To make a home in a white space is to sacrifice and compromise. During the early 1900s as depicted in Bengali Harlem, trying to be as white possible helped black people to survive. Black identity was met with disgust, fear and oppression by the white man. Though there were “individuals who had successfully passed as white in order to access better jobs and accommodations”, having to relinquish every ounce of one’s culture, upbringing and perhaps mother tongue to do so highlights one of the many sacrifices it takes to try and make a home in a white space. For those who could not achieve this, as argues by Bald on page 50, their skin “ultimately determined where they would return at the end of each day, the type and quality of the houses in which they would live, the health conditions they would face, the public facilities they could and could not access, and the risks that attended their daily movements.” Simply because they were operating within a system that was designed to limit, persecute and dominate them. Therefore, this ‘home’ was one built on resilience and grit but also fear and injustice. Though this was over 100 years ago, modern day British Asians are facing a similar fear and injustice. In the Swet Shop Boy’s ‘Batalvi’ the line, “Who's that P***i in the Guardian the EDL trolls wanna start with” resonates perfectly with the Anti- immigration race riots in 2024 run by the EDL. The song was released ten years ago and yet harassment, violence and slurs towards Muslims and immigrants are still prominent and rising in the UK. Therefore, similar elements of masking one’s skin colour or staying inside occurred for many brown people in order to stay safe this summer. This shows that people of colour have, and continue to compromise, in order to exist in a space that is not only not designed for them but has also been built on their labour and sacrifices without any appreciation or reparation.
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Anya Valimahomed
@anya_valimahomed