Afropean: Notes from Black Europe, published in 2019 by television presenter, writer, and photographer Johnny Pitts, explores the history and current experiences of black communities across Europe. The story is told from Pitt’s perspective as he travels to multiple cities in various European countries, from Lisbon to Moscow. He combines his personal encounters, interviews, history, and discourse to tell of both the troubling realities and flourishing cultures. Although taking place and concerning the Black experience in Europe, this perspective sheds unique light on information many Americans don’t grow up learning about.
When Pitts was first introduced to the term “Afropean”, he immediately connected with its possibility. He recalls that it, “encouraged me to think of myself as a whole and unhyphenated”, as someone of mixed race. He discusses not only the identity confusion that comes with being half white and half black but with being both black and European. The idea of Afropean seemed like a bridging term, one that united people with similar experiences, despite what country they came from or which they were living in now.
One of the sad realities many black Americans face is not knowing where their family’s ancestors originated from. Because many arrived in America against their will via the slave trade, they were not given the opportunity to keep records of their histories or cultures. This resulted in many black Americans creating their own sense of identity and culture among themselves. However, this experience is not the same in Europe, as many immigrants to Europe from other continents came after the second world war, as jobs were readily available while these countries started to rebuild themselves. This knowledge of exactly what culture they have come from, while also being born and raised in a European one, creates a different conflict of identity.
Therefore, not only does Afropean do a pronounced job of explaining this, it gives an important summary of these histories in Europe. Often Americans learn European history in relation to American history, but Pitt’s book gives histories of Europe through the eyes of many different kinds of Europeans and immigrants. History from the perspective of black Europeans is not one we have often been privy to in the past, and Pitts combines this beautifully with cause-and-effect discourse. He discusses the ways in which events of the past have allowed for current conditions to exist. It is not only an entertaining and interesting book but one that will leave you with a fresher and more nuanced perspective of the global experience of immigrants and the black community.
