After initially experiencing racism in the workplace for the first time which “opened his eyes” a local author from St Ann’s has spoken about his book. The self-published book, which is now available in the British Library London, speaks about the racism he has experienced and how racism is “beyond slavery.”
Racism is Real is available on Amazon. The book was originally published in 2020, just weeks after the murder of George Floyd, and is an autobiography of Clive Henry's life.
It touches upon a legal battle with his former employers UPS Ltd for racial discrimination including being unfairly treated. He was the only person to be put on a performance improvement plan (PIP) as the only black person in the deparment in 2008. The battle went on for years and was even taken to the European Commission for Human Rights in Belgium. Clive however lost his case.
Clive spoke about how before this, growing up in St Ann’s where he describes it as “multicultural” he had never experienced racism.
READ MORE: The hidden Clifton gym keeping youngsters out of trouble and training champions
Clive now, 50 said: “The autobiography of my life explains to all people from all backgrounds what racism is, it opens up and gives people an insight into Black lives with information for all age groups with references at the back of people to study.”
The ex-Elliot Durham student continued: “There are no real Black History lessons in schools. I’ve tried to push the book on Amazon but I always give it away and people have come back to me from all over the world with feedback.”
The book on Amazon nearly has a 5 star rating. One review reads: "Easy read and interesting to learn of Clive's struggles and the hurdles he overcame, based on his skin colour" while another says: "This book gave was a great read. Also gave me some ideas on how to deal with a situation I'm dealing with."
Racism is real is available on Amazon for £4.53. The Kindle edition on Amazon is £2.35.
The murder of George Floyd caught the attention of millions across the world as a police officer kneeled on his neck, in the struggle you can hear George Floyd say “I can’t breathe.” The murder sparked a conversation on racism. Referring to racism in the UK, Clive said: “The British Empire took over and colonised, that’s how they got rich, that’s factual.
“There’s institutionalised racism in the school system and TV, people don’t see it because we’re a multicultural society but it does exist.”
During Clive’s legal battle with his employers where he claims his employers “didn’t follow rules” and that he was on a PIP that wasn’t approved by HR, the case went viral on social media. Clive said: “This was in 2010 when Facebook was becoming more popular, I used social media to get the story out there, if you don’t know the legal system, it feels like you’re banging your head against a brick wall.”
As well as legal battles, the book also raises awareness and supports the Windrush Generation. Clive’s parents are a part of the Windrush Generation and came to Nottingham in the 60s.
Clive said: “My mum is from St Catherine’s, Jamaica and my dad, Maypen, the Windrush Generation bought food, music, love and community. The Windrush Generation were parents to everyone with their funky clothes.”
Clive remember’s ‘pardners’ where when everyone all lived in 1 house, everyone put money together to send for family back in Jamaica or to look after one another. Clive said that no one “ever forgot their roots.”
Now, Clive hopes the 14 chapter book will educate people. He said: “In schools, Black History starts at slavery but it’s beyond that. We have human beings that try to go to space but we need to fix our bedrooms first, why do we go to space but can’t fix homelessness?
UPS have said they cannot comment on any "specific personnel issues."
READ NEXT:
Man mocked by Lee Anderson for having '1 Twitter follower' now has more than MP
Nottingham father and son using poetry to discuss issues in their community
Victoria Centre statement over pictures of 'discreet' woman exposing herself in House of Fraser
Life on 'beautiful' Nottinghamshire marina with its own award-winning cafe
