids, but I wonder about my own sense of 'home'. I like London and I don't really see myself leaving any time soon, but when I was younger I always thought I'd go 'home' eventually. When I was a kid I didn't really notice myself being the odd one out because you don't see yourself. My hometown is much more diverse than it used to be, although it's not London, but there are still villages and towns that aren't. I wonder if I could ever go back to being comfortable in all-white spaces. (I think, probably, yes. It's how I grew up, and that counts for a lot. But I'm not entirely sure if I could or if I'd want to.)
hoefla-
After your reply to @amey, was going to go back and re-edit my post as I'd grouped all people of colour living in the UK into people of colour living in London. And as you pointed out, there are a number of them who will have grown up in all-white spaces, and their experience and adaptation to it is just as valid, but it's not mine and I find it hard to get my head round it, and I think that's as much to do with being London born and raised as it is to be black caribbean london born and raised.
I've only got my inner city london experience to work from and having studied in newcastle and worked in Manchester, I can live in all white spaces, but I know also that from a purely personal selfish perspective, I don't want to raise kids outside of london in those spaces, even as you've noted people have and continue to do so..Shit's complicated...
Anyway @Fatberg, nicely written, great insight, looking forward to more..
cornelius_blackfoot
The lone part is the important part, the area/town/city may be ethnically diverse to white eyes, but how often will anyone whose dark see others going about your daily business, how many will work with you, how many will live where you live? If the answers to those questions is not many to none, then you feeling as if you're lone black face can come on you pretty damn quickly.
I spent my university years in Newcastle (albeit, a long time ago), and I saw more black people on one 10 min tube journey from Victoria to Stockwell than I had in the first three months I was staying there.
I know multiculturalism is scarce in a place when other black people acknowledge my presence, saying both non verbally and verbally "I see you."
From my perspective, I see friends who moved to london, then move out of london, to raise kids in spaces closer in spirit to where they grew up. I grew up in a multicultural inner city, moving to the countryside, commuter belt town, isn't going to give me that, and I want to raise my kids around other people of colour, and not be that lone dark child in nursery/primary school who I have to have the conversation about race/racism/why are they making fun of my skin colour/hair with...