"It was a shock to someone who grew up with a sense of solidarity between Black Caribbean and Irish immigrants I've always had an affinity for Irish culture. Yes, in that irritatingly reductive, romanticised way that everyone who isn't Irish seems to. But also in a way that, for a number of reasons, has long felt deeply meaningful. Rooted in strong familial bonds. In overlapping histories. In trust."
"I grew up in a ground-floor council flat of a Victorian duplex, sandwiched between immigrants with a deep sense of kinship. To my left was a retired Jamaican midwife and her mother. To my right, my Ghanaian godmother, a retired nurse. And above me, sharing walls, a corridor, and the same affinity for my mum's cooking that I had, a family of Irish immigrants and their four sons."
Shand-Baptiste experienced racist abuse shortly after moving to Dublin from London. The abuse was a shock given an upbringing steeped in solidarity between Black Caribbean and Irish immigrants. There was a longstanding affinity for Irish culture described as both romantically idealised and deeply meaningful. That affinity was rooted in strong familial bonds, overlapping histories and mutual trust. The upbringing took place in a ground-floor council flat in a Victorian duplex, surrounded by immigrant neighbours including a retired Jamaican midwife and her mother, a Ghanaian godmother who was a retired nurse, and an Irish family with four sons.
Read at Independent
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