

The speaker, Jackie Kay, imagines an interaction with a black man on a train. When the poem concludes, it becomes clear that the speaker has imagined this entire interaction. They converse further, and he makes her feel as though her identity is something to be incredibly proud of. This is highly relevant to the speaker, who is on a journey of self-discovery. They speak, and he explains that she is Ibo or that she comes from a specific tribe in Africa.

She feels as though he can see into her mind and her past. She meets a black man on the train with whom she has an instant connection. In the first part of the poem, the speaker begins by describing herself on a train during a nighttime journey leaving Euston station.

‘Pride’ by Jackie Kay is about having pride in one’s identity and a woman’s extraordinary meeting with a man on a night train.
