Afua Hirsch

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Afua Hirsch
Born (1981-06-12) 12 June 1981 (age 42)
Stavanger, Norway
Occupation(s)Journalist;
barrister;
international development

Afua Hirsch (born 12 June 1981) is a writer, broadcaster, barrister and human rights development worker of Ghanaian, English and Jewish heritage.[1] She is the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News and was previously a correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian.

Early and personal life

Hirsch was born in Stavanger, Norway,[2] to an English father and a Ghanaian mother, and was raised in London.[3] She is married.

In an episode of The Pledge on Sky News broadcast on 11 May 2017, Hirsch told fellow panelists she has a daughter who at the time was approaching her sixth birthday.[4]

Career

Hirsch has worked in international development, law and journalism. She began working as a lawyer in criminal defence, public and international law. She then became a legal correspondent for The Guardian.[5] She has lived in Britain and Senegal, and served as The Guardian's West Africa correspondent, based in Accra, Ghana.[3][6] From 2014 to 2017 she was the Social Affairs and Education Editor at Sky News.[7]

In August 2017, Hirsch called for Nelson's Column to be destroyed, claiming it is a symbol of white supremacism.[8] Her comments caused substantial controversy.[9] The former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Roy Strong, later called the comments "ridiculous", saying: "Well, listen, dear, that was about 1800. Once you start rewriting history on that scale, there won't be a statue or a historic house standing....The past is the past. You can't rewrite history."[10]

Hirsch is the author of Brit(ish), a book about Britishness and identity, which is scheduled to be published by Jonathan Cape in 2018.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Afua Hirsch – A star is born". Operationblackvote.wordpress.com. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  2. ^ Hirsch, Afua (26 May 2013). "What's it like being black in Norway?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b Afua Hirsch (26 August 2012). "Afua Hirsch: Our parents left Africa – now we are coming home". London: The Observer. Retrieved 31 October 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Mentioned during discussion about advertising of junk food and sweets.
  5. ^ "Afua Hirsch on human rights | British Institute of Human Rights". Bihr.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Afua Hirsch". London: The Guardian. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Afua Hirsch". Sky News. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. ^ Afua Hirsch (22 August 2017). "Toppling statues? Here's why Nelson's column should be next". theguardian.com.
  9. ^ Fatima Manji (22 August 2017). "Should Nelson's Column be torn down? Afua Hirsch and Laura Perrins debate". channel4.com.
  10. ^ "Everywhere Sir Roy Strong looks, the thumbscrews are tightening", The Sunday Times, 3 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging", Penguin Books.
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