This is an incredibly powerful, insightful, emotive and impassioned book. I'd highly recommend it for everyone to read.

An eye opening raw look at black society in the inner city.An honest look at a life a world I knew nothing about .Very well written revealing of the lives lived there,#netgalley#terraformed

Overwhelmed by thoughts of this brilliant book by Dr. Joy White. I have so many thoughts but I shall just say this: if you work in any shape or form with “community” this is a must read to prevent “good intentions” from pushing out Black and Brown members of the community. There is a lot more to say but really I just want every English person to read it. It’s a very well written book, so accessible but absolutely important. I relate so much to her thoughts on austerity and predatory capitalism and their impact on communities like Newham.

This is one of the most unique non-fiction books I’ve ever read.
It’s a careful mix of rigorous academic work and personal experiences, presented in an easily digestible way. This work is timely. With the Black Lives Matter movement gaining momentum in the mainstream, there are lots of people expressing their complacency about racism in the UK. This book demonstrates that racism is rife here in Britain, and that current plans for regeneration and transformation of inner city areas is more likely to add to systemic racism than it is to solve the problem.

This is a hugely important book that I hope is read widely. I read this on Kindle and will be buying a physical copy to annotate and reread.
Thank you Repeater and NetGalley for gifting this book in exchange for an honest review.

Terraformed is an apt title, the process of transforming an environment for settlement, or in this case, colonization and replacement. While focussing on a small area of east London (But equally applicable to any urban environment), it describes, in forensic detail, the political, economic and social processes that late capitlaism uses to both contain and erase the presence of black youth from public space, replacing a genuine multicultural community with a twee facsimile of bohemian / urban living, a sanitised space surrounded by both visible and invisible barriers rooted in econmic inequality.
These new methods of discrimination and coded racism are not as overt as the colour bars and SUS laws of the past but are every bit as effective, gradually forcing those affected into smaller, hyper-local environments. What surprise then, if excluded from the wider community, anger is turned inward and on to other members of the excluded group?
One of the few modes of expression and resistance to this new structure of containment is music, particularly grime, which, originating in this area of London, is shown to be less nihilistic and hyper-aggresive than presented in the media, and more a system of community reportage and comment on circumstances, using the invisible bars of the new prisons to spit lyrics over.
Perhaps the most poignant section of the book covers the impact of the murder of the author's nephew. A young man who should have had the whole world to look forward to but, like all the other young men mudered (And generally, unless there is prurient detail for the media, unreported) felt, with good reason, that the world outside 'the ends' is closed off to them.
Most people that read this book will not live in the world it describes but, now more than ever, need to come to terms with the fact that they have been complicit in its making.

Thanks to Netgalley and Repeater Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Repeater Books for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Through an insightful, focused analysis of the Forest Gate community, Joy White's "Terraformed" shows the underlying interplay between white supremacy, policing and governmental policies. From housing to music to farmer's markets, Joy White leaves no corner of life unturned.

Why is it that the primarily white farmer's market is allowed to occupy the streets while Afro-Caribbean grocery stores are chastised for doing the same? Why is it that folk buy from the farmer's market but not the same goods that they can buy from the local Black owned and operated stores? Why is it that a group of Black men in white at a funeral are stopped and questioned?

The answer is perhaps uncomfortable for those who are benefitting from the everyday policing and deportation of Black bodies, but perhaps that's the point. This is a book that might make you rethink your daily routine, the people with whom you interact, the businesses you so brazenly support, the complicity with white supremacy in every level.

Terraformed :Young Black Lives In The Inner City is a thought provoking gritty, honest read, highlighting very relevant and real issues within society. A necessary read for all who are passionate about equality and every person being treated the same.

Given recent events this is an important book that needs to be read and discussed.

It details the Black experience in Newham, a deprived London borough that is still buzzing with life and vibrancy.

It is easy for the white majority to express concern about racism but it certainly helps to hear and read how it feels to be on the receiving end of violence and racist comments.

I found this book to be disturbing, upsetting and enlightening. It is a necessary read that certainly concentrated my mind.