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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-
Nah, I thought your post was clearly talking about your own experience.
It's odd realising that something you thought was (almost) entirely comfortable at the time is no longer comfortable - which can be said for many things as part of growing up and seeing more of the world. But there's also a thing about going back to what you knew, even if it's not what you really know any longer... -
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
Come on Corny, are you seriously suggesting that there's a complete lack of diversity in Manchester??
hoefla
Prole.
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.)