Afua Hirsch

He knows that, but he knows that when Black people think that, it's okay.

And Afua Hirsch, a half-Black Half-Jewish racial activist in the UK is on television more than she ought to be.

Um, she was weaponizing the narrative immediately in 2018 on Channel 4, saying how, like, all this Cheddar Man shows that there was never a white Briton, it was all made up.

And she also even got an article in the National Geographic, which some of the younger people among you might not realize, used to be actually a reputable publication.

Um, anyway, the-- they let her write an article, and in the article she describes Cheddar Man not as Black, but as African.

African with zero African ancestry.

And that just shows you, like, where National Geographic was at by that stage, how completely clueless and stupid Afua Hirsch was, and how no one even cared.

No one from the National-- uh, from the Natural History Museum felt the need to call up National Geographic and go, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.

I mean, it was actually, it, amongst identitarian conversations, to your point, Brendan, it's been q- it's a sort of talking point for some time that whilst people...

I remember Afua Hirsch's book a few years ago, British, Brit(ish), where she was...

And she made the point in many interviews that while she would never feel comfortable calling herself English for all kinds of reasons, British was the identity that, um, she could glom onto.

Suella Braverman says that now, and it's absolutely heresy.

I'm Peter Frankenberg.

I'm Afua Hirsch.

And this is where we step away from the main series and open up our inbox to see what it is you'd like us to talk about.

Somewhere we've been, something we've been working on, or someone we want you to meet.

I'm Peter Frankopan.

I'm Afua Hirsch.

And this is Legacy, the show that explores the lives, events and ideas that have shaped our world and asks whether they have the reputations that they truly deserve.

This is Dolly Parton, Unproblematic White Queen.

And for everything else, including our sub stacks and updates on TikTok and Instagram, just check out the show notes or search Legacy Podcast.

I'm Peter Frankenberg.

I'm Afua Hirsch, and we'll see you on the next episode of Legacy.

And it is also on a lot of pay-per-view platforms as well, Apple TV, Amazon Prime as well.

I'm currently working on a travel series with the journalist and historian Afua Hirsch.

which is actually soft launching whilst we record this podcast.

I've made a step into scripted drama as well, which is a love story set within the Notting Hill Carnival.

I'm Peter Frankenburn.

I'm Afua Hirsch.

And this is where we step away from the main series and open up our inbox.

Somewhere we've been, something we've been working on, someone we want you to meet.

Best way is DMing us on Instagram.

I'm Peter Frank at PEN.

And I'm Afua Hirsch.

We'll see you on the next episode of Legacy.

And in Jason Arday's case, black academics had private concerns about his competence.

To quote Afua Hirsch from The Guardian, the fact is that many of Arday's black peers in academic sociology have been voicing concerns about him for a while.

He seemed to them to have come out of nowhere.

His performance at high profile academic events did not match the credentials that were being touted.