Celebrating Black Lives: Afua Hirsch

As part of Rosslyn Hill Chapel's 'Celebrating Black Lives' series, this month we celebrate a British writer, Afua Hirsch.

Afua Hirsch is a British writer, broadcaster, and former barrister known for highlighting racial justice and the Black experience in the UK. In her memoir Brit(ish), she examines life as a mixed‑race woman, exposing the realities of racial profiling and institutional bias, such as stop-and-search tactics targeting Black men. Hirsch links these issues to Britain’s colonial past, urging deeper understanding of Black identity beyond stereotypes.

Through her journalism, documentaries, and public speaking, Hirsch pushes for structural change and greater visibility for Black voices. She argues that recognition of racism, like that seen in 2020, is only a first step. Her work, including Decolonising My Body and Africa Rising, emphasises Black joy, beauty, and cultural pride—offering powerful alternatives to narratives of trauma and exclusion.

“Britain has no ‘white history’. British history is the multiracial, interracial story of a nation interdependent on trade, cultural influence and immigration from Africa, India, Central and East Asia…”

“Acknowledging the presence of black people in history is not, and should not be, a celebration … A version of history that includes black protagonists is just fact.”

Each month we mark the significant life of a person of colour as a positive statement and a contribution to redressing historical imbalances in our society. More profiles.