Afua Hirsch

British writer and broadcaster (born 1981)

Afua Hirsch

FRSL

Hirsch in 2017

Born| 1981 (age 43-44)

Stavanger, Norway

Education| Wimbledon High School;
St Peter's College, Oxford
Occupation(s)| Journalist, broadcaster
Notable work| Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging (2018)
Children| 1
Relatives| Peter Hirsch (great-uncle)
Website| afuahirsch.com

Afua Hirsch FRSL (born 1981)[1] is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for The Guardian newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. She is the author of the 2018 book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, receiving a Jerwood Award while writing it. Hirsch was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.[2]

## Early life

[edit]

Afua Hirsch was born in Stavanger, Norway,[3] to a British father and a Ghanaian mother, and was raised in Wimbledon, southwest London.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather, Hans (later John), who was Jewish, fled Berlin in 1938.[6] Her great-uncle is the metallurgist Sir Peter Hirsch. Her maternal grandfather, who graduated from the University of Cambridge, was involved in establishing the post-independence education system in Ghana but later became a political exile.[7]

Hirsch was educated at the private Wimbledon High School,[8] and then studied philosophy, politics, and economics at St Peter's College, Oxford (1999–2002).[9][10][1] After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she took the Graduate Diploma in Law at the BPP Law School.[5][11] She qualified as a barrister in 2006 and trained at Doughty Street Chambers.[1]

## Career

[edit]

Hirsch in 2014

### Journalism

[edit]

Hirsch was a legal correspondent for The Guardian.[12] She has lived in Britain and Senegal, and served as The Guardian's West Africa correspondent, based in Accra, Ghana.[13][14] From 2014 to 2017, she was the Social Affairs and Education Editor at Sky News.[15]

Among other publications and outlets for which she has written are The Observer, The Evening Standard, Vogue, Prospect and i.[citation needed]

Hirsch contributed the piece "What Does It Mean to Be African?" to Margaret Busby's 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa.[16]

#### Guardian article about Nelson's Column

[edit]

In August 2017, in The Guardian, Hirsch questioned whether Nelson's Column should remain in place, with the implication it might be removed.[17] Not long afterward, the art historian and former museum director Sir Roy Strong said the suggestion the column should be taken down was a "ridiculous" viewpoint, commenting: "Once you start rewriting history on that scale, there won't be a statue or a historic house standing....The past is the past. You can't rewrite history."[18][4] The following May, Hirsch said the idea of removing Nelson's Column distracted from her main point that Britain should look more carefully at its past to understand itself better today.[19] In an article introducing her television documentary, The Battle for Britain's Heroes, Hirsch stated that she "wasn't actually waiting in a bulldozer, ready to storm Trafalgar Square, as some people seemed to believe".[20]

### Publications

[edit]

#### Brit(ish)

[edit]

Main article: Brit(ish)

Hirsch's book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging (ISBN 9781911214281) was published by Jonathan Cape in January 2018. The book is part-memoir and discusses black history, culture and politics in the context of Britain, Senegal and Ghana. It became a Sunday Times bestseller. Hirsch was awarded a Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize for Non-Fiction[21] while writing it in 2016.

#### Decolonising My Body

[edit]

Reviewing Hirsch's 2023 book, Decolonising My Body: A Radical Exploration of Rituals and Beauty, Niellah Arboine wrote in The Guardian: "If her first book Brit(ish) was about grappling with her identity as a black British woman of mixed heritage, Decolonising My Body aims to unpack how her identity and wider society have shaped her physically."[22]

### Television

[edit]

Hirsch has been a panellist on the Sky News discussion programme The Pledge.

#### The Battle for Britain's Heroes

[edit]

In the television programme The Battle for Britain's Heroes, first broadcast by Britain's Channel 4 in late May 2018, Hirsch raised lesser-known aspects of the career of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, such as his attitude to Indians and advocacy of tear gassing "uncivilised tribes" in Mesopotamia (now partly modern-day Iraq) after the First World War.[23] In his review of the programme, Hugo Rifkind in The Times wrote that the "subtext is often that Hirsch is attacking Britain in even mentioning this stuff", which itself implies, because of her own background that it "is frankly uppity of her", but Hirsch does not let "her views be defined in opposition to those of her detractors".[24]

#### Enslaved

[edit]

Main article: Enslaved (TV series)

Hirsch was co-presenter alongside Samuel L. Jackson of the six-part television documentary series Enslaved, premiered in 2020,[25][26] which explores aspects of the history of the transatlantic slave trade, including links to her personal history.[27]

#### African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power

[edit]

In 2020, Hirsch presented the documentary series African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power on BBC Four.[28] Hirsch visited Ethiopia, Senegal and Kenya, meeting musicians and artists, and recounting the history of each country.[29]

In August 2021, it was announced Hirsch's production company Born in Me (its name references a quotation from Kwame Nkrumah: "I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me")[30] had signed a deal with Fremantle.[31]

#### Africa Rising with Afua Hirsch

[edit]

