HomeGrown: the Podcast That Redefines What it Means to be Black in HK prestigeonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prestigeonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Podcast Chronicles the Black Experience in Hong Kong and Asia Marta Colombo
HONG KONG – If you had a time machine, would you go into the past or into the future? asks hosts Marie-Louisa Awolaja and Folahan Sowole, aka Lou and the Fantastic Fo, to one of their interviewees on a recent episode of their podcast, HomeGrown. Black people have suffered enough in the past, what am I going to do back there? There s nothing there for us, I m going into the future, guest Katakyie Ofori-Atta answers while laughing. That s optimistic, says Sowole, also laughing.
The exchange encapsulates the lighthearted approach to discussing serious topics in HomeGrown, which British-Nigerian millennials Awolaja and Sowole recently launched in Hong Kong to create a platform to inform and inspire the Black expatriate community in the city.
How Racism and Discrimination Affect Black People in China and Hong Kong
Sarah Zheng and Aaina Bhargava, South China Morning Post, December 2, 2020
For Marie-Louisa Awolaja, a British-Nigerian, life in Hong Kong often means she is highly visible as a black woman, yet simultaneously invisible.
“I was surprised at how invisible I was, in a way,” she said. “I expect to be stared at on this side of the world. People don’t necessarily, especially locals, they just carry on – most of the stares you get are from [Chinese] tourists. But when it comes to service, it becomes more evident. They sometimes just don’t acknowledge you. It’s as if you don’t exist.”