Black & British: A Complicated Inheritance | Migration, Class, and the Messy Truth of Identity

We explore the complicated inheritance of being Black and British - and how migration, class, race, and belonging continue to shape our stories today.

Aiwan reflects on growing up in Britain as the daughter of a Nigerian immigrant mum, caught between a confident Nigerian identity at home and a fraught, often hostile Black Britishness outside it. Meanwhile, Tamanda shares what it meant to migrate from Botswana as a child, and how her understanding of Blackness and Britishness was turned upside down the moment she arrived.

Together, we unpack what it means to "become" Black in Britain: how migration, racism, and class shape identity; why Africa remains a powerful anchor for many; and how the lines between African, Caribbean, and Black British experiences were drawn - and sometimes weaponised - against us.

We dive into the myths we inherited about Britain as a land of plenty; the painful rifts between African and Caribbean communities; and the possibilities, pitfalls, and erasures hidden inside the phrase “political Blackness.” We also talk about colourism, mixed heritage, and the messy, unfinished project of Black British belonging - asking what solidarity could look like when we stop pretending our differences don't exist.

This is an episode about identity, for sure! But, more than that, it's about survival, memory, migration, and how Black Britishness was, and still is, fiercely fought for rather than freely given.

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