Locked Out: What Whiteness Cost Me in 1971 London | Chapter 20

In 1971, determined to write a book about race prejudice, I flew to London, only to find my white face locking me out of the very communities I longed to understand. In this chapter from my memoir, I live in a Brixton boarding house run by a former Polish general, stumble into a bizarre matinee at the Brixton Classic, and watch a group of young West Indian men corner a middle-aged white woman in the Piccadilly Circus underground. I also face an uncomfortable truth about my own cowardice, and remember a university friend named Valda whose strange wish I once laughed at. Along the way the chapter wrestles with questions that still matter. What does solidarity look like when you’re an outsider? Why did Black Power insist on indifference toward white people? When is stepping back the most useful thing an ally can do? And how does revenge for past wrongs keep breeding new ones? 📖 Part 3, Chapter 20 – “Locked Out” If this chapter made you think, please like, comment and subscribe for more chapters.