Njambi McGrath - Black Black

Comedy of the Week

BBC

Comedy

4 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2023

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kenyan-born comedian Njambi McGrath exposes the devastating impact of British colonisers on her grandmother's life and how the legacy of racism affects her own life in the UK today. Originally from Kenya but living in London with her white husband and British children for over a decade, Njambi McGrath finds herself in a tricky position, quite literally in bed with the coloniser! Exploring the past to find answers for the present, she compares her grandmother’s life under imperialist Britain, with the rise of Nazism and fascism, to her own political climate... with Nazism, and fascism once again on the rise. With a penchant for incisive one-liners, she challenges our ideas about race and progress and takes on everything from colonialism and culture wars, to coronations and the church. In this episode, Njambi details the arrival of the British colonisers and the immediate impact it had on her grandmother's generation. With some dark humour, she tells stories of the introduction of concentration camps and forced labour and compares them to the cruelty she faced herself as a child in boarding school, and the legacy of racism which has affected her closest relationships to this day. Produced by Julia Sutherland A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast I'd like to introduce myself. My name's
0:04.0	Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport
0:07.5	podcasts. I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with leading
0:11.1	journalists, experienced pundits and the biggest
0:13.3	sports stars. Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights
0:17.4	straight from the player's mouth. But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is
0:22.0	our unique access to the sporting world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.9	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.5	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:35.2	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts.
0:40.2	So the night before I got married, my very English mother-in-law whispered in my ear,
0:46.0	when I had her David was marrying a woman from Africa, what could possibly follow such a statement?
0:52.0	You know it's not going to be worse. What could possibly follow such a statement?
0:55.6	You know it's not gonna be work, right? You know, if this is social media,
0:59.0	somebody's gonna be stepping down.
1:08.0	She said, when I had her David was marrying a woman from Africa, I was horrified. I was like, how do you think I felt when I found out you from Hull?
1:12.6	But she backtracked.
1:16.3	She was like, oh, at least you're not Black, Black.
1:18.9	I was like, great name for a show.
1:25.4	So welcome to my show Black. Thank you. My name is Jambi McGath and I grew up in a beautiful place in Kenya,
1:35.8	that kind of place people envied. When I say people I mean colonizers.
	...

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