We Were There reviews
“We Were There bridges the gaps to missing links and admirably achieves what it sets out to provide: further evidence of “Black people’s influence on the UK”. If these stories are only shown in isolation, “they can be dismissed as curiosities”, writes Bakare, ‘that don’t alter our sense of what constitutes British culture’.”
Jason Allen-Paisant, The Guardian
“Lanre Bakare’s first book is not just a work of history – it is a necessary and urgent recalibration of the way we think about Black Britain. Too often, mainstream accounts flatten the story, centring it on London, reducing the complexities of life beyond the capital to footnotes. Bakare challenges this myopia head-on, presenting an expansive, deeply researched work that insists on a broader, richer understanding of Black life.
“A bracingly readable social history, celebrates the UK as a bastion of black culture, black music and food … Bakare’s excellent book captures the life and glory of a culture that changed the face of Britain for good.”