Cultural Identity

"African is the blood that's running through my veins,

The UK is the country I was born and raised."

 I'm a British Nigerian which means that I'm British and Nigerian at the same time. My culture is a mixture of Nigerian culture and British culture. I love Pounded Yam and Egusi soup just as much as I love Roast Potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding. 

I grew up in North West London which is an area with a large Afro Caribbean community. The window with the purple square was my bedroom from 1988 to 1997. When I was coming of age Black British culture was heavily influenced by Jamaican dancehall music along with Hip Hop and R&B. Black British people also had their own genres of music which included Jungle, Drum and Bass and Garage. My friends and I listened to music from 'Black' artists, we ate 'Black' food, spoke 'Black' slang and watched 'Black' films. Being 'Black' was our cultural identity.

From 1997 to 1999 I attended Richmond College in Twickenham and it was there that I met my friend Jonathan. Twickenham is a predominantly White suburb on the outskirts of London and Jonathan grew up there with his Black Nigerian mother and White English father. Richmond College attracted Black people from all over London and we would often hang out in the canteen. Most of the White students came from the surrounding areas and they would often hang out in the cafeteria. Jonathan would normally hang out in the canteen with the Black students. Like Barack Obama, Jonathan is an expert at Code Switching which makes it easy for him to get along with people of all races. 

The above picture of Jonathan and I was taken in 2001 while I was in my second year of law school. Prior to going to university most of the Black people I hung out with grew up in the inner city where crime and violence were commonplace. At university I socialised with Black people from all backgrounds and I came to realise that there's more than one way to be culturally Black.