Towards a Grammar of Race in Aotearoa New Zealand – Arcia Tecun, Lana Lopesi and Anisha Sankar (Eds)

A search for new ways to talk about race in Aotearoa New Zealand brought together this powerful group of scholars, writers and activists. For these authors, attempts to confront racism and racial violence often stall against a failure to see how power works through race, across our modern social worlds. The result is a country where racism is all too often left unnamed and unchecked, voices are erased, the colonial past ignored and silence passes for understanding. 

By 'bringing what is unspoken into focus', Towards a Grammar of Race seeks to articulate and confront ideas of race in Aotearoa New Zealand – an exploration that includes racial capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness. A recurring theme across the book is the inescapable entanglement of local and global manifestations of race. 

Each of the contributors brings their own experiences and insights to the complexities of life in a racialised society, and together their words make an important contribution to our shared and future lives on these shores.

Contributors to this book: Pounamu Jade Aikman, Faisal Al-Asaad, Mahdis Azarmandi, Simon Barber, Garrick Cooper, Morgan Godfery, Kassie Hartendorp, Guled Mire, Tze Ming Mok, Adele Norris, Nathan Rew, Vera Seyra, Beth Teklezgi, Selome Teklezgi and Patrick Thomsen.

'While [other books] have made essential contributions to discourses around race in this country, Towards a Grammar of Race feels different. It feels like a living movement bursting with hope — one that began with a group of three friends, grew into a collective of 18 authors and now has the potential to extend across Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond.'
Dylan Asafo, Metro Magazine.

Bridget Williams Books, 2022. Paperback, 256 pages.

ISBN: 9781990046636

Condition: new paperback.