BlackInk Issue Two

ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 2021

BUNDLEHOUSE: WORLDWIDE SOON COME? Nyugen E Smith LIMINAL LIFE Mark Sealy BLACK GOLD DUST Roshini Kempadoo

LAUNCHPAD

ARTISTS FORGING NEW CREATIVE LANDSCAPES Kat Anderson Charlie Evaristo-Boyce Isaac Ouro-Gnao

BlackInk Issue Two, October 2021 Published by Serendipity Serendipity 21 Bowling Green Street Leicester LE1 6AS

CL00.14 Clephan Building De Montfort University The Gateway Leicester LE1 9BH

+44(0)116 482 1394 info@serendipity-uk.com www.blackink-uk.com www.serendipity-uk.com Copyright © Serendipity Artists Movement Ltd 2021 Company registration number in England and Wales 07248813 Charity registration number in England and Wales 1160035 Editor-in-Chief — Pawlet Brookes Contributors — Kweku Aacht, Peter Adjaye, Mistura Allison, Kat Anderson, Maya Brookes, Beverley Bryan, Charlie Evaristo-Boyce, Pierre Godson-Amamoo, Stacey Green, Philip Herbert, Freddy Houndekindo, Martin Hylton, Roshini Kempadoo, Jean-François Manicom, Mutsa Mhende, Chester Morrison, Kwame Nimako, Isaac Ouro-Gnao, Amanda Parker, Mark Sealy, Ioney Smallhorne, Nyugen E Smith, Makeda Thomas, Carol Wallace, Sharon Watson Cover Wrap Image — Nyugen E Smith Researchers — Mistura Allison, Amy Grain, Ashly Stanly Design — The Unloved Special Thanks — Paul Brookes, Writing East Midlands, The family of Barrington Lloyd Anderson ISSN 2634-4289 All rights reserved. Whilst every effort has been made to provide accurate information, Serendipity cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies contained within this publication. The views expressed in BlackInk are not necessarily those of the contributors, researchers, editor or publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced except for purposes of research without permission from the contributors and publisher.

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Contents 6

Editor’s Welcome — Pawlet Brookes

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Insight: Black British Dance

On The Shoulders of Giants — Chester Morrison Navigating and Propelling a Vision — Sharon Watson Children Only Know What They See — Stacey Green Fractured: Diversity and the North East — Martin Hylton

24 AfroManifesto

Representing: Black Women Are Beautiful — Maya Brookes AWO… is Leadership — Kweku Aacht Black Gold Dust — Roshini Kempadoo Kedji’s Identity is: Emancipated — Freddy Houndekindo A Performance in Stillness: Critical Reading Strategies for Archives of Blackness — Mutsa Mhende

48 Launchpad

Untitled (Running Series) — Kat Anderson Emergency? — Charlie Evaristo-Boyce

Intergenerational Trauma — Isaac Ouro-Gnao

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Arts and Culture

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Activism and Identity

When The Ugliness Reared its Head — Amanda Parker In my Opinion: The Black British Film Renaissance — Pierre Godson-Amamoo Making the Invisible, Visible — Peter Adjaye Liminal Life — Mark Sealy Gatekeepers and Thieves: A Case on Restitution — Mistura Allison Bundlehouse: Worldwide Soon Come? — Nyugen E Smith

Parallel Lives and Intertwined Belongings — Kwame Nimako A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan Backyard Stories as a Strategy for Survival: Eat Little and Live Long — Makeda Thomas What Are We Talking About? — Jean-François Manicom

130 New Writing

Learning Sleazy — Ioney Smallhorne Unfinished Business — Carol Wallace

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2021 In Numbers

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Coming Soon 2022

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Calendar Highlights

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Spotlight - Blaxploitation: Films that Defined an Era

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The Interview — Philip Herbert

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Welcome to the second edition of BlackInk, an incisive magazine focusing on Black arts, heritage and cultural politics. BlackInk bears witness to the events of the past year and holds space for artists, activists and writers from across the African and African Caribbean Diaspora.

This edition of BlackInk explores voices for change, change to support the environment, creative economy and respect of individuality and identity. BlackInk gives voice to those who have taken centre stage and stepped out of the shadow of the margins.

In this edition, we start by looking at Black British Dance, both reflecting on the legacy of those who have paved the way and those who are carrying the sector into the future.

Central to arts and culture is activism and identity, which is at the heart of work being produced, cultivated and showcased by those from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora.

AfroManifesto gives voice to dreams, aspirations and affirmations of intent and the direction of travel Black creatives are propelling their work. The concept of manifesto is something that runs throughout this publication, as Black creatives share their declarations of how they want to see change and how they are making change through their own work and practice. Growing out of the impact of Black Lives Matter, organisations and government bodies have pontificated about what they think should (or should not) happen. In the UK, we have

EDITOR’ WELCOM

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Editor’s Welcome — Pawlet Brookes

witnessed the publication of a report that completely ignores and denies the very real experiences of African and African Caribbean communities. Through this backdrop, BlackInk presents a collection of clear intentions, objectives and actions. Real change needs to happen now.

I hope you enjoy the international perspectives and voices shared throughout the magazine. To help animate them, don’t forget to use the website links and QR codes to unlock further digital contents. I hope that you enjoy reading BlackInk and consider what you need to take away from this edition.

BlackInk New Writing competition returns with contemporary short fiction from two writers. The high quality of this year’s entries made the selection process an enjoyable but difficult one, and as a result three shortlisted stories will also be available to read via our digital platform. Launchpad is back with three interdisciplinary artists sharing perspective pieces using film, photography, animation and graphic design.

Pawlet Brookes

’S ME

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Hold your device (smart phone or tablet) so that the QR code appears in the camera app’s viewfinder. Your device should recognise the QR code and show a notification.

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INSIGHT BLACK BRITISH DANCE 8

Insight: Black British Dance

T: H

Beginning with a reflection on the life and career of one of the pioneers of Black British dance, Barrington Lloyd Anderson. This section reflects on the enormous contribution of those who have come before. Building on this foundation, we look forward at contemporary leaders shaping the dance sector. Leaders who are fighting institutional racism, challenging the models to create more inclusive dance training and celebrating the diversity of their cities refreshing the British dance ecology.

On the Shoulders of Giants: Barrington Lloyd Anderson – Ekome National Dance Company — Chester Morrison Navigating and Propelling a Vision — Sharon Watson Children Only Know What They See — Stacey Green Fractured: Diversity and the North East — Martin Hylton

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ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS: BARRINGTON LLOYD ANDERSON EKOME NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY BARRINGTON LLOYD ANDERSON WAS SYNONYMOUS WITH EKOME NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY AND THE COMPANY WITH HIM. PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE RE-EMERGENCE OF AFRICAN CARIBBEAN MUSIC AND DANCE IN THE UK FROM THE EARLY 1970S OWED A LOT TO ANDERSON AND EKOME NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY (EKOME ARTS).

HE WAS A PIONEERING RACONTEUR, ENTREPRENEUR, ADVOCATE, AMBASSADOR OF AFRICAN CARIBBEAN MUSIC AND DANCE. BUT PRINCIPALLY, HE WAS AN EXCELLENT AND CHARISMATIC EXPONENT OF THE DANCE FORM. HIS PERFORMANCES WERE SCINTILLATING AND DEMANDED AUDIENCES’ ATTENTION ACROSS THE GLOBE. 10

Insight: Black British Dance On the Shoulders of Giants: Barrington Lloyd Anderson - Ekome National Dance Company — Chester Morrison In performance, few people were better able to capture the transportation and retention of arts from Africa to the Caribbean and then to Europe than Anderson. As a person of Jamaican heritage, he understood the need to embrace his contemporary experiences whilst making links to his ancestral homeland. This continuum which Anderson promoted needs to live in the minds of every person of African heritage who engages with the dance form within a contemporary context. To understand what Anderson and Ekome Arts were about is to understand the cultural traditions of Africa and the need for the continuous evolution of the cultures and art forms.

As a trailblazer, Anderson had to overcome many obstacles some of which were financial, attitudinal, perception and blockages of the mind, not of his, but others.

He was not afraid to demand what was not only his as an artiste and citizen but that which the sector deserves.

Owing to his tenacity, forthrightness and determination to succeed, he opened many doors for Ekome National Dance Company and the whole African and Caribbean dance sector. When he toured the UK, he enthused young people from different cultures and ethnicities. Workshops in Gloucester, Reading, and Cardiff for example were followed by fledgling groups seeking to emulate what they had seen and experienced. Whatever progress such groups made, they contributed to raising awareness of their need for selfidentity and cultural rootedness.

Anderson’s influence reached far beyond where he physically appeared owing to the extensive exposure, he created for himself and Ekome Arts. The depth of his reach and penetration into the established cultural infrastructure included the following cross-section of appearances and initiatives. The Old Grey Whistle Test, A Sailor’s Return, Highway, Only Fools and Horses, Bacchanal, Ebony, Pattie Boulaye Show and the South Bank Show with Melvyn Bragg.

Breaking through barriers was as natural to Anderson as breathing. In that regard he collaborated with Peter Gabriel of Genesis, recorded ‘Rhythm of the Heat’ and helped to launch the now famous WOMAD festival. His cross-cutting appeal to a range of different audiences saw him supporting the legendary Fela Kuti, Franco Luambo and Musical Youth.

Anderson enthralled audiences from the Royal Albert Hall to the main stage at Glastonbury, to town halls, school halls and community centres.

