Edited by Arcia Tecun, Lana Lopesi and Anisha Sankar. Published by Bridget Williams Books, 2022. (NZD 40). Reviewed by Adrienne Dunlop
These essays are not holiday or bedtime reading! The contributors are all academics who have experienced racial discrimination. They are of Māori, Pasifika, African, Asian, Iraqi, American and mixed Pākehā-and-“other” descent. They’re lecturers, post-graduate students, researchers, writers — all living and working in Aotearoa.
As the title indicates, the book focuses on our country but also examines the global concept and reality of race, especially white supremacy: its history, universality and its ingrained social and linguistic structures.
It is challenging and disturbing — “Go back to where you came from n****r” to a six-year-old African refugee — but also hopeful, with increasing interconnectedness among the different ethnic groups now settling in Aotearoa. Māori, as indigenous people, share their manaakitanga in a special way with Pasifika, Asian, Black and other
minority groups.
I was struck by the power of traditional songs, chants and dances have to draw together different peoples — their way of expressing profound joy, grief, anger and hope — as they navigate the way ahead.
As a Pākehā picking up this book, I thought I understood racism. But I found the process of reading it deeply challenging, and I recommend it to anyone who takes the reality of racial prejudice seriously.
Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 279 March 2023: 27