Parts of it are upsetting, you're given the brutal facts, but it's balanced and complimented with the Black accomplishments you likely didn't learn about in school, and the hope of the future and the progress that's already been made. The language is raw, his observations unsparing, but there is no more important sports book this year . The 1919 Amritsar Massacre involved British troops firing upon a peaceful and fleeing crowd until their ammunition ran out (Britain never formally apologised for the massacre but expressed "regret" in 2019). Things may feel dire now, but it’s important to remember change doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not linear. Now, in Why We Kneel, How We Rise, Holding shares his story together with those of some of the most iconic athletes in the world.

Powerful, passionate, challenging , and, like the author’s fast bowling, at times very uncomfortable. There is a lot of South African history I didn't know, especially to do with apartheid and how sports stars were travelling, or not, into the country at that time.George Floyd was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. I have attended Remembrance Day parades and been in them most my childhood even to young adult hood. Michael Holding is a Jamaican-born BLACK cricketer who played for the West Indies cricket team and later became cricket commentator for Sky Sports. Viewers who were disappointed that the day's play was rained off, were engrossed listening to Mikey, and soon the messages started pouring in.

Holding and another fellow sportsperson all emphasized that it’s only through education we can ensure equality for all. St Derek Mcinnes looks more than likely to be announced as our new leader by the Reverend Martin Bain and sanctioned by the Arch Deacon of Failed Plans, Ellis Short.Michael Holding was born in Jamaica in 1954 and played 60 Tests for the West Indies between 1975 and 1987, taking 249 wickets. But Holding allows them room to breathe, and continuously weaves the discussions into the following chapters of his book. This brings us nicely to the British Empire and the way its purpose and consequences have been taught in schools.

What the doubters did not consider was his dignity and personal pride, his intense desire to succeed regardless of limitations. I knew some of the facts, but it was unbelievable that some of these bad things, pure evil things, were happening well into the 20th century. The versatile conductor and composer Charles Dickerson is Executive Director and Conductor, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the South Side Chicago Youth Orchestra. In summary, an emotional read that should be read by everyone, especially those who think 'White Lives Matter Too".

I may only have been twenty-two, wet behind the ears to the ways of the world and just be beginning to understand racism, but I knew what he said was wrong. Michael Holding explains how racism affects different places and people, what terms like white-privilege, white-washing, Black Lives Matter mean and the politics behind the movement. Teaches us the history we weren’t taught at school and shows white people not only where their unconscious bias stems from but how it affects those on the receiving end.

My hope is that his status as one of the most respected voices in what is - in the UK - an overwhelmingly white, privileged sporting context will make people who might otherwise dismiss these ideas take a second look.

In several single authored chapters he explores the historical experience and invention of blackness, whiteness, and race as social and historical phenomena. If you teach a young Black kid about Septimius Severus, the first Black emperor of the Roman Empire, or show them how the Moors educated and enlightened Europe, or describe the bravery of the Black Rattlers or the brilliance of Lewis Howard Latimer, what do you think happens to their self-esteem? The choral writing had a chant-like character, as if, with orchestral punctuation, a crowd of militant, singing marchers were approaching down the street and into the concert hall. If any group of faithful devotees know about a famine of glory or a drought of greatness then Sunderland supporters must be first at the well. A book about the history of world racism, the experiences in particular of athletes of color, and a hopeful look towards the future.