As a job creator, Anderson was instrumental in acquiring Urban Aid Funds to provide training and employment for 48 workers in Bristol. He and Ekome Arts were not just super stars in St Paul, Bristol, but pillars of the community to which they provided a range of necessary support.

Barrington Lloyd Anderson, courtesy of Angie Amra Anderson

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From the heart of the African Caribbean dance world he received The Black Dance Development Trust Award for his and Ekome Arts’ contribution to African Dance in the UK. Being acknowledged by his peers who were often his competitors, was a testament to the esteem in which he was held. Demonstration of Anderson’s reach and cultural penetration was perhaps best illustrated when a London audience of some 80,000 voted him and Ekome Arts the winner of Time Out and City Limits award for the best dance company. He scooped this prize ahead of such notables as Ballet Rambert and London School of Contemporary Dance which finished second and third respectively.

Anderson was not only an excellent dancer, but he was also a showman generous in spirit with a burning desire to see African dance being practised as a respected art form everywhere. Dance was so integral to Anderson’s sense of self, his being and personality, that he took any disrespect of the form personally.

The contemporary view of African dance in the UK may suggest not much has been achieved since the mid1970s to Anderson’s death in June 2021. Nothing could be further from the truth. Obviously, the form has been transformed and young dancers are seeking to assert themselves within a different time and space. The question we must ask is how does one promote tradition and change operating simultaneously within the same space, when the practitioners are not familiar with the relationship between the two? The answer to this question goes to the centre of what Anderson and Ekome Arts tried, and succeeded in doing, to some extent.

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Anderson understood the need for sustainable development and this led to his collaboration with Dartington College in Devon to create a BA Degree in African Music. Despite such progressive initiatives there are still too many gaps in provision for the study of African dance, music and arts in the UK. Bridging this gap in provision is the collective responsibility of contemporary practitioners. For that to happen they must first recognise Anderson’s achievement study him assiduously to fully understand what he tried to do. Anderson has left much to build on, but this will never be seen by external eyes. It requires people looking from within African dance to see and understand the nature of the foundation he created. Failure to do so will sustain the impression of communal vacuousness, which must be avoided at all costs because of its deflating effect.

At a Black Dance Development Trust Summer School in Birmingham, England, Professor C K Ladzekpo of Berkley University, California, USA described dance as the ultimate physical expression of being alive. That in no small way described the effervescent Anderson who gave generously to the promotion and the profile-raising of the form, during the entire period of his active life.

I would suggest, the best way to honour Anderson’s life is by picking up the demands he made for African Caribbean dance forms to be respected. This should be from would be practitioners and institutions alike. Anderson’s sun rose on 3 April 1957 and set on 11 June 2021. He travelled still a relatively young man. But on that journey, he thrilled thousands, broke down barriers, inspired countless others and took African Caribbean music and dance from relative obscurity to popularity and respectability. He provided an example of the economic viability that is possible for practitioners of the forms. Those who are looking for inspiration need only acquaint themselves with the letter analysis and numerology of the name E K O M E.

Insight: Black British Dance On the Shoulders of Giants: Barrington Lloyd Anderson - Ekome National Dance Company — Chester Morrison

Taken from Numerology and Letter Analysis, the name Ekome inspires dependability, willingness and ingenuity.

E

With ‘E’ as initial, there is a desire to explore the wonders of the world, these enticing personalities making friends easily.

K

‘K’ suggests the effect of knowledge in opening up one’s existence to new discoveries.

O

The letter O signals that one is blessed with a fulfilling emotional life and is more likely to award more value to their emotional status than to fact-based thinking.

M ‘M’ has a similar energy with that of the number 4, reminding of an individual who doesn’t allow others to tell them what to do.

E

Within the ‘E’ there is a yearning for assuming the best in everyone and this is envisioned as a life principle to follow.

Ekome Dance Company - National Afro-Carribean Dance Company performing at The Place, 26 November 1983, © Dee Conway _ Bridgeman Images

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NAVIGATING AND PROPELLING A VISION 14

Northern School of Contemporary Dance © photo by Camilla Greenwell

Insight: Black British Dance Navigating and Propelling a Vision — Sharon Watson

ENTERING A SPACE WHICH WAS FAMILIAR IN ONE WAY BUT CLEARLY HAS BEEN DEVELOPING OVER MANY YEARS, IS AN INTRIGUING JUXTAPOSITION OF PAST AND PRESENT EMOTIONS. THE NSCD (NORTHERN SCHOOL OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE) EVOLVED OUT OF SEVERAL YEARS OF ACTIVITY AND TENACITY WHERE THE BACK STORY IS AN UNDERLYING PART OF THE SCHOOL’S SUCCESS.

Leeds has a strong diverse dance ecology and character; I describe the vibrancy of the city as having its cultural DNA rooted in dance. It has long been a part of my personal and professional lived experiences.

So, what is new or likely to differ?

Being able to vision a future for the Northern School as a world class conservatoire will be impoverished without representation of all society. Never in my time has there been a need and a desire to address the inequalities which has for so long divided us, enabling systemic structures to remain as a divisive tool, maintaining the status quo.

The NSCD sits in the heart of a community which is animated and culturally diverse. You cannot mistake the vibrancy of the Chapeltown community in which this professional dance school is located. Geographically, Leeds is small enough to be considered a local city but internationally recognised as the place to be outside of the UK capital.

As an artform specific higher education establishment, the job of visioning the next five, 10 or even 20 years becomes a vocation and one to embrace. The mission, vision and values born out of its heritage are even more important given the international cultural politics faced by the sector.

Here at the NSCD we create a home for dancers and dance makers however, there is still work required in removing barriers which prevent entry to education. The industry by its nature is innovative, this must remain central to the students learning delivered by staff whose approach to learning evolves and is well connected to industry and employers. We can do things differently!

We can invest without compromise and collectively feed a vison for growth and inclusion.

As we recover from the impacts of a global pandemic there are practices which can happily remain in the past as developing a future facing approach can offer choice and opportunity. We can invest without compromise and collectively feed a vison for growth and inclusion.

Conversely, the shift from the pandemic which impacted the sector has been demanding for many: embracing new learning and innovation, both personally and organisationally. It has required us all to differed approaches to decision making, a deeper consideration of employees and student welfare and an opportunity to think about the meaning of work, creativity and how we adapt our habits. The pandemic has presented space, and new principles of a new cartography needs to be established for us to be the change we want to see in our society whilst delivering an exceptional learning experience.

Although the job requires overseeing the artistic and educational activities of dance, I remain committed to the continuation of Northern’s trademark of distinctive artists and empowering creativity through educational excellence.

What will be different, is challenging and moving the curriculum forward to include a greater dance vocabulary that supports and respects work coming of the demography that makes up the city. Introducing other techniques, styles and forms that are part of contemporary society. Pushing the boundaries around inclusion and reshaping the dance ecology so it makes space for greater diversity, quality and creativity.

NSCD has grown from humble beginnings to achieving world class status. We are vigilant of ourselves and remain abreast of the sector needs knowing real change is happening. I am convinced we are fit for now and will be fit for the future. Seeing difference as a field of potential.

While renewal is a constant factor in the process of growth and development, there are always points at which fundamentals and good teaching principle will remain. No one can really know for sure what the world of work will look like over the coming years, however, we are dedicated to training our students to be future ready if not future proof!

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CHILDREN ONLY KNOW WHAT THEY SEE

FROM THE VERY FIRST TIME I STEPPED INTO A BALLET CLASS BACK IN 1979, I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED I WAS DIFFERENT. EVEN AT THE AGE OF JUST FOUR YEARS OLD, THE PREDOMINATELY WHITE ENVIRONMENT I FOUND MYSELF IN FELT STRANGE, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW WHY. I DO NOW. 16

Insight: Black British Dance Children Only Know What They See — Stacey Green

I am tired of cultural appropriation and the way dance styles are being taught.

What was apparent then, is still apparent now. The lack of Black representation within dance education is clearly something that needs to be addressed. If children and young people do not see someone that looks like them at the top of the pyramid of power, then how do they aspire to be in that space or identify with that profession?

As the principal of my own performing arts school and over 25 years of experience working within the industry, teaching children and young people to embrace not just the art form but their ethnicity has always been paramount. As a Black (dual heritage) educator, I have spent the past 42 years competing in a sector that is predominately white, with very few opportunities to voice my concerns about the lack of representation within The British Festival Federation and various examining boards.

Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus and Janet Collins, to name but a few inspirational women that have been lost in translation and forgotten in basic education. Forerunners and leaders that defined modern dance, should be embedded in the curriculum of a genre that derives from African dance.

If a dancer doesn’t learn where the movements come from, then how do they know where they can go?

We owe it to our students to provide fully informed dance education that inspires creative and critical thinking. With the time restraints in syllabus classes, many of us find ourselves in a position whereby we only have time for the teaching of the technical principles of dance. We need to find ways of delivering quality assured lessons that provide students with the ability to understand the true meaning of each dance style and where it originated from.

Of the 42 adjudicators in this country that are registered in the federation, not one of them is Black. Nor has there ever been a person of colour represented in that organisation. When there are no Black examiners in the UK to empower young dancers, then there needs to be an overhaul of recruitment to attract a more diverse balance of teachers in dance. When I hear the word outreach my instinct is to be grateful for the opportunity that has been presented, to step into that world that is underrepresented.

However, for me the connotations of the people in power reaching out a hand to the less fortunate, implies that “we” need their help to become included into space that should already be rightly ours.

Diversity fosters innovation but lack of representation allows for misinterpretation. If you do not have all the facts, then how can you tell the story? You do not peruse through a book and omit certain chapters, so why not teach the correct history and elevate the original narrators of dance. To be fully inclusive in your teaching practise is to embrace different cultures that have inspired modern dance.

