By any standard imaginable 2020 has been a difficult year in the world, but for many people stuck at home RuPaul’s Drag Race has been a consistent spirit lifter to look forward to every week. The US reality competition show puts fourteen drag queens from around the nation through runway presentations and challenges to determine […]
On Friday 23 October I was privileged enough to see a staged reading of …cake at Theatre Peckham by the lauded babirye bukilwa (Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020 finalist and Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2019 shortlist). I use the word privileged not in a hyperbolic sense, rather reverentially I felt like I was watching the […]
October 1st marks the beginning of Black History Month – a month where the Black British community celebrates its triumphs and rich history within the allotted time of 30 days. Companies and schools may feign solidarity and interest and just like Pride Month, as soon as a new moon rises, away go the rainbows and […]
‘You can never beg your oppressor for your freedom, you have to fight for it’ – Seun Kuti Shortly after celebrating Nigeria’s 60th year of independence, social media was flooded with calls to end police brutality by SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad). SARS is a branch of the Nigerian Police force that was created in 1992 […]
It’s a tale as old as time; being black and being made to feel like an intruder. Not so long ago, it was water fountains, benches, toilets, and buses. Today it’s meetings at work, visits abroad, and the omnipresent and all-seeing security guards in supermarkets. Even more recently, as many young black people choose to […]
This year, Black History Month has come at a strange time. We’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, police brutality is a piping hot topic in mainstream media, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has had another global resurgence and we’re spending large amounts of time online to feel connected. But for some […]
As 2020 charges on, a refugee crisis rages on the English Channel, with border crossings and indefinite detentions shedding light on the UK government’s approach to this humanitarian issue. For the majority of the 2010s, Conservative politics and press defamed refugees, characterising them as a ‘cultural threat’, linking them to violent crime and misconstruing their […]
There are a multitude of important Black History landmarks dotted throughout London. Here is a run through of some of the locations you should know about this Black History Month (and beyond). Brixton Black Cultural Archives – Founded by activist Len Garrison in 1981, the centre moved to it’s Brixton base in 2014. The archive […]
akt is a charity supporting LGBTQ+ young people facing homelessness, experiencing familial rejection and living in a hostile environment. The charity works across London, Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol to provide safe refuge and forge better futures for the young people accessing our services. 24% of the U. K’s homeless population identify as LGBTQ+. 68% of […]
Over the past five years, we have created a self-funded, award-nominated online community. Since it’s birth in 2015, AZ, started by four Black queer women, has developed into an online publication and social space, as well as event organisers, for LGBTQ+ people of colour. Now, we have created a fundraiser with a target of £20,000 […]
