I Rise
Like the phoenix rising from the ashes
Actor Janelle Monaé (Hidden Figures) is set to star as the iconic entertainer Josephine Baker in a new TV series titled De La Resistance. So who was Josephine Baker? Exotic cabaret dancer, operatic singer, comedienne, first black movie star, and bisexual celebrity. Although all these titles frequently appear in searches connected to entertainer Josephine Baker, …
Black women’s empowerment is not a new movement. However, in recent years, it has gained even more traction. This is likely partly due to the powerful voices of black women who are using their platforms to uplift other black women. Black girl magic is a term used to describe the power and beauty of black …
Friday 22 April is Stephen Lawrence Day – an annual event held on the date of Stephen’s death as a celebration of Stephen’s life and legacy. Stephen Lawrence was a black teenager who lived in Eltham in South London. He was murdered in an unprovoked, racially motivated attack on 22 April 1993 at 18. Police …
Easter will be seen as a lovely long Bank Holiday weekend for many people. For others, it’s a Christian religious holiday. As a Jamaican, celebrating Easter has always been a tradition with its many observances. We don’t eat meat on Good Friday, and we give chocolate eggs to each other on Easter Sunday. As I …
Today is World Poetry Day, and to celebrate, we’re highlighting a poet some may not have heard about in mainstream circles. Today, we feature Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet, novelist, and short-story writer. He was one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition. Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on 27 June 1872 in …
In the past few years, fascism has been on the rise all over the world. From Brexit to Trump, far-right ideologies have been gaining mainstream traction in a number of countries. Many people are asking how we got here and what can be done about it. In this blog post, I will try to answer …
The theme of Black History Month 2021 is Proud to Be. How did our ancestors reclaim their dignity and what made them proud to be after slavery? I grew up listening to a lot of uplifting songs that told me I should be proud to be black. Growing up during a time when the …
In a world full of cancel culture, it’s hard to know what to do. We’re constantly being told that if we don’t agree with someone or something, the best thing to do is cancel them from our lives. Many celebrities have been ‘cancelled’ online having done something that their fans don’t agree with. These include …
Windrush Day is observed in the UK on 22 June to mark the arrival of the Empire Windrush and to honour the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants. Windrush Day was introduced in June 2018 on the 70th anniversary of the Windrush migration following a successful campaign led by Patrick Vernon. The arrival …
In 1990 Justin Fashanu stunned the football world as the first professional footballer to come out as gay. At this time racism and homophobia were endemic in football. Justin’s early years Justinus Soni “Justin” Fashanu was born on 19 February 1961. He was raised in the London area of Hackney, where his Nigerian father was …
Marsha P Johnson was an outspoken transgender rights activist at the forefront of important moments in LGBTQ+ history. Her activism in the 1960s and 70s had an enormous impact on the LGBTQ+ community. Marsha P Johnson was born Malcolm Michaels Jnr on 24 August 1945 in New Jersey, United States. It was only after leaving …
What is the Windrush scandal? The Windrush scandal mainly affected UK citizens originally from the Caribbean. It came to light in 2018 after it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens, many of whom were from the Windrush Generation, had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights. Who are the Windrush generation? The Windrush Generation …
Viola Fletcher, the oldest survivor of the racist attack on Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street”, testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing to mark the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Viola Fletcher was 7 when a white mob destroyed the all-Black neighbourhood in Tulsa and killed 300 Black people. For nearly a century the …
The political and social movement known as eco fascism is growing in popularity worldwide. But what is it, and why should you care? Simply put, eco fascism is the belief that humans are fundamentally bad for the environment and must be controlled or eliminated to save the planet. This can take many different forms, from …
Zionism is a term that has been used in many different ways over the years. At its core, Zionism is the belief that Judaism is a nationality as well as a religion, and Jews have a right to self-determination in their own homeland. The political and historical aspects of Zionism are complex, and there are …
We have witnessed widely publicised examples of tension between social justice activists and those who advocate for restraint. The most recent example is the Cancel culture movement and its backlash against late-night comedians like Samantha Bee and Trevor Noah. On the one side, we have people actively seeking to cancel these comedians for jokes that …
Media plays a vital role in shaping public awareness and providing information that shapes attitudes and opinions. The media has become a powerful tool, whether it is TV, radio, or the internet. As a society, what should the media’s role be, and what purpose does it serve? The three broad roles of the media are …
History has been one of my favourite subjects since Primary school so it’s not surprising that my family history is important to me. Black History Month is a good opportunity to think about our ancestry. Like many Jamaican’s my ancestry is a mix-up and blend up! My great-grandfather on my dad’s side was white Irish. …
Political correctness, or PC culture, is a term used to describe how public discourse has changed to avoid offending certain groups of people. It is often seen as excessive sensitivity to minority groups and their issues. What is political correctness? So, what is political correctness? The definition of political correctness can vary, but in general, …
For over 40 years the people of Jamaica have suffered under the weight of massive debt. Jamaica is one of the most indebted countries and spends twice as much on debt repayments as it does on education and health combined. In 1972 Prime Minister Michael Manley instituted wide-ranging socialist reforms. The resulting trade deficit brought …
Racial disproportionality in the US criminal justice system is a fact that can be proved with statics. This could help to explain why a young black woman like Sandra Bland could end up dead after a routine traffic violation. As Sandra Bland’s death has been ruled as a suicide let’s look at statistics for deaths …
Ackee and Saltfish is the National Dish of Jamaica but neither ingredient is of Jamaican origin. Ackee Ackee is derived from the original name Ankye that comes from the Twi language of Ghana. Its botanical name, Blighia sapida, was given in honour of Captain William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. Captain Bligh brought …
We’ve debunked the tale of how Black Friday came about, now we will fact check the crazy tale of the etymology of picnic. Have you heard the story about where the word picnic comes from? If you haven’t, you’ve been lucky so far. If you have, let’s fact check that story. Here’s another tall tale …
Originally written as a poem “Bitter Fruit” by Abel Meeropol became a song performed famously by Billie Holiday. Meeropol, a white, Jewish high school teacher from the Bronx and a member of the Communist Party wrote it as a protest against lynchings. His inspiration came from the photograph by Lawrence Beitler of the 1930 lynching …