We should learn from the past failings of inappropriate education and strive towards more research to inform the next generation.

The current way in which dance teachers are trained shows no empathy or understanding of their approach to teaching children of colour nor appreciation of the way Black culture has influenced dance genres across the board. At present, there is no governing body that regularly monitors what is being taught within the private dance sector, nor how syllabi are being delivered in diverse communities.

I am tired of the lack of true ethnic representation amongst teachers in education.

If we look at the way the dance syllabus has been designed, we can see that only part of the story is being told and the narrative for technical requirements for each genre of dance is defined by what we have been previously taught. Learn the culture, not just the movement and respect the pioneers of the past. For too long this narrative has masked the importance of identity in dance, and to dismantle the layers we must seek to educate the educators on how to deliver inclusive content.

Ashley Mayeux, photographer Rachel Neville

I am tired of the lack of diversity within Festival Federations, governing bodies and examinations.

I am tired of cultural appropriation and the way dance styles are being taught.

Borrowing from dance forms that was not theirs to be bought.

I am tired!!!

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Heart of Chaos by Darshan Sing Bhuller, Phoenix Dance Theatre 30th Anniversary, photo by Pete Huggins

Insight: Black British Dance Fractured: Diversity and the North East — Martin Hylton

FRACTURED: DIVERSITY AND THE NORTH EAST OH, HOW IT SEEMS WE ARE FRACTURED, SO VERY FRACTURED! WITH LEVELLING UP, BREXIT, COVID, GEORGE FLOYD AND SO MANY COUNTLESS OTHERS, BLACK LIVES MATTER, AND SO MUCH MORE, OH HOW IT SEEMS WE ARE FRACTURED. WE ALL FEEL IT, IT SITS WITHIN OUR INHERITED ANCESTRAL DNA AND OH HOW WE FEEL IT. THE ANGER, THE PAIN, THE NEED FOR THE GREAT RESET TO SOMEHOW BENEFIT US, OH HOW IT SEEMS WE ARE FRACTURED, BATTERED AND BRUISED. YET, WE ALL FEEL THE POSSIBILITY FOR CHANGE, REAL CHANGE. EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT, EVERYONE HAS SAID PUBLICLY HOW THEY WANT IT, BUT THE NERVOUS “WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE” SITS ON OUR SHOULDERS, AND WITH JUST CAUSE TOO, WE HAVE LITERALLY BEEN BURNT SO MANY TIMES BEFORE.

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I have a title of Artistic Director and CEO of a small company in the North East of England, in a little town called Gateshead, if I said Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, you might know where I am. It is often referred to as Newcastle Gateshead, but who is talking tribalism when there are so many other issues at stake. So many large issues that need to be fought on many different fronts. I think many of us will agree that the old way of engaging with the establishment no longer serves our purpose of development and prosperity, and I’m only talking about the cultural sector here, well the cultural sector in the North East that is, as this is the place where I ply my trade. This is not an academic article nor a data-led researched review but a very anecdotal personal point of view. As I said the old way of engaging may no longer serve our purpose and as the great Martin Luther King Jr said in his last interview with CBS, 11 months before his assassination, “That I must confess that, that dream I had that day in many forms has turned into a nightmare, now I’m not one to lose hope, I keep on hoping, I still have faith in the future… I’ve come to see we have many more difficult days ahead and some of the old optimism was a little superficial, and now it must be tempered with a solid realism and the realistic fact is we still have a long, long way to go…”1 I so very much agree our optimism must be tempered as we all feel and are going through the fall out of the death of George Floyd, the BLM movement, Brexit and COVID to name just a few. In the North East I was an instigator in the statement for the North East cultural sector to denounce racism, to become anti-racist, and the instigator of highlighting the need for white led organisations to stop being silent if they don’t agree with the systemic racism in their own organisations.

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I truly believe this was heard by most here and then the scramble was on, and is on, to get the funding to make that change, to prove oneself anti-racist, to improve the diversity of Black people on boards, to show how many Black people are fit to work within your organisation. This has become the problem the route to our future fracture. Every organisation now wants to draw upon Black expertise, to try their damnedest to prove they are anti-racist by employing Black staff to fix the very situation they know the system they thrive in perpetuated. No, no, no, no. This is not about the individual but about a system that has allowed this to continue for so long. We have already heard the cries that there are no or not enough Black people at a level to lead and to be fair the system has supported this by lack of opportunity and bias towards Black people and anyone the system defines as non-white and in fact anyone who does not fit the criteria of white. I will make this very clear; I am not the one trying to make those definitions. But we exist, Black people are here even in the North East contributing and highlighting Gateshead as a place where Black cultural identity cultural perspective is strong regardless of our numbers.

So let me get back to the future of our fracture. Recovery funding, diversity funding, and yes, I am specifically talking about Black diversity here, how many organisations have and will write their funding bids to increase their numbers or should I say coffers. Here in the North East Black people have been working on the ground for years in community, educational and professional settings with no funding at all. Now we are saturated with organisations wanting to do better, shift that balance and rightly so but here in lies a potential problem, one that could set the play for decades to come. Non-Black led organisations, without consultation are deciding what Black artist development programmes should look like. This is telling us what we need, what we want moving forward. How would these organisations know this? Yes, I agree that we need more Black cultural leaders who understand the current ways of doing things, but it has to be tempered with the fact that diverse leadership exists to break that model, isn’t that what diverse leadership is all about, challenging the status quo from another alternative perspective?

Making sure that diverse, and particularly, diverse Black voices are heard, acknowledged and valued for its merit?

I may have missed out to you that not only am I the Artistic Director and CEO of Gateway Studio, but I am also the founding Artistic Director and CEO of Gateway Studio, a dance organisation based in Gateshead, and with this hat I see two very clear obstacles that need to be addressed.

Insight: Black British Dance Fractured: Diversity and the North East — Martin Hylton

“That I must confess that, that dream I had that day in many forms has turned into a nightmare, now I’m not one to lose hope, I keep on hoping, I still have faith in the future… I’ve come to see we have many more difficult days ahead and some of the old optimism was a little superficial, and now it must be tempered with a solid realism and the realistic fact is we still have a long, long way to go…”

Martin Hylton and Namron, photo by Anna Miller

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– 1. FRACTURES – DIVISIVE PRACTICE Everything and everyone seem to want change, but it seems the system is not changing, the system does not allow for change and not at the speed in which we need.

Organisations large and small, independents, are seeking ways in which they can prove to themselves and the sector that they can make a difference to and for Black people.

The Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd has offered up opportunities for people to come together, to talk, to listen, but even in this context we as Black people in the cultural sector are still pitted against each other, unknowingly or not. Various groups and movements for Black people have emerged and the mainstream in the sector are asking for their help and are now… happy to resource this help financially. Now they recognise that they must pay for this time and expertise.

They must be seen to act, they must be seen to, now actually believe in and demonstrate impact against their longstanding, dormant diversity, or recently updated diversity policies. I know my own organisation has struggled with this over the last 12 months, lip service, not here, not here and not now or ever again. Truly how many apologies can you accept and when do those apologies wear thin or even become non-existent? I stand by the fact that organisational integrity must be maintained and is worth more than every penny of funding, if not, then what is the point? If change is to really begin to take shape, it will take all of us to come together with a greater understanding of each other and the roles we will all need to play.

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I was initially invited, alongside an organisation from outside the region, to speak with a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) here in the North East about the historically bad treatment of Black artists and to try finding a positive way forward. I thought to myself, I hope this other organisation knows some of the issues that Black artists here in the North East face. I wondered if they knew of some of the things this NPO had done to some of the Black artists. So, I called them to introduce myself to them and ask, what did they know?

What are they hoping to achieve and how can we show a united front as we are striving for the same thing? I tried to explain what had been happening and that other organisations from outside the North East was also already supporting what is happening here and I asked if they were aware of any of it. I did not receive any answers and no follow up calls to discuss it despite my offer. It was not to my surprise that the meeting went ahead without me; I did however receive an email asking me if I could help advertise the event a couple days before it was due as not many, people had booked on to it I somehow felt that it was not about me or this other group but something else I could not quite put my finger on. I could have felt isolated and alone, with my confidence knocked.

Was my approach wrong? Why was I no longer being invited to this table? I could have felt a certain one-upmanship from this other organisation, but did I? No, not at all, this whole situation wasn’t of their making, and I wasn’t expecting anything different from the NPO in question.

The funding is there. There are opportunities to get paid but the competition is now even stronger than before, so strong that you cannot or even do not want to engage for fear of not being able to survive it. For fear of not being recognised as a leader, that fear that leads to some form of professional jealousy when you see others being recognised for their work while you continue to work even harder for change. You do not engage, or even worse, strive to find the things that you can use, and then, commit that cardinal sin to discredit them in some way.

I do not have the answer, this is an observation but with new funding strategies being developed and new pots of funding becoming available that benefit the Black cultural sector, I fear we are being pitted against each other even more. Not that I am against competition, far from it but this somehow feels very much more than just competition, it somehow feels divisive.

Insight: Black British Dance Fractured: Diversity and the North East — Martin Hylton

– 2. LEADERSHIP There are so many definitions of leadership styles that it is almost impossible to keep up as there seems to be new styles of leaders emerging every day. I really do hope that we begin to recognise and value those leaders who are emerging through the last eighteen or so months as we continue to deal with all the things it has thrown at us as Black leaders, especially here in the North East.

