A review by loischanel
Loud Black Girls: 20 Black Women Writers Ask: What's Next? by Elizabeth Uviebinené, Yomi Adegoke

4.0

Loud Black Girls is a collection of 20 different essays written by a remarkable group of African and Caribbean British women, all slaying in their respective professions as writers, producers, musicians, fashion editors and online influencers.

Their powerfully vocal essays are such motivating pieces covering a variety of pressing issues including systemic racism, the tiring expectation of Black excellence, financial stability, the negative stereotyping of Black women, motherhood and even cultural cuisine.

Certain essays stood out to me more than others* but altogether I love the ideology behind this book, that of collaboration and building each other up but most importantly giving Black women the freedom and the space to be their loud, proud selves.

Finally the foreword, written by my favourite author Bernadine Evaristo, was FIRE. That woman is the master of words!

**********************

*Essays that stood out to me:

1) Finding Myself in Britain by Abiola Oni - a simply relatable rumination over being a second-generation Nigerian immigrant in Britain.
2) The 'Shuri' Effect: The Age of #Blackexcellence, the Falsehood of Black Mediocrity and the Absence of the Black Middle by Elisabeth Fapuro - such an eloquent and well-argued essay about the pressure on Black people to be the very best in order to succeed.
3) Why It's Time to Get Your Finance in Formation by Fiona Rutherford - this hit me on a personal level
4) Eating Britain's Racism by Kuba Shand-Baptiste - This essay is about how Black cuisine is viewed as 'unhealthy' in Britain and how the writer got back to a place where she once again fell in love with Caribbean food.
5) The Quandary of Securing the Bag by Paula Akpan - An essay discussing the discrimination that Black women disproportionately face in online spaces and the need to maintain authenticity within the 'influencer' bubble.
6) 'Who built it and with what wood?; A Black Feminist 10-point (ish) Programme for Transformation by Siana Bangura - A brilliant, rousing manifesto essay that makes you want to envision the world Bangura intelligently argues is possible.
7) Building Peace: The Case for Centring Healing in our Approach to Address Violence by Temi Mwale - This essay made me simultaneously angry and also deeply moved. It argues the need for a healing system when dealing with youth violence in Black communities rather than a punitive one which compounds the problem even further
8) Homecoming by Yemisi Adegoke - A much needed essay dispelling the myths attached to Nigerian (and by extension, African) life. This essay looks at how 'returnees' moving back to Nigeria often do so with a superiority saviour complex and how collaborating with Nigerians rather than trying to save them is the best way forward.
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