Malik Al Nasir on slavery, sugar, and legacy
Award-winning British author and poet Malik Al Nasir explores Black and British history and his new book, 'Searching For My Slave Roots'.
He will trace his extraordinary journey to uncover his lineage—a story that intertwines enslaved Africans in Guyana with slaveholding dynasties in Scotland, England, and the Netherlands. Through vivid storytelling, he reveals how the transatlantic slave trade shaped economies, cities like Liverpool and Glasgow, and even modern financial institutions, while exposing enduring legacies of trauma and privilege across generations.
Announced as the winner of the University of Cambridge's Vice-Chancellor's Global Impact Award, Malik's work challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths about sugar's bitter origins and the systemic exploitation that fuelled it. Discover how his personal quest illuminates Scotland's overlooked role in slavery, the paradox of his dual heritage, and the urgent need for reconciliation with this buried past.
This event is part of the National Library of Scotland's Black History Month programme and will be chaired by Zandra Yeaman.
About the speakers
Malik Al Nasir is a British author and performance poet. He is the leader of the band Malik & the O.G's. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge.
Zandra Yeaman is the award-winning curator of Discomfort and Head of Strategy Development and Implementation at the University of Glasgow Hunterian, leading bold anti-oppressive work that confronts colonial legacies and systemic injustice.
Their acclaimed Curating Discomfort intervention challenges institutions to reckon with uncomfortable truths, while their participatory approach centres communities as co-creators and knowledge holders. With a strategic focus on equity, feminism, care and transformation, Zandra's job purpose is to challenge oppressive systems to make museum practice and spaces that truly mean they are for everyone.
Zandra is one of 10 European Museum of the Year Award judges, a board member of V&A Dundee and Street level Photoworks.
