num_pages: 288
description: I was born in Harare the capital of Zimbabwe.My dad was a freedom fighter waging war for an independent state: South Sudan.We lived in a small country town in the deep south of Western Australia.I never knew black people could be Muslim until I met my North African friends.My mum and my dad courted illegally under the Apartheid regime.My first impression of Australia was a housing commission in the north of Tasmania.Somalis use this term Dhaqan Celis. Dhaqan means culture and Celis means return.Learning to kick a football in a suburban schoolyard. Finding your feet as a young black dancer. Discovering your grandfathers poetry. Meeting Nelson Mandela at your local church. Facing racism from those who should protect you. Dreading a visit to the hairdresser. House- hopping across the suburbs. Being too black. Not being black enough. Singing to find your soul and then losing yourself again.Welcome to African Australia.Compiled by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke with curatorial assistance from writers Ahmed Yussuf and Magan Magan this anthology brings together voices from the regions of Africa and the African diaspora including the Caribbean and the Americas. Told with passion power and poise these are the stories of African-diaspora Australians.Contributors include Faustina Agolley Santilla Chingaipe Carly Findlay Khalid Warsame Nyadol Nyuon Tariro Mavondo and many many more.
language: English
title: Growing Up African in Australia
publisher: Black Inc.