- bredverbChapter 1 →
Raised and brought up in a place from childhood; used here to emphasize that the speaker grew up in Britain and is fully shaped by its culture, not a newcomer.
- micro-aggressionsnounChapter 1 →
Small, everyday comments or actions that subtly communicate prejudice or hostility toward a person because of their race or identity, often without the person doing them realising it.
- immigrantnounChapter 1 →
A person who has come to live permanently in a country they were not born in; used here as a label wrongly applied to the speaker, who was in fact born in Britain.
- outsidernounChapter 1 →
Someone treated as though they do not belong to a group or place; the speaker rejects this label despite being made to feel like one by those around him.
- refrainnounChapter 1 →
A line or phrase repeated at intervals throughout a poem, giving it rhythm and emphasis; here the repeated phrase underscores the poem's central irony.
- ironicadjectiveChapter 1 →
Saying one thing while meaning the opposite; the speaker's repeated insistence that there is 'no problem' actually highlights how serious the problem of racism is.
- assertiveadjectiveChapter 1 →
Confidently and firmly stating one's rights or views without aggression; the speaker's tone is determined and self-assured rather than apologetic or defeated.
- institutionalized racismphraseChapter 1 →
Racial discrimination that is built into the normal workings of a society, its laws, customs, and institutions, rather than being just the act of one prejudiced individual.
No ProblemShort story by Benjamin Zephaniah