Even by Churchill’s colonial standards, the speech was jaw-dropping. That way Jamaicans convicted of crimes in the United Kingdom could be sent back to the country they had supposedly come from, whether or not they were legal British residents. With that trademark condescension he reserves for speaking to people of color, he advised us to “focus on the future.” He then introduced the real reason for his visit, which was to announce that the United Kingdom was about to front a whopping 40% of the cost to build a new prison on the island. Cameron had just visited Jamaica, and in stunning and downright imperial fashion, demanded that we Jamaicans get on with moving past the legacy of slavery-that we stop living in the past. Whether my anti-Cameron rant means anything to you (he was prime minister at the time) might depend on how much stock you put in social media, but maybe it was for the best that online was where it stayed. I took my shot on Facebook, back when it was slowly but steadily losing its cultural influence over anyone who would not eventually vote for Trump.

Not in person, or in any print or visual media (the Daily Mail would have lapped it up). So in the fall of 2015, I went after David Cameron. In his bestselling book, Sathnam Sanghera shows how our imperial past is everywhere: from how we live and think to the foundation of the NHS and even our response to the COVID-19 crisis.Īt a time of great division, when we are arguing about what it means to be British, Empireland is a groundbreaking revelation - a much-needed and enlightening portrait of contemporary British society, shining a light on everything that usually gets left unsaid.Sign up for our newsletter to get submission announcements and stay on top of our best work. Strangely hidden from view, the British Empire remains a subject of both shame and glorification.

'The real remedy is education of the kind that Sanghera has embraced - accepting, not ignoring, the past' Gerard deGroot, The TimesĮMPIRE explains why there are millions of Britons living worldwide.ĮMPIRE explains Brexit and the feeling that we are exceptional.ĮMPIRE explains our distrust of cleverness.ĮMPIRE explains Britain's particular brand of racism. ***THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY 'EMPIRE STATE OF MIND'*** WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARD FOR NARRATIVE NONFICTION

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