Maybe I Don't Belong Here: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery

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Born in 1965 to parents who’d arrived in Birmingham from Barbados, Harewood, like his father (who was also sectioned), found that the assimilation process led to deep emotional conflict and placed a big strain on his mental health. The portrait's unveiling was accompanied by a temporary exhibition at the house focussing on Harewood's life and career.

At some point you've got to accept one you are, and accept that a certain section of the community - not everyone is going to like you, not everyone is going to accept you.Having just graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he struggled with a series of negative work experiences, from bullying to bad reviews: “Looked more like Mike Tyson than Romeo,” one critic wrote. Places where kids are able to get help, and mental health teams and not police are helping people in crisis. It's been formally recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary and is teeming with creative individuals and communities. It was heartbreaking to read David Harewood’s struggle and the lack of follow up support that was provided to him when he needed it the most. I was deeply impacted by this very genuine autobiography, the issues of growing up as a black English man in a community that did not accept him as English.

Maybe I Don't Belong Here is a groundbreaking account of the impact of everyday racism on Black mental health and a rallying cry to examine the biases that shape our society. A friend works in mental health and the cuts from 10 years of Tories means while treatment is better understood than it has been, there is very little that can be done because of so few services remaining. It'd be a criminal understatement to say that this book is a brave undertaking in sharing such a deeply personal and debilitating moment of one's life. How he managed to get back out there in a community that has so much trouble with accepting black people is astonishing.

Recommended reading, especially for those non-black British who are determined to hide behind their assertion of colour-blindness. But it's also a love letter to Harewood’s friends, parents and a tribute to his determination to succeed against the odds. The way he describes the risky games he played with his siblings when very young you’d think we were bought up in the same household. I will continue to recommend this book to people who I believe to be in need of it's messages, both in terms of race and of mental health- and of both, combined. He also starred in British independent film The Hot Potato, [15] the film also starred Ray Winstone, Colm Meaney and Jack Huston.

But it's also a love letter to Harewood's friends, parents and a tribute to his determination to succeed against the odds.

He was the first black actor to play the title role in Othello – making history at the National Theatre in 1997. Slaves were given surnames derived from those of their owners, hence Harewood's ancestors had to take their name from the Lascelles' title. Lock-ins at the Birmingham wine bar where he worked saw him reciting Shakespeare to his wide-eyed friends. In spite of the difficult topic, there is an underlying message and feeling of hope that resonates throughout.

So you're always going to have some people resist, you're always going to have some people have a problem with it. It may be just one account from the perspective of a person of colour who has experienced this system, but it may be enough to potentially change an opinion or, more importantly, stop someone else from spinning completely out of control. I'm amazed the amount of young kids who say to me, "Oh, I watched you when I was at school, and now I'm an actor, and thank you.

An honest and hopeful account of dealing with racism, and a direct look at the psychological pain it causes.