A Woman Like Me by Diane Abbott - a Black British book club review
Elected in 1983, Diane Abbott is the UK's first black woman MP. With her colourful career inspiring many and sparking all kinds of controversy, she released her book "A Woman Like Me, A Memoir" this September. Our book club members gave this quintessential piece of Black British history a read and got a glimpse into the early life of Diane and her tumultuous route to becoming such an esteemed politician. Here's our review!
Now, Politicians aren't my cup of tea but when it comes to integrity, Aunt Di and Jeremy Corbyn are my favourites - funnily enough, both of them had a romantic relationship at some point!
This memoir gives us a good sense of the early Caribbean landscape in London and how people remained connected to each other and their roots. Born in 1953 in Paddington, to parents who arrived as bit after Windrush, Diane held on to her Caribbean heritage through the community forged and her frequent trips back to Jamaica. Through her stubbornness, resilience and confidence, she held onto her Jamaican values and demonstrated excellence in her education, even when actively discouraged.
While Diane had clear academic talent, her family moving to the suburbs had a lot to do with her success too, this meant that she could access better education that would have her rubbing heads with other future politicians and British figures, and line her up to learn basic Latin and attend Cambridge University. Diane highlights how the schooling for her black peers in West London where she was initially brought up was rigged to keep attainment low, so while there were great social repercussions of being ripped away from her community, it was a good decision for her education.
So many of Diane's experiences were shaped by discrimination, whether it was by individuals such as teachers, fellow politicians, locals, or gangs; or institutions like employers, media, education and politics! While acknowledging this, and being constantly penalised, underestimated and under-supported, Diane continued to showcase her knowledge and talents in a way that was so undeniable that she found the right people and opportunities.
The book was written well, in the tone of a new friend explaining some of their key experiences to you. Diane highlighted her family dynamic in a very fact-of-the-matter way. Diane grew up with her mother, father and brother; and both her and her brother did well academically. Coming from a family of hard workers, Diane wasn't going to be an outlier. Her parents were always supportive of her, however there were some questionable things mentioned about her dad, namely how her dad would keep the mum in the kitchen when she "misbehaved" and Diane would sneak off to keep her company. While her dad was described as a problematic authoritarian, at some point after her mum moved away, he was their sole guardian, and Diane understood him as a patriarch of the time. When her mum left, Diane, as the only girl in the house, had to fulfil a lot of domestic chores. Diane's forgiving and grateful tone towards her dad helps to understand that while she recognised a lot of error, she accepted his ways and even saw some of his decisions as necessary to her life outcomes.
Our book club members really appreciated the pictures of Diane's childhood and earlier adulthood at the beginning of each chapter, it really brought life to the experiences she spoke of. We also appreciated the many paths she took in her career including non-profit and media, along with her childhood and education, these adventures are part of her wider understanding of society and grounded her advocative work in her political career.
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