I like to think that I lead through and by my culture as much as I am a cultural leader and I make no excuses for that.

This culture has allowed me to view the North East cultural sector through different eyes and with different thoughts.

My culture, in this environment has forced me to think there has to be a better way, a way that includes me and recognises my contribution. So, I started, as many others have, my own company Gateway Studios now Gateway Studio CIO.

I do not have the answer, this is an observation but with new funding strategies being developed and new pots of funding becoming available that benefit the Black cultural sector, I fear we are being pitted against each other even more.

I am not sure what type of leader I am, but I think my leadership style has changed several times over the last two years, changing and adapting to whatever is thrown at me.

As my father would say to me “as a Black man if you can’t play a role, you’re dead” I really don’t think he expected me to take that saying literally but hey, now I can honestly say I have lived, and I am living.

It has been a massive learning ascent for me, not a typical learning curve, the learning has had to be at a very steep incline as I had to make up ground on my peers, my white counterparts who now are acknowledging the privilege not afforded to Black people like me. No mistakes because we know there will be no second chances, no third or fourth as we have seen, so many go on to survive and become even more successful.

Then I am reminded of my leadership style, my leadership style from a Black British perspective, my leadership style cultivated through my years of practice in the studio where we create. A practice where we acknowledge that we learn through our mistakes and take great pride in pushing physical and mental boundaries. A practice where dancers learn to fall without fear so they can learn where their balance lies. A practice of collaboration to choreograph and create works that emotionally move, without words just with spirit and soul.

I will not lead from a place of fear, I will not lead and worry about professional jealousy, I will not lead from wanting power but lead from a place where my culture and values represent the organisation and spaces I create.

Footnotes 1.

King, M. L. (1967) Interviewed by Sander Vanocur, CBS.

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AFRO MANIFES 24

AfroManifesto

STO

A declaration for how artists, practitioners, academics and Black activists see and shape the future. This section puts forward a vision for change, from the fashion industry, through to models of leadership and art as a vessel that unpacks, resists, soothes and celebrates. Both here and throughout BlackInk the contributors will into life a new way of being that challenge structures and breaks the cycle.

Representing: Black Women Are Beautiful — Maya Brookes AWO… is Leadership — Kweku Aacht Black Gold Dust — Roshini Kempadoo Kedji’s Identity is: Emancipated — Freddy Houndekindo A Performance in Stillness: Critical Reading Strategies for Archives of Blackness — Mutsa Mhende

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REPRESENTING: BLACK WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL THE FASHION INDUSTRY HOLDS EXTREME POWER. IT PORTRAYS THE PERFECT IDEAL, WHAT THE WORLD PERCEIVES AS BEAUTIFUL. IT DETERMINES WHAT WE WEAR, HOW WE LOOK AND HOW WE VIEW THOSE AROUND US. IN THIS IMMENSELY PUPPETEERED INDUSTRY, REPRESENTATION MATTERS. BLACK REPRESENTATION MATTERS. AS WE SEE MORE AND MORE BLACK WOMEN IN FASHION, QUESTIONS NEED RAISING ABOUT THE MANNER IN WHICH THIS IS TAKING PLACE. BLACK WOMEN ARE MORE THAN JUST INSTRUMENTS USED TO SHOW THE “WOKENESS” OF A BRAND. BLACK WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL IN THEIR OWN RIGHT AND DESERVE BETTER.

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AfroManifesto Representing: Black Women are Beautiful — Maya Brookes

As the Black Lives Matter movement grew in strength, the fashion industry felt a need to respond, questioning their past and how they will improve for the future.

However, in many cases this led to race being seen as a trend, one that could be profitable for their companies and one that they could not miss out on for fear of not being sufficiently inclusive in our modern-day society. Across the industry, brands started incorporating and consequently appropriating more looks involving the “Black aesthetic”, whether that be the portrayal of Black women in garments emphasising their “exotic” nature and their “savage beauty”, or the glorification of the ”ghetto aesthetic” portraying Black women as overtly sexualised objects.

Unlike their white counterparts, the tokenism for Black models means they cannot be as carefree. Often, they book jobs in order to fulfil the diversity slot and end up being the only people of colour in the runway show. In a video for Vogue, models Anok Yai and Adesuwa Aighewi stated how they feel an added sense of pressure, always being described as the “Black” model rather than just simply a model (Vogue, 2020). They feel they have to carry the weight of being a pioneer in the industry, the first to be on this cover and that cover, the first to walk for however many shows and the first to feature for whatever brand is now joining the trend. Black models are expected to speak out on the issues within the industry and make a change when in reality they have little say. The models themselves are powerless. The issues lie deeper within the industry. It is those at the top who can create a greater change. It is great having a diverse casting but not if that is not represented in those higher up, the creative directors, designers, stylists, etc. The models do not choose who wears what and who walks which show. In order to correct the way Black women are represented in fashion, we need the big brands to reflect on those they hire in all aspects of the industry and to listen to the voices of those often forgotten.

Adut Akech, photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

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Black women face a strong lack of respect. From reporters time and time again not bothering to learn the correct pronunciations of their names to the complete disregard of how to style Black hair. Black models constantly have to travel with things to do their own hair and makeup just in case the team on arrival does not have the expertise. In an article for Teen Vogue, model Londone Myers recounts her experience at Paris Fashion Week. In a time-lapse video posted on her Instagram, she shows how she got constantly overlooked while the other white models got their hair seen to straight away and, consequently, she was sent onto the runway with her hair not done as they didn’t know how to style it (Garcia, 2017). Her Instagram (@londemyers) caption reads “I don’t need special treatment from anyone.

What I need is for hairstylists to learn how to do Black hair…

How dare you send me down the runway with a linty busted afro.” This frustration is one shared by Black models all over the world. Often what we see now is Black models opting for a buzz-cut due to manageability for hair professionals in the industry. In a video for BET Her, model Nyakim Gatwech shared how she went from an Afro, a style with immense versatility, to a buzz-cut because backstage they didn’t know what to do with it (BET Her, 2018). Behind the scenes, Black models are often seen helping each other out, whether that’s doing each other’s hair or sharing makeup and hair products because the so-called professional team don’t have the knowledge or experience to be able to assist. It should not have to be a shock for Black models to be a part of a show with people who understand how to do their hair and can provide them with the attention they deserve. This should be expected everywhere.

However, this is not to say that the fashion industry has not made great progress. Designers are becoming more conscious of the world around them and making sure their looks don’t stimulate negative stereotypes. For instance, in Vogue’s YouTube series, Diary of a Model, Anok Yai shares her experience working for Tom Ford. She says, “ he’s very aware of what his clothes portray, and he gives the model the opportunity to give their opinion” (Vogue, 2019). In her case, her dress had a chain on it and Ford shared his concerns with her about wearing a chain for the show. If this made her uncomfortable there was no need to keep it, as he did not want to portray a certain stereotype about Black women, allowing the final decision to be in her hands.

It is these young models such as Anok Yai, Londone Myers, Adut Akech, Adesuwa Aighewi, that are opening up the conversation, using their platforms, and applying pressure to those in power to reconsider the way they work. They go beyond being runway models, to also being role models for the young generation of Black youth.

The fashion industry needs diversification. It is not good enough to put a couple of Black women on stage and think you have done your part. We need more Black people, especially more Black women, behind the scenes, in every aspect of production. For Black beauty to be shown in all its fullness and for these negative stereotypes to end, we need to continue to amplify Black voices and to listen to our concerns and opinions. Black women are not a trend to follow, a style to be copied or a marketing tool. It should be said again: Black women are beautiful.

Black women face a strong lack of respect. From reporters time and time again not bothering to learn the correct pronunciations of their names to the complete disregard of how to style Black hair.

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AfroManifesto Representing: Black Women are Beautiful — Maya Brookes

References Garcia, T., 2017. Model Londone Myers Shares Experience With Racism at Paris Fashion Week.

[Online] Available at: https://www.teenvogue.com/ story/model-londone-myers-paris-fashion-weekracism-instagram [Accessed 11 July 2020].

BET Her, 2018. Darkskin Models Talk About Their Struggles in The Industry. Black Like Me. [Online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vThhN68coQw&t=112s [Accessed 12 July 2020].

Vogue, 2019. How Top Model Anok Yai Gets Runway Ready. Diary of a Model. [Online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Z5vAE3mku-c&t=330s [Accessed 12 July 2020].

Vogue, 2020. Nine Models on Racism and Privilege in the Modelling Industry. The Models. [Online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=x3Pvi4ACTNQ&t=225s [Accessed 12 July 2020].

Londone Myers, photo by Melodie Jeng/Getty Images

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AWO IS… LEADERSHIP

I AM GOING TO TAKE YOU ON A JOURNEY. ONE ROOTED IN WHOLISTIC APPROACH TO CREATIVITY, CULTURE, LIFE. TO BEGIN IMAGINE A WORLD IN WHICH EVERYONE EXPERIENCES WARMTH, BELONGING, ACCEPTANCE AND ABUNDANCE. PICTURE STEPPING OVER YOUR FEARS INTO THE ENDLESS ADVENTURE OF LIVING YOUR PASSIONS, CREATING WEALTH FROM YOUR TALENTS, HEALING BOTH YOURSELF AND OTHERS WITH YOUR GIFTS AND SHINING SO BRIGHTLY YOU TOUCH LIVES ALL OVER THE WORLD. CAN YOU SEE IT?

