Why We Kneel How We Rise: WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE

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Why We Kneel How We Rise: WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE

Why We Kneel How We Rise: WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE

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Through the prism of sport and conversations with its legends, including Usain Bolt, Adam Goodes, Thierry Henry, Michael Johnson, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Makhaya Ntini, Naomi Osaka and Hope Powell, Michael Holding explains how racism dehumanises people; how it works to achieve that end; how it has been ignored by history and historians; and what it is like to be treated differently just because of the colour of your skin. I finished this book just a couple of days after Ralph Yarl was shot and he could very well be featured in here too, along with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. Usain Bolt reveals his first experience of racism was not in his home country of Jamaica, but in Britain, when he made his first visit in his early 20s. He recalls strolling around a shopping mall in London, taking some free time before an athletics event the next day. He needed a new watch, he says, so went into a jewellery store. “I said to the woman behind the counter, ‘I like this one. How much?’ She tells me the price, then says, ‘Are you sure you can afford it?’”

With contributions from Usain Bolt, Adam Goodes, Jeff Harriott, Thierry Henry, Michael Johnson, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Makhaya Ntini, Naomi Osaka, Hope Powell Among them were the tennis player Naomi Osaka and the footballer Thierry Henry. “Mikey, you can’t stop. You have to continue,” he says they told him. We need to re-educate people so that they learn the true history of the world and the true history of mankind, so that they can understand why racism came about and exactly why it has continued."Michael Holding, said “I felt it was really important to write this book, and I hope it encourages people to educate themselves about the issues raised. I would like to thank my writing partner, Ed Hawkins, Simon & Schuster and all the great sports stars who contributed to the book.” After talking about bad experiences by sporting legends and giving us a history lesson, Mikey also shows the way forward. He talks about how education is important, how teaching history which is unbiased and factual and which doesn't sweep the past below the carpet, is important, and how this will help in changing people's minds and help in making our shared future better and more equal for everyone. Though the book made me sad (and think of religious minorities in India), Mikey's intent isn't to blame but is a call to action to do better. He details the darkness of the past but ends with the hopeful words of Maya Angelou. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. There are positives in the book too of how top sportsmen and women are making a difference and whilst he does not expect to see equality in his lifetime he is hopeful that his young daughter will.

Through the prism of sport and conversations with its legends, including Usain Bolt, Adam Goodes, Thierry Henry, Michael Johnson, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Makhaya Ntini, Naomi Osaka and Hope Powell, Michael Holding explains how racism dehumanises people; how it works to achieve that end; how it has been ignored by history and historians; and what it is like to be treated differently just because of the colour of your skin. The cookie, set by Krux Digital, registers a unique ID that identifies a returning user's device. The ID is used for targeted ads. Through all the pain outlined in the book, Holding delivers a message of hope and a clear pathway for change in our world. And we know kids don't think that way. It's big, responsible people writing those things and sending them."Holding’s book described by the judging panel as ‘one of the most important sports books you will ever read’ – looks into the root cause of racism and the terrible toll it takes on people, communities and the world. Now, I have been working in this field for a while and so the stories told here are abhorrent, but honestly not surprising to me having read many such accounts over the years. They don't get easier to consume, but sadly I have sat in meetings with, listened to folks in cafes, seen comments on social media that let me know that bigoted, racist attitudes are still very prevalent in 2023 despite the pressure for change. This means we have to keep calling this out, keep educating ourselves because we are all part of a structurally racist system that will take effort and focus to dismantle. Holding is so right when he opines that this will be difficult since it's a system of white supremacy, designed for that end by white folks who are loathe, in many cases, to lose their privilege and see others gaining equality as them actually losing something. I see this all the time. It's as though equality is too much to give other people. Huh’ ? To tell us that a shot, a delivery or a strategy was very ordinary. And here in this book too, even where emotion is right at the top, Holding’s cadence is perfect as he speaks to us on an even keel.

It is a book that transcends geographies, race and time. The Indian in Erode or Agra will make his or her own connections as will people across continents, with guilt, pain, fear and hope for they have seen, experienced, fought or closed their eyes to discrimination, inequalities and atrocities based on class, caste, colour, race, gender, religion and language. I also said hope, because everyone will resonate with Holding’s repeated urging that education will be the path for society and the world to improve. Holding is at his most passionate when he describes how a whitewashed history has been written and why that must change. ‘The decolonisation of the curriculum is the single most important change that we need to see’, says Holding. Everyone knows how fiercely protected that territory is but if there is one place to cut the Gordian knot, it is in the writing and teaching of true and fair history. The book stems from a rain break in play in a test match between England and West Indies, with BLM in the news Holding gave an emotional interview to which people responded in their thousands. A seed was planted and a book became reality. If we are not familiar with the facts Mikey describes, it will make us angry, it will make our blood boil, we'll find them unbelievable, it will break our hearts, it will make us cry. All these happened to me. 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. There were two chapters called 'Dehumanisation' and 'History Lesson' which were very hard to read, because what they described was heartbreaking. It was unbelievable to read about some of the things, that scientists and philosophers that we admire from previous centuries, had said. Mikey describes every important word and concept be uses, in simple language, so that you don't have to Google or search for the dictionary if you don't understand them. For example, when talking about Jim Crow laws, be describes who exactly Jim Crow was, and what these laws exactly said. In another place Mikey describes what 'redlining' exactly means. This enhances the reading flow of the book and makes it a beautiful experience. In another place, while talking about the informal quota system which is prevalent in some sporting teams he says this –AddThis sets this geolocation cookie to help understand the location of users who share the information. Holding says there is a need to "understand why racism came about and exactly why it has continued". This cookie is set by Eventbrite to deliver content tailored to the end user's interests and improve content creation. It is also used for event-booking purposes. A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.



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