Sugar and Slate

More about the book

A powerful, intimate memoir from writer and academic Charlotte Williams explores the intertwined histories of Wales, Africa, and the Caribbean. The daughter of a white Welsh-speaking mother and a Black father from Guyana, Williams navigates a childhood filled with mixed messages, feeling that being half Welsh and half Afro-Caribbean meant being incomplete. Her journey of self-discovery takes her between her small north Wales town, Africa, and the Caribbean. Blending memoir with historical research, the narrative uncovers Black Welsh history, highlighting significant events such as one of Britain's first interracial marriages in 1768 and the major race riots of 1919. Williams' powerful and lyrical experience sheds light on the complexities of Welsh identity, particularly the challenges of being racially marginalized within a community that itself faces marginalization in Britain. This memoir offers a unique perspective on the intricate Black history of Wales. Selected by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, this title is part of the Black Writing Back series, which celebrates pioneering works that redefine and illuminate black Britain.