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AfroManifesto AWO is…Leadership — Kweku Aacht

My name is Kweku Aacht and this is my vision for AWO, the collective I formed last year that has grown to more than 70 leaders across three Continents. AWO is short for Awotwi, the root of my family name Aacht - meaning eight in Dutch - a significant number representing infinity and manifesting endless abundance. This is the foundation of AWO. AWO is built on the tools, therapies and practices I needed to heal myself. It has become the channel through which I have found balance and alignment with my community, in order to deliver my healing gifts to the world.

Through our global community, AWO delivers products and services under three umbrellas:

AWO Wellness – Wholistic wellness services, fitness classes, personal training, wellness coaching, manual therapy, nutrition, laboratory and diagnostic services.

We deliver both private and corporate packages.

Studio AWO – Visual arts sculpture, paintings, photography, digital media commissions, classes and exhibitions. Performing arts, theatre and dance productions, choreography commissions, classes, artist development and music soundtracks AWO Hub – Personal development and leadership events, seminars, training, workshops and coaching both online and in person.

Let me take you on an elemental journey through AWO by sharing some key questions that were life changing for me.

I hope they will be of support to some of you with your own unique “Wellness Leadership” journey.

© Kweku Aacht

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– AWO IS… STORY | LISTEN | SILENT

– AWO IS… VISIBILITY | KNOWLEDGE | VALUE

We begin in the mineral space: most revered and compelling leaders in history mastered the magic of storytelling.

Personal stories often mined from deep within. From within trauma, pain, struggle, conflict and challenge, precious gems are brought forth and refined into universally celebrated visions.

Commonly the most challenging element for leaders and changemakers is stepping into the fire space. Standing for your vision in authenticity. With AWO, I am committed to reaching one million people with our Leadership philosophy by the end of 2021. Clearly, I am feeling the heat, though the elements are ever complimentary, and the cooling influence of water is making the experience all the more bearable.

We have listened to the needs of many people. From Black communities in London regarding representation of Black heroes, to the stories of our one-to-one private wellness clients, many of them in search of healing and balance.

AWO Mineral inquiry: • • • •

What is your vision and why are you here?

Where in life do you create space to be still and to be heard deeply and intentionally?

What spaces are you creating to listen to the precious treasures within those you love, those within your team, or those you collaborate with?

What support do you need to deepen and enhance your reflective practice and that of your people?

– AWO IS… AVENTURE | STRETCH | CHANGE In the space of discomfort, an excursion into unknown territory, the discovery of what I did not know, I did not know, is where growth and transformation happen.

Whether it is pushing your limits while on a long hike or reading a particularly challenging piece of literature, the benefits of stretching are massive.

As a community, AWO takes on collective challenges that require us to boldly collaborate, holding hands as we step into the emerald forest, as coined by one of our members Deb Cain.

We hold each other individually accountable for living our passions and for taking bold moves towards our goals.

AWO Nature inquiry: • • •

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Where in life are you scaring yourself with the challenge of newness?

What brings you alive?

What are your passions and what opportunities are you creating to live and express them? Who’s holding you accountable and supporting you in your sometimes lonely leadership walk?

Our monthly online workshop AWO Global Changemakers series is a chance for our members to step into the light and share their talents. Join us one Saturday; I would love for you to experience it. Who knows? It could be you facilitating a future session!

AWO Fire inquiry: • • • •

Who are you and who are you becoming?

What opportunities are you creating to reach larger audiences with your talents, your authentic self and your message?

What spaces are you creating for your team to step out and widen their reach?

What opportunities are you creating to see and reflect the value in others talents and to be seen and valued for yours?

AfroManifesto AWO is…Leadership — Kweku Aacht

– AWO IS… COMMUNITY | CONNECTION | NEEDS | EMOTION The water space has so much scope for healing, impact and reach. In leadership, it’s the space where our unique healing gifts, projects, and services are delivered. Community organising, collaboration and collectivism are indeed what create the possibility of increased scale and wider impact.

AWO is built on a foundation of restorative philosophies including Ubuntu (the bedrock of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation movement), Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, Rosenberg’s NVC and Leap Confronting Conflict’s Playing with Fire.

Within our community, we have some of the world’s most gifted teachers and practitioners of mediation and conflict transformation, who create space for common ground to be established.

AWO Water inquiry: • • •

What is your role in society?

What healing gifts are you bringing that will provide as much healing for you as it does for your intended beneficiaries?

What methods are you using to ensure collaborations grow ever bigger and bolder in line with your world changing goals??

– AWO IS… HOME The earth space is the root, the womb and the foundation that creates safety through physical resources such as money, food and shelter to the more abstract nourishment provided. Earth also represents the human body and the way we treat it. It represents our physical wellbeing.

Many of our clients come with the desire to transform their health and their bodies through our personal training and wellness coaching packages.

At AWO, we believe that when a leader makes the decision to prioritise their health, they are entering into a new world of possibilities for their impact. Our consultation is indeed an elemental journey that begins with the individuals’ story as to how they reached their current level of wellness.

We ground our practice in earth taking body composition stats, therapeutic assessments and lab tests, explore any blockages to living and expressing passions. Finally, we support our leaders to set stretching goals and action steps that often go way beyond the physical challenges they set out to address AWO Earth inquiry: • • • • •

Where are you going?

What are your big life goals?

What steps have you laid out to achieve them?

What are your ways of working, structures, agreements and guidelines?

Who is holding you accountable?

AWO Wellness Leadership is the alignment of purpose, passion, talents, recognition, connection, physical wellbeing and direction. It is not the pursuit of perfection but a commitment to self. At AWO, we see the self as the nucleus of a leaders’ grand vision for lasting change.

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34

BLACK GOLD DUST

AfroManifesto Black Gold Dust — Roshini Kempadoo

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS GROWING DIVIDE ARE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH RELATIVES… WHO FIND THEMSELVES STRUCK BY THE STAGGERING GLOBAL INEQUALITY… THESE HUGE DIFFERENCES HAVE LONG BEEN A FACET OF THE DIASPORA EXPERIENCE...

“[I feel] a huge amount of guilt… and a lot of sadness,” says Isabella (not her real name). “You know, why is the world the way it is? Why is it that you have to leave your home country to be safe, to be healthy? Why couldn’t we have just stayed home and had the same experience …?”

Davies, L. and Speakman Cordall, S. (2021) I grew up with a vivid living, breathing experience of the socalled “Windrush generation”, from my parents and relatives who travelled from Guyana/the Caribbean in the 1950s to what was then described as the “mother country”. Because that was what they were taught/encouraged/expected to do as colonial subjects of British Guiana (BG) to have a chance of bringing up children with the “best” possible start and opportunity. My parents and their parents before them had understood that BG could never be imagined as being able to offer a better life for us. Their personal hardships had affirmed this, as had their colonial schooling and each aspect of life experience, growing up in what we now conceive of as a Caribbean postcolony (Mbembe).

In 2021, I sit here trying to compose myself, Deep breaths, head upright… “...love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it and hold it up.”1 Isabella’s words referred to by the newspaper journalists, interrupt and punctuate my breathing and senses in a droning cacophony of loss, longing and memories. My/ our fully vaccinated Diasporic bodies are caught up in the confines of lurid injustice and gross inequality – the pandemic rehearses an onslaught of conditions that are slow, violent and persistent. This is me/us bearing the “afterlife of slavery” that Hartman describes. It seeps through every orifice and travels throughout my body, it dislocates, hurts and drains me.

Like Gold Dust, Roshini Kempadoo, 2019, courtesy of the artist

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I want to imagine a futurity and way out of a present condition of confinement through a fundamental right to breathe and a right to life. I actively constitute a sense of self and a subjective sense of we (McKittrick) as a “ hybridauto-instituting-languaging-storytelling species” (Wynter).

With this intervention, Wynter encourages us to construe ourselves as “hybridly human” a condition that operates across the physiological and the symbolic. In this way, we may account of our sense of being as we write ourselves into existence and imagine communities.

My latest art project Like Gold Dust was first realised in 2019,2 emergent from Guyana’s colonial legacies of slavery and indentureship as commodification and capital.

Like Gold Dust sees the continued trajectory of such extractionism and exploitation in the significant oil and gas findings by ExxonMobil off Guyana’s coastline, currently being mined by ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC Nexen.

These offshore drilling operations are taking place off the Essequibo coast, northwest Guyana, a historically disputed territory with neighbouring Venezuela.3 Guyana is a land space associated with El Dorado (the golden one), Walter Raleigh and the notion of adventuring, the promise of gold and conquistador conquest. The economic and symbolic value of gold to capitalism and its mesmerising dust may be associated with the expansion of Empire, mapping the Amazon delta and significant adventure – a gold rush, a frenzy, a hysterical sense of the possibility of immense, glittering riches.

Intended as a “gaze from below, an emancipatory legacy” (Wynter), I evoke the presence of activism, struggles and strategies by those who countered/er racial injustice, wealth inequality and everyday dehumanising experiences. I reconfigure and fictionally attribute gold dust to presentist and future magical qualities of Guyanese women with their knowledge as survivors, as warriors, as keepers of forests and carers of people and things in the landscape.

“They revel in the twilight, slowly unwrapping, their leaves, iridescent vulnerable, radiating in the nourishment of the moon taking shape to light up the white sand fields. They have been known to me since my childhood – I knew these flowers and trees had magical qualities.”

Script extract by author from the audio work, Like Gold Dust I am interested in embedding the potential of narrative (visual, written or otherwise) with agency and human struggle. I am concerned with instigating a poetics that undoes and troubles what we may conceive of as normalised stories. Normalised stories Wynter proposes are associated with Man, as Western and bourgeois, being overrepresented and “made to appear, in commonsense terms, as being naturally determined”. In this sense normalised stories capture the “only possible realization of the way the world must be, and “is”” (Wynter and McKittrick).

