Afropean: Notes from Black Europe

Johny Pitts takes us with him on his travels around Europe as he explores Afropean connections. I loved the way he goes from particular details of his travels to broader discussions of what is happening now, to fascinating and enlightening history about Afropean-ness, in a fluid and gripping way. This book kept me up reading late into the night.

Johny Pitts leads a thoroughly researched and meticulously constructed journey through a Europe that is utterly familiar to many, yet rarely given representational standing room in the European culture industries. The usual narrative of Europe- of great achievements, classical civilizations, misty recollections of Empires without consequences and a contemporary story of business minded liberalism - is revealed as utterly defunct, hurtling towards an imagined future that doesn’t exist. It is the Europe of Pitt’s journey which is the ‘real’ one, for want of a less certain word. In this Europe, the complex intersections and extractions of various kinds of colonial expansions and their aftermaths, and the impossibility of separating that story from that of the contemporary world , are located precisely where they belong - at the centre of the story of a continent whose cultures and societies have been utterly shaped by the events of the last 550 years. That Pitts ends his journey in the south, in an Iberia whose people and culture is also inextricably intertwined with the African continent, both through the colonialism that followed the Reconquista, where a triumphant Christianity, allied with Northern European royalty, erased the memory of a place and people who perhaps embodied the original Afropean society, and set in motion the wheels of the idea of Europe that would artificially separate it from its embedness in networks of complicity and exploitation around the world. This is also a story told from a working class perspective, another rarely articulated lens, and it is the warmth and generative possibilities of Johnny Pitts narration, unapologetically complex, whilst always in recognition and respect of the cooperations between people on the margins of power that makes not only survival, but also beauty and love, which may not look like mainstream idealizations of those twin aspirations for the good life, thrive. This is writing at its best. Down to earth, unpretentious, unafraid of the messiness and cracks in narratives of authenticity, deeply human and desperately needed.

Johny Pitts takes us on a journey through Black Europe, attempting to understand what a common 'Afropean' identity might look like.In doing so, he takes the reader to unfamiliar places in familiar cities. Conversations with nightclub bouncers, activists and shop workers are beautifully interspersed with understudied histories of Black Europe, as well as his own experiences growing up in Sheffield.He takes us away from academic and polemist styles of writing that too often fail to detail Black people's full humanity. Instead, it's a book that sincerely cares about its subjects (both living and historical) and does this by showing the people he meets in their fullness - their contradictions, hopes, realities and viewpoints are never obscured for the sake of trying to make a political point.It's a deeply personal book. Impressive both in its breadth and depth and superbly written - couldn't recommend enough!

Afropean weaves in wonderful stories of Black Europeans living across the continent. The stories and depictions of the people and places Johny finds on his journey conjures up rich images and it's an insightful and enjoyable read. Some may find some parts not what they want but that's what makes it so brilliant - there are moments of banality, there are instances of ignorance from fellow travellers of the same origin/background, and there is something I found extremely poignant about being mixed-race and grappling with identity, race and heritage/culture.Johny provides an insight into Afropean history that one might not recognise or know, but he also speaks candidly about what it's like to travel around Europe broke, young and unsure - think of it as the antithesis of 'Eat, Pray, Love'. I would recommend to all.

Engaging and honest writing, full of observations, a touch of humour, and peppered with literary and historical references that have inspired me to do further reading and research. Will be recommending.

Still reading. So far so good.Bought for insight.

Brilliant account of racial issues and the black experience across the European continent in a way I've not seen before - incredibly informative and written in an accessible way that is easy to follow

Brilliant, I didn't want this to end.Not always, or mostly, an easy read.