In June 2023, Hirsch presented the three-part BBC documentary series Africa Rising with Afua Hirsch exploring how young creatives are reinventing culture across Africa.[32]

### Teaching

[edit]

Hirsch holds the Wallis Annenberg Chair in Journalism and Communication at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.[33]

## Recognition

[edit]

Hirsch was on the panel of judges for the 2019 Booker Prize for Fiction that, causing much controversy, made Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo joint winners.[34][35][36]

Later that year, Hirsch was included in the 2020 edition of the Powerlist of the most influential Britons from African/African-Caribbean heritage.[37]

Hirsch was cited as one of the top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020.[38] Furthermore, in the Powerlist 2021, she made the top 10, ranking ninth most influential person of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom.[39][40]

In 2024, Hirsch was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[2][41]

## Personal life

[edit]

Hirsch met Sam, her partner, while each was pursuing a legal career.[4] He is from Tottenham, North London, and of Ghanaian descent.[42] The couple's daughter was born in 2011.[43]

## Bibliography

[edit]

### Books

[edit]

* Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, London: Jonathan Cape, 2018, ISBN 9781911214281[44]
* Equal to Everything: Judge Brenda and the Supreme Court (for children), Legal Action Group, 2019, ISBN 978 1 912273 48 5[45][46]
* Decolonising My Body: A Radical Exploration of Rituals and Beauty, London: Penguin Books, October 2023, ISBN 9781529908664[47]

### Selected articles

[edit]