I am interested in willing into being a geopolitics and ecological future imagination for Guyana where women are the dominant collaborators and instigators in sustaining our planet and ecological well-being. Lennie continues her correspondence with Rosa: “It has been good to return to Wakapao. I never did get used to America and realise how much I missed the landscape with its eerie and calming quietness, dark, dark night skies, vast grasslands and rivers the colour of coca cola, let alone how it feels to be back with my own kin.

The spirits caring for our land have protected us so far.

Mam taught us well how to harvest the plants and trees and with care and respect – every last one of them.

You have probably heard about the big changes coming to Guyana. Its news everywhere. The other day I was listening to Anna talk about her cousins who had moved to Venezuela in the 70s and wondered how they were getting on. We are expecting them any time now to come across the border.”

Script extract by author from the audio work, Like Gold Dust

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AfroManifesto Black Gold Dust — Roshini Kempadoo

Any creative space, energy and state of being is being sustained during this surreal time of the pandemic, by reading about and acknowledging the effort by women activists, such as those I know in Guyana (Red Thread, Karen De Souza, Andaiye (rest in power), writers such as Alissa Trotz), or those whose work I research and follow such as filmmaker Esther Figueroa or the Green Belt Movement activist Wangari Maathai.4 In an effort to rehearse and underline their stories and women as agents of environmental and socio-political anti-colonial change, the protagonist character Lennie talks about her travel to Kenya with Rosa and their encounter in meeting Wangari Maathai. Ellen Gorsevski notes that Maathai engages with others in the form of ‘emplaced rhetoric’, a term describing the way in which environmental activists (and Wangari Maathai’s writing and articulation in particular) encourages collaboration and empathy to causes. ‘“I noticed”, “I observed,” “I understood” are used as ‘grounded perspective[s]’ in which the ‘senses become the audience’s, creating rhetorical potential for them to unite in one perspective” (Gorsevski).

“My body sighs – breathing out – it moans I am feeling deeply the unevenness in our capacity to breathe at this moment in time. I have also known about such unevenness as a ‘ differential exposure’ an ‘exposure of risk’ to some more than others through the knowledge space passed on to me by my parents and theirs before that. In writing, visualising, reflecting, collaborating, I am fully cognisant and mindful of the kinds of bodies and communities that are being recognised and worthy of a liveable life and those who are not.

Breathing as Mbembe reminds us, is ‘ultimately an event, ‘ bringing the outside in and the inside out.

That is called decolonisation - a “ bit” moment of decolonisation” (Mbembe)

Footnotes 1.

Toni Morrison (1987) Beloved

2.

The work was created as a result of undertaking an international residency at Artpace, San Antonio 2019 at the invitation of guest curator Deborah Willis, joined by artists Sama Alshaibi and Jennifer Datchuk. See: https://www.artpace. org/works/iair/iair_spring_2019/like-gold-dust

3.

In May 2015 ExxonMobil announced the discovery of more than 90 metres of highquality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs about 200 km off its coastline. The Liza-1 well would potentially make it worth $40 billion at today’s international crude price. The oil and gas exploration activity by Guyana has been a source of tension with neighbouring Venezuela. In May 2015 ExxonMobil followed by discoveries of further oil fields. ExxonMobil and Hess reported that new discoveries contain estimated resources exceeding four billion barrels of oil equivalent, potentially producing 750,000 barrels per day by 2025. The value of oil dwarfs the roughly $3 billion gross domestic product of Guyana.

As Exxonmobil continues development, Guyana has signed an agreement enticed by potential royalties. For a country of less than a million people, the find changes everything.

3.

Wangar Maathai (1940 – 2011) was founder of the Green Belt Movement, a Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the 2004 Nobel laureate.

See: https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/ wangari-maathai

References Davies, L. and Speakman Cordall, S., 2021. ‘A world problem’: immigrant families hit by Covid jab gap. Available at: [https://www.theguardian.com/ global-development/2021/jul/08/a-world-problemimmigrant-families-hit-by-covid-jab-gap].

[Accessed at 8 Jul 2021].

Gorsevski, E., 2012. Wangari Maathai’s Emplaced Rhetoric: Greening Global Peacebuilding.

Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture 6(3): 290-307.

Mckittrick, K., and Wynter, S. 2015. Unparalleled Catastope for Our Species? Or, to Give Humanness a Different Future: Conversations. In Sylvia Wynter: on being human as praxis. Durham: Duke University Press.

Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (Wiser), 2021. Achille Mbembe, Fanon on the Matter of Breathing. In WISER PUBLIC POSITIONS SERIES, 2021: Fanon After Fanon. South Africa.

Hartman, S., 2007. Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

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KEDJI’S IDENTITY IS: EMANCIPATED

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AfroManifesto Kedji’s Identity is: Emancipated — Freddy Houndekindo

THIS PAST YEAR, WHEN DISCUSSIONS ON EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY BECAME MORE AUDIBLE AND DISPLAYED MORE FREQUENTLY, I EXPERIENCED MIXED FEELINGS ON HOW THOSE SUBJECTS WERE BEING HANDLED AND EXPOSED. THANKS TO RIKSTEATERN, CULLBERG AND SERENDIPITY, I WAS OFFERED SPACE AND RESOURCE TO THINK AND ADDRESS OUR COMMUNITIES’ REFLECTIONS AND PERSPECTIVES OF MY OWN. TO CHALLENGE MYSELF AND THE STRUCTURES I AM COLLABORATING WITH TOWARD WHAT I FEARED TO BE A SOCIOCULTURAL TREND, I READ AND REVERSED PUBLIC ASSUMPTIONS TO ASK:

•

Can people of colour be given a space of representation that would not entertain post-colonial issues?

Folkloric related topics?

•

Can people of so-called minorities be encouraged to address a public thematic such as abstraction, concept and aesthetic?

•

Have those subjects been limited to a specific type, class, elite, ethnical group?

Those questions and concerns came to me when nonconventional voices were finally invited to tell their stories but also summoned to be political. I found myself perplexed to perceive alterity as a diversity kit and mixed group as a political weapon.

I wondered if there could be more voices that would share a statue of forgottenness, not worthy of representation because of a lack of labelled identity-fiction.

Kedji’s identity is emancipated is a short novel that tells about one character’s journey in the meander of culture and apprenticeship.

Freddy Houndekindo, photo by Thomas Zamolo

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– KEDJI’S IDENTITY IS EMANCIPATED “Sometimes I find the courage to take credit for my personal achievement. But most of the time I have to call it luck because that’s what I’ve been told.” - Kedji

was given as immutable and universal had disregarded and obliterated his culture.

In betweenness became the place of his wander where he thought: transgress to unify.

Kedji is born in between places. He is taught at an early age that he is one among many. In those places, gatherings are an opportunity for non-discriminatory learning. Mimicking is the primary and most intuitive way of integrating groups and knowledge. Adopting others’ ways of doing is a common and humbling practice for one to carve his own path.

He learned that languages and meanings were subject to transformation and mutation, a movement that he could perceive within himself as well. He noticed how his belief system and values became an artefact forged and worn by the environment. A matter in constant shift.

Where Kedji comes from, welcoming otherness is a way of celebrating diversity, widening one’s perspective by nurturing other forms of intelligence, enhancing and deepening one’s relationship to the world.

This ceaseless migration of identity, that had been his way of existing, his way of attending to an ever-changing world, was now annihilating him. The strength and ever reliability of his willingness was now encountering a stronger force, as determined, that claimed to coexist as equal.

With the same principles, Kedji welcomed foreign figures that had presented themselves as authority. He was told by them about immutable and universal laws that rule and dictate how one must perceive the world. How Harmony, Logic, Justice were territories that had been conquered.

If Kedji was to become a reliable figure in their world he shall adopt their dogma.

Where Kedji comes from, foreignness is a gift. All forms of knowledge must be honoured, unaware that already a contradiction within him was seeding: who decides what means and should be?

This authority had given him two spectrums of judgement to translate and interact with his environment: reject or believe. Binary alternatives that had led him to doubt and trust simultaneously. To swallow and vomit continuously.

Exploring the range of possibilities in this given frame he realised that, regardless of his willingness to belong, he was and will remain an outcast in their world because what

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To survive alienation in an environment where affects and emotions are rationalised, where concrete lives and existing things are turned into abstract, he made himself a cultural vehicle. An entity that had surrendered his identity and emancipated himself from the fixitude of identitarianism.

He will adopt nomadism and sedentism as a system of thought, a prism through which culture is made of cross pollination.

Kedji lives in between places.

Kedji is the sum of incommensurable encounters and influences.

Kedji is the fruit of past histories that he never heard but nevertheless defines him.

Kedji belong there but represent here.

Kedji is a local foreign force.

Kedji is emancipated.

AfroManifesto Kedji’s Identity is: Emancipated — Freddy Houndekindo

“Sometimes I find the courage to take credit for my personal achievement. But most of the time I have to call it luck because that’s what I’ve been told.”

