I’ll be honest: history is my weakest subject, and my knowledge of African history within Europe is appropriately limited. I’ve recently realized that I know little about the history of Africa and little about the history of African’s movements outside of Africa in the last millennia. What I do know is within the narrow context of slavery given its prominence in American history.
I forgot exactly how I came across the book, but African Europeans: An Untold History by Olivette Otele, stood out to me as a practically useful and informative book to educate myself further on the history of peoples from Africa who have lived, and are living, in Europe.
Otele takes a chronological approach to share the stories and experiences of Africans in Europe, most notably over the last millennia. Each chapter is centered on a specific period and focuses on a defining experience for Africans in Europe during that period. Of course there is a chapter on the devastation of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but also of the complex identities of dual-heritage people and the lack of rights those experienced as a result of racism toward Africans throughout Europe.
What struck me the most about African Europeans was the navigation of the complex identities that those of African decent have had to navigate across Europe which itself contains various cultures, identities, and histories.
That said, the book itself is written in a very traditional academic humanities style, making it feel as though one is reading a long academic manuscript rather than a book for a general audience published by a popular press. I struggled with the lack of overall narrative to keep engaged with the text. Because there were so many people’s stories within the book (which is a neat perspective) it was at times hard to follow the thread within and across the chapters with the writing style. Also given my naivety of world history, it felt as though there were many assumptions of prior knowledge of the reader, which again is more aligned with an academic approach rather than a popular approach.
I do feel more knowledgeable on the topic having read the book, but don’t think I got as much out of it as I would have hoped. Though history buffs and those with some prior knowledge of the area will likely have a more positive experience.
Published: May 2021
Format: Hardcover
If you think this sounds interesting, bookmark these other great reads:
Himalaya: A Human History by Ed Douglas (2021)
Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race by Thomas Chatterton Williams (2019)
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