* "What's It Like Being Black in Norway?". The Guardian, 26 May 2013[3]
* "Britain: Rainbow Nation, Racist Background", Prospect, 16 March 2017
* "Toppling Statues? Here's Why Nelson's Column Should Be Next", The Guardian, 22 August 2017[17][48][49]
* "The Fantasy of 'Free Speech'", Prospect, 16 February 2018
* "The Racism That Killed George Floyd Was Built in Britain". The Guardian, 3 June 2020[50]
* "Afua Hirsch on the Crucial Black History Lessons All Schools Should Be Teaching". Vogue, 15 June 2020[51]
* "'We Are Coming Towards A Great Reckoning': Lily Gladstone & Leonardo DiCaprio On Their Searing Period Drama, Killers of the Flower Moon", Vogue, October 2023[52]
* "Kerry Washington on uncovering a family secret: 'It's exhausting to put on a mask to maintain appearances'", The Guardian, 14 October 2023.[53]
* "'My year of adornment': how Afua Hirsch embraced turning 40", The Observer, 15 October 2023.[54]
* "Afua Hirsch: How I faced the fear of getting older", i, 15 December 2023[55]
* "'We are all mixed': Henry Louis Gates Jr on race, being arrested and working towards America's redemption", The Observer, 10 March 2024.[56]
* "Slave Play's Jeremy O. Harris: 'Rishi calling me wrong and divisive is the funniest thing'", The Standard, 20 June 2024.[57]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Afua Hirsch (15 October 2018). "About". Afua Hirsch official website. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
2. ^ a b Cremer, Ella (12 July 2024). "Royal Society of Literature names 29 new fellows including Elizabeth Day, Afua Hirsch and Mick Herron". The Guardian.
3. ^ a b Hirsch, Afua (26 May 2013). "What's it like being black in Norway?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
4. ^ a b c Evans, Diana (2 February 2018). "Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch – island stories". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
5. ^ a b "Afua Hirsch". St Peter's College. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
6. ^ Lipman, Jennifer (22 January 2018). "Afua Hirsch: Asking the difficult questions on identity". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
7. ^ Kinchen, Rosie (11 February 2018). "Afua Hirsch: 'I'm British — why should I be grateful for that?'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
8. ^ "Spotlight on Afua Hirsch, Wimbledon High School". Girls' Day School Trust. 21 May 2018.
9. ^ "On being Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch (SPC 1999)". www.spc.ox.ac.uk. 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
10. ^ Hirsch, Afua (15 August 2017). "I went to Oxford. As a black female student, I found it alienating and elitist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 February 2020 - via www.theguardian.com.
11. ^ "Afua Hirsch". Edinburgh International Book Festival. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
12. ^ "Afua Hirsch on human rights | British Institute of Human Rights". Bihr.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
13. ^ Hirsch, Afua (26 August 2012). "Our parents left Africa – now we are coming home". The Observer. London. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
14. ^ "Afua Hirsch". The Guardian. London. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
15. ^ "Afua Hirsch". Sky News. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
16. ^ "Read 'What Does It Mean To Be African?' by Afua Hirsch, from the new anthology New Daughters of Africa", The Johannesburg Review of Books, 5 August 2019.
17. ^ a b Hirsch, Afua (22 August 2017). "Opinion | Toppling statues? Here's why Nelson's column should be next". The Guardian.
18. ^ Freeman, Laura (4 September 2017). "Everywhere Sir Roy Strong looks, the thumbscrews are tightening". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 June 2018. (subscription required)
19. ^ Jackson, James (30 May 2018). "The Battle for Britain's Heroes". The Times. Retrieved 2 June 2018. (subscription required)
20. ^ Hirsch, Afua (29 May 2018). "Britain doesn't just glorify its violent past: it gets high on it". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
21. ^ "RSL Jerwood Awards". Royal Society of Literature. 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018.
22. ^ Arboine, Niellah (19 October 2023). "Review | Decolonising My Body by Afua Hirsch review – reclaiming beauty". The Guardian.
23. ^ O'Grady, Sean (30 May 2018). "TV Review: The Battle for Britain's Heroes (Channel 4)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
24. ^ Rifkind, Hugo (2 June 2018). "TV review: Hugo Rifkind on The Battle for Britain's Heroes". The Times. Retrieved 2 June 2018. (subscription required)
25. ^ Thorne, Will (4 August 2020). "Samuel L. Jackson Docuseries 'Enslaved' Sets Premiere Date on Epix". Variety.
26. ^ Harker, Joseph (11 October 2020). "Enslaved review – Samuel L Jackson presents a brutally poignant history of the slave trade". The Guardian.
27. ^ Kuwonu, Franck (26 October 2022). "'Enslaved' episode blends live action and historical research". Africa Renewal: October 2022. United Nations. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
28. ^ "African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
29. ^ "BBC Four – African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power, Series 1". BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
30. ^ "Afua Hirsch strikes out on her own". LSBU. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
31. ^ Anderson, Justin (25 August 2021). "Fremantle signs first-look deal with Afua Hirsch's Born In Me". Retrieved 26 August 2021.
32. ^ "Africa Rising with Afua Hirsch". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
33. ^ "Afua Hirsch named Wallis Annenberg Chair". 9 January 2019.
34. ^ Sherwin, Adam (14 October 2019), "Booker Prize 2019 row as award shared between Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo", i.
35. ^ Hirsch, Afua (16 October 2019), "Judging the Booker prize: 'I'm proud of our decision'", The Guardian.
36. ^ Boyne, John (18 October 2019), "In defence of the Booker judges", Irish Times.
37. ^ Mills, Kelly-Ann (25 October 2019). "Raheem Sterling joins Meghan and Stormzy in top 100 most influential black Brits". mirror. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
38. ^ Afolabi, Dare (8 December 2020). "Masiyiwa, Musk Included In New African Magazine's 100 Most Influential Africans 2020". techbuild,africa. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
39. ^ "Lewis Hamilton named most influential black person in UK". BBC News. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
40. ^ Siddique, Haroon (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton named most influential black person in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
41. ^ "Announcement of 2024 Fellows and Honorary Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
42. ^ Evans, Martina (3 February 2018). "Brit(ish) review: dazzling stories about race and identity". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
43. ^ Hirsch, Afua (2018). Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging. London: Jonathan Cape/Vintage. p. 288\. ISBN 9781473546899.
44. ^ Goodhart, David (11 January 2018). "Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch – a review". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
45. ^ Moore, Charles (25 January 2023). "The curious tale of Lady Hale". The Spectator. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
46. ^ Bowcott, Owen (10 October 2019). "Supreme court's Lady Hale becomes star of children's book". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
47. ^ "Afua Hirsch | Decolonising My Body: A Radical Exploration of Rituals and Beauty". Penguin. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
48. ^ Harding, Eleanor; Ross Parker (22 August 2017). "'White supremacist': call to remove Nelson's Column". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
49. ^ "The Socialist Party of Great Britain – Article – Iconoclasm and Trafalgar Square". www.socialiststudies.org.uk. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
50. ^ Hirsch, Afua (3 June 2020). "The racism that killed George Floyd was built in Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
51. ^ Hirsch, Afua (15 June 2020). "Afua Hirsch on the Crucial Black History Lessons All Schools Should Be Teaching". Vogue.
52. ^ Hirsch, Afua (October 2023). "'We Are Coming Towards A Great Reckoning': Lily Gladstone & Leonardo DiCaprio On Their Searing Period Drama, Killers Of The Flower Moon". Vogue. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
53. ^ Hirsch, Afua (14 October 2023). "Kerry Washington on uncovering a family secret: 'It's exhausting to put on a mask to maintain appearances'". The Guardian.
54. ^ Hirsch, Afua (15 October 2023). "'My year of adornment': how Afua Hirsch embraced turning 40". The Observer.
55. ^ "Opinion | Afua Hirsch: How I faced the fear of getting older". i. 15 December 2023.
56. ^ Hirsch, Afua (10 March 2024). "'We are all mixed': Henry Louis Gates Jr on race, being arrested and working towards America's redemption". The Observer.
57. ^ Hirsch, Afua (20 June 2024). "Slave Play's Jeremy O. Harris: 'Rishi calling me wrong and divisive is the funniest thing'". The Standard.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Afua Hirsch.

* Afua Hirsch official website
* Afua Hirsch on Twitter
* Afua Hirsch at IMDb
* "Influential Afua Hirsch – Exclusive Interview With Darling", Darling, 2020.

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