Freddy Houndekindo, photo by Thomas Zamolo

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Notting Hill Carnival, 1975 Richard Braine / PYMCA

AfroManifesto A Performance in Stillness: Critical Reading Strategies for Archives of Blackness — Mutsa Mhende

A PERFORMANCE IN STILLNESS: CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES FOR ARCHIVES OF BLACKNESS HO·MEO·STA·SIS:

1. A STATE OF EQUILIBRIUM OR TENDENCY TO REACH EQUILIBRIUM, EITHER METABOLICALLY WITHIN A CELL OR ORGANISM OR SOCIALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY WITHIN AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP. 43

In a time where the Dansette Record Player was the messenger of the British sound, with its muted textures and crackling tones, in the “ghetto”, three speaker treble sound systems were blasting the paint chips off the walls. A top section, mid-horns, kick bins, supa-scoops, amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, a dub siren, a turntable, a fat dub plate, a mic, and your favourite DJ. Bodies were free to create, to move slowly, erotically, with feeling and intentions that gestured towards the existence of a “we” in collective desire. A “we” that didn’t appear neatly, but which engaged with a poesis which mimicked the layered and techne-logical rhythms and understood as Sylvia Wynter does that “these concepts don’t come in a linear fashion. They build up. They build up, you know. So, as you’re talking, they build up and they build up the way music builds up and up and up until you get that sudden…”

From 1970 to 1987, you could have walked through any of the 31 maze-like aerial walkways between the flats, populated with the smell of curry goat, codfish poached gently in lime and coconut, fragrantly herbed rice, and of a different kind of herb too - to find open doors and lover’s rocking. If that was not for you, you could pop next door to find teenagers contorting themselves into angular shapes, and breaking into the splits, much to the chagrin of elders who could not fathom how this wild display was “dancing”.

Alternatively, you could find yourself in smoke-filled rooms, decorated only with the sound of dominoes being slammed on the table and expletives orbiting the air. These Diasporic intimacies were extended and weaved through the continuous coming together and the coming apart dictated by the longing for community, pleasure, and homemaking.

Within these constant rhythms, from level to level, flat to flat, and room to room, there was a refusal of movement too. Law enforcement reports in the archive tell us of the attempts to displace and erase this living embodiment of Caribbean history, “they’d get them out and then they’d move somewhere else” (2012). These parties happened every Monday morning between the hours of 2am and 7am, and time was suspended as people held each other in “we”; this active stilling came from the acute understanding that this was not forever, it was a moment to possess.

32 years later, if you were to encounter this story in the colonial archives as I first did, you would hear first how it was the “ biggest planning blunder of our time”, and then very little else. However, the incorporeal traces of these physical spaces still exist. Hyson Green embodies stasis despite attempts to write over its history. It offers up critical reading strategies of place in the archive, by existing as a sort of palimpsest in which the earlier writings of a document are still slightly visible and legible underneath the later superimposed manuscript. There to speak for those who wish to listen for them.

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When we engage with archives of Black life, we see the same issues arising around sustainability and long-term solutions in a world that is constantly shifting and pushing us out of the centre to make way for more privileged memories and narratives. We see placeness removed from its physicality and shifted into a cultural landscape, which sees place and the local as what Jacqueline Nassy Brown would call “an axis of power” which produces, brings together, and antagonises a range of cultural and social relations. As Black people, and as memory and history-makers, we know, feel, and sense places which we can no longer access in their materiality. My research will attempt, with these things in mind, to view the gaps in the archive as a tension-held embodiment of stillness, “albeit one that never attains the complete cessation of movement”, and in which Black people never fully disappear from the archive but reappear in new adapted forms.

– HO·MEO·STA·SIS: 2. A BALANCE IN WHICH INTERNAL CHANGE CONTINUOUSLY COMPENSATES FOR EXTERNAL CHANGE TO KEEP CONDITIONS RELATIVELY UNIFORM. It would be easy to read the story of the Hyson Green flats, and by extension the Black Diaspora in Britain as a relation characterised by movement, relocation, displacement, and rootlessness (Bressey, 2002, p.353), as the dominant literature often does. However, my research, which is in partnership with the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre and Serendipity, will use Campt’s theory of home-ostasis (2017), and Lena Blou’s Le Bigidi to transport our understanding of “place” and memory in the archive towards a poesis of Diasporic dwelling which is rooted in refusal and resistance to movement. How can you demolish and erase a place that exists as an ideological and incorporeal space before it exists in its physicality? A space that reaches, like Black gestures often do, towards futurity and with view to the past? A space that, as Serendipity have shown with their work can extend. This project asks what our archival excavations and construction of the history of the Black Midlands could look like if we see stories like that of the Hyson Green flats and its subsequent demolition as adaptations and significant breaks, rather than disappearances and displacements. It allows the archive to be unbounded from time and physicality of place, to open a new cartography of Black British history in which regional stories are at the centre.

AfroManifesto A Performance in Stillness: Critical Reading Strategies for Archives of Blackness — Mutsa Mhende

– HO·MEO·STA·SIS: 3. THE MAINTENANCE OF METABOLIC EQUILIBRIUM WITHIN A PERSON OR SOCIAL GROUP THROUGH A TENDENCY TO COMPENSATE FOR DISRUPTIVE CHANGES. Le Bigidi is a resistance art, rooted in the act of perpetual adaptation. Refute predictability, refute the fall, refute the multiple forces which threaten our bodies with invisibility.

A Creole-Guadeloupean dance typology defined by Lena Blou, “ bigidi (me pa tombe)” “stumble (but don’t fall)” embodies what it means to flank, stumble, waver, but to never fall due to the active and wilful balancing of forces, or home-o-stasis. Engaging with Black archives, as I am in my project Textures of Blackness in the Midlands: Excavating Regional Archives of Black Culture and Politics, I have an understanding that I will be encountering many departures, introductions, unexpected sonic introductions that appear like bass drops and act as paradigm shifts. In these, we discover how Black people have been able to not only survive but thrive in conditions which were built to actively exclude and destroy us; the ways in which we stumble out of sight in the archive just to bigidi back into the frame in a new location, under a new name, or in a new form. How our movements in the archive are simultaneously unbounded from understandings of linear time which suggest that the past is a discrete moment which can never be recovered, yet simultaneously acknowledge that as Black people, our art, memories, and histories are embodiments of this same past often from a lens of futurity and adaptation.

Using Le Bigidi as a framework and method to read Black lives, both within the colonial archive and in Black archival collections such as Serendipity’s Lost Legends and Archiving the Past, Reflecting the Future gives me a new lens to analyse, a lens which sees these disappearances, reappearances, departures and introductions as perpetual adaptation.

Despite all these forces that we contend with as Black history-makers, art-makers, and memory-makers in Britain, we stay up. The Staying Power of Black people in Britain is a testament to the ways in which we resist erasure.

When we engage with archives of Black life, we see the same issues arising around sustainability and long-term solutions in a world that is constantly shifting and pushing us out of the centre to make way for more privileged memories and narratives.

References Bressey, C., (2002) Forgotten histories: three stories of Black girls from Barnardo’s Victorian Archive.

Womens History Review 11 (3) Campt, T. (2017) Performing Stillness: Diaspora and Stasis in Black German Vernacular Photography, Qui Parle 26 (1) Francis, G. M., Blou, L., (2020) Lénablou’s Techni’ka or the Contemporary Voice from Guadeloupe: From Within and Beyond a Caribbean Dance Ecology. My Voice, My Practice. Serendipity Artists Movement Ltd. Henry, W., Worley, M., (2020) Narratives from Beyond the UK Reggae Bassline: The System is Sound.

Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music. Springer Nature.

The Partnership Council (2012) On the Flats - an oral history of the Hyson Green Flats 1965-1987 Wynter. S., (2006) Greg Thomas inter/views Sylvia Wynter for ProudFlesh. New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics and Consciousness. 4.

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A MANIFESTO FOR STILLNESS The limitations of the white imagination would tell you that you are a straight line.

Black. White.

Self. Other.

Within Africa. Without Africa.

Man. Woman.

Straight. Gay. So, we know we must cross and re-cross.

We reach, we stumble, we bridge, we falter We are tapestries, weavers, and water.

Black folk? We is water.

Us Black folk on these here British Isles? We is water surrounded in its intricacy.

Water to carry, water to contain, Water to imprison, water to enslave, Water to heal, water to nourish, water to cleanse, water to bind, water to loosen, water to carry, water to contain. water to sustain.

Black. British. Black-British. Hyphens are bridges too. Inside, outside, beyond.

A ‘we’ that does not appear neatly.

Why are you trying to make me be like you?

I, you, I, I, us, them you, I, you, you, you, you, you, you, I, I, I we, we, we.

Built from gestures. Beckoning to intimacy.

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AfroManifesto A Manifesto for Stillness — Mutsa Mhende

Conflict is intimate too. Inside, outside, beyond.

As you white-knuckle grip the fallacy of prescription, I have turned my back on you, just to turn back again with a new face.

Do you even recognise me?

Or are you still trying to recover me?

Trying to ‘place’ my face to spectral spaces Archival diagnosis says phantom traces, but I am still here They say nothing new ever came from standing still, but when waves retreat, dragging the debris back from the shore, we don’t say all is lost.

It draaaaaaaaags, and pulls, and builds, and holds it right…there.

Battling every contending and provoking force.

When they crash back, foamy with energy potential arranging the debris in new and unexpected ways, we don’t say ‘a pioneer!’ ‘a founder!’ ‘a leader!’ ...think on that.

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LAUNC 48

Launchpad

CHPAD Launchpad returns for the second edition of BlackInk, nurturing three artists from across the UK. Their multifaceted works reflect on a series of interconnected themes, witnessing the boundaries of our realities and reverses the gaze, embodied trauma and the juxtaposition between the portrayal of societal issues and the lives of everyday people. The artists utilise techniques from movement and film to animation and print making.

There is also an opportunity to see the work in person at the AfroManifesto exhibition throughout October 2021 at The Chapel Gallery, 10a Bishop Street, Town Hall Sq., Leicester, LE1 6AF. Untitled (Running Series) – Kat Anderson Emergency? – Charlie Evaristo-Boyce Intergenerational Trauma – Isaac Ouro-Gnao

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UNTITLED (RUNNING SERIES)

UNTITLED (RUNNING SERIES) – IS A SERIES OF IMAGES AND GIFS OF A ROUGHLY ANIMATED BLACK MALE AVATAR, RUNNING THROUGH A SERIES OF TERRAINS BOTH REAL AND SPECULATIVE. AT THE CENTRE OF EACH PIECE IS A BLACK SQUARE THAT WAS A SYMBOL OF THE 2020 BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT - A MOMENT THAT ALREADY FEELS SOMEWHAT HISTORIC. THE SQUARE, SUSPENDED IN DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES, ALSO REFERENCES THE BLACK MONOLITH IN 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

BY STANLEY KUBRICK, THE MEANING OF WHICH REPRESENTS THE CHALLENGE TO WHAT WE PERCEIVE OR INFER FROM WHAT WE SEE, AS WELL AS WHAT THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR REALITIES ARE. ANDERSON CONSIDERS THE SQUARE AS PERHAPS A MIRROR TO OUR VIEWING DEVICES, THROUGH WHICH THE WORLD WATCHED AND WATCHES THE ATROCITIES OF ANTI-BLACK VIOLENCE, OR PERHAPS AS A PASSAGE OR STARGATE, OFFERING US A WAY OUT OF THIS REALITY, THAT WE OR THE RUNNER NEVER SEEM TO GET NEAR, STEP BEYOND OR THROUGH. THE SERIES LEAVES US QUESTIONING WHETHER WE CAN BREAK THE RACIAL OR POLITICAL CODE OF WHAT IS OUR CURRENT FRAME. The images of Untitled (Running Series) were taken from ‘Bad Man Nuh Flee’, a film by Kat Anderson. The film is a collection of audio/visual notes on oppression, Black liberation and the white imagination. It was the inaugural commission for season two of Transmissions TV, which also featured BBZ TV, Juliet Jacques, Ignota Books, Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Plastique Fantastique. Transmissions TV is supported by BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Chisenhale Gallery, Wysing Arts Centre Somerset House and others.

Kat Anderson is a visual artist, musician and filmmaker, currently working under an artistic and research framework called ‘Episodes of Horror’, which uses the genre of horror to discuss representations of mental illness and trauma as experienced by or projected upon Black bodies in media.

Anderson lives and works in the UK.

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Launchpad Untitled (Running Series) — Kat Anderson

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Launchpad Untitled (Running Series) — Kat Anderson

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EMERGENCY? IS THERE AN EMERGENCY? YES, THERE IS! THERE ALWAYS HAS BEEN SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD. WE AS HUMANS USED TO LIVE IN PRETECHNOLOGICAL BLISS IN HARMONY WITH NATURE. HOWEVER, NOW WE ARE CONNECTED ON A GLOBAL LEVEL FASTER THAN EVER. AS OUR COLLECTIVE SCREEN TIMES GO UP IT IS BECOMING HARDER AND HARDER TO IGNORE THE STRANGE AND CONTROVERSIAL THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING TO OUR PLANET.

These digital collages encapsulate our combined experiences and are my way of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdown, we saw the outside world more and more through our screens and it looked more and more dystopian day by day.

The resulting artworks that I made were my own subjective visual response. That materialised in a psychedelic soup made up of street photography, found images, ancient African art, illustrations and documented throwaway objects. Every day I am bombarded by images and sights from both the real and the virtual world. I have collected these visual references enhanced them and combined them to create new narratives exploring consumption, addiction, pollution, urbanisation, globalisation and identity.

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In the distant future, the earth’s crust will be embedded with a geological layer of depleted nitrous oxide canisters, partially degraded plastic products and chunks of toxic e-waste.

As we continuously deposit our unwanted artifacts, we simultaneously subtract whatever we want unbalancing the equilibrium of our environment in a hard to reverse way.

Industries eat away at precious conflict minerals and cut down rainforests to put up communication transmitters that look like trees. Single-use plastic clogs our oceans and container ships overloaded with consumer goods sail through them chugging endless amounts of fossil fuels.

When people see this artwork, I want them to reflect on their own interactions with the world and to ask themselves how can I help stop the Emergency?

Launchpad Emergency? — Charlie Evaristo-Boyce

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Launchpad Emergency? — Charlie Evaristo-Boyce

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INTERGENERAT TRAUMA WHAT TRAUMAS HAVE BEEN PASSED ONTO US? WHAT DEEPLY DISTRESSING EXPERIENCES ARE WE HOLDING ONTO? WHAT LASTING EFFECTS ARE WE LIKELY TO REPLICATE AND PASS ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION?

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Launchpad Intergenerational Trauma — Isaac Ouro-Gnao

TIONAL Imagine intergenerational trauma as a relay race. Each athlete is a generation and the baton is the trauma being passed.

Perhaps through cautionary stories of distressing experiences - from racism to abuse. Perhaps through untreated mental health illnesses born from tough lived experiences.

Perhaps through toxic traits reinforced by unresolved emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. Perhaps, like me, my brother, my father, my grandfather, and on, your body holds the absence of a gentle paternal touch.

I’m sure a thought comes to mind about your own experiences. I’m sure your body responds.

Intergenerational trauma is buried as deep in our bodies as it is in our minds.

Pause to process what is occurring. Be it anxiety or stress, tension or fast breaths, acknowledge your mind and body’s reaction. Breathe. Slow. Deep.

The baton can be broken. The trauma can be healed.

It can be healed in my back. By expanding the muscles too used to shrinking, too used to minimising, too used to bowing to pain. By unfurling the spine carrying the burdens we have been bearing for so long, to find strength in stature.

It can be healed in my hands. By rippling and shaking the ingrained hurt still clasped. By flowing fluid, rippling gentleness where hardness resides. By passing that caring touch onto myself, those around and those to come.

It can be healed in my throat. By breathing life into the vocal cords and easing the tension in the neck. By voicing the words and affirmations that will enable us to begin to cope with our trauma and heal.

It can be healed in my torso. By displacing the false sense of pride propped up by discipline, self-preservation, survival instinct. By breathing deep, letting go of the traumas held in the body, to find a holistic release.

It can be healed in my feet. By finding balance and centring ourselves in spaces forever shifting under us. By grounding and rooting ourselves, steering away from repeating traumas inherited, and walking down new paths of healing.

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Isaac Ouro-Gnao, photo by Ashley Karrell

Launchpad Intergenerational Trauma — Isaac Ouro-Gnao

Isaac Ouro-Gnao, photo by Ashley Karrell

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Launchpad Intergenerational Trauma — Isaac Ouro-Gnao

Isaac Ouro-Gnao, photo by Ashley Karrell

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ARTS AND CULTUR 64

Arts and Culture

RE

Holding space and calling out, the last year saw promises made and now we are holding the arts sector to task. Whether this is through arts funders and funded organisations commitment to policies of change, or to examining how we shape the future of the film industry in a year that recognises significant anniversaries for Black filmmakers.

We consider what cinemas, theatres, galleries and museums would look like if it were not for Black creative product and Black work.

Moreover, this section is a philosophy. Black art can be what we want it to be, we are the creators and we can define what we create, as long as it is for us and by us.

When The Ugliness Reared its Head — Amanda Parker In my Opinion: The Black British Film Renaissance — Pierre Godson-Amamoo Making the Invisible, Visible — Peter Adjaye Liminal Life — Mark Sealy Gatekeepers and Thieves: A Case on Restitution — Mistura Allison Bundlehouse: Worldwide Soon Come?

— Nyugen E Smith

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WHEN THE UGLINESS REARED ITS HEAD

OVER THE COURSE OF THE NIGHTMARE THAT WAS 2020, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE GLOBAL RESPONSE COMMITTING TO ANTIRACIST CHANGE, AT INC ARTS UK WE HEARD STORIES OF THE MOST EGREGIOUS ABUSES THAT HAD HAPPENED IN ALMOST EVERY CORNER OF ARTISTIC PRACTICE. INSTANCES RANGING FROM WHAT SOME CALL “MICRO-AGGRESSIONS” (THOUGH YOU RARELY HEAR OF “MICRO-SEXISM” SO I AM NOT SURE WHAT IS SO “MICRO” ABOUT IT) THROUGH TO OUTRIGHT BLATANT ABUSES OF POWER.

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Arts and Culture When the Ugliness Reared its Head — Amanda Parker

“Turn Up London” at Cadogan Hall for Black Lives Matter, June 2020, photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Club 11 London

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When the ugliness reared its head in a racist incident that was corroborated by all the Black people in the room, the organisation doubled down – resulting in 50% of their board leaving – and at once almost all trace of diversity in the organisation was removed.

Whilst holding the space for others to seek redress, solace and understanding around racist treatment, I was at the same time caught up in a very painful situation. An organisation sought every which way to avoid taking action on a racist incident witnessed by many and which had the Black people in the room in tears of rage, hurt and distress: deep trauma experienced by both allies and those of lived experience of racism.

That organisation had been due for an uplift to “Outstanding” by Arts Council England for its diversity attainment – despite having a white leader and minimal ethnic representation in its staff team. Just months before the racist incident, Arts Council England had received a report from an independent observer of the organisation’s flagship production, which highlighted concerns about the organisation’s understanding of inclusion, and their “tokenistic” approach in the production itself.

When the ugliness reared its head in a racist incident that was corroborated by all the Black people in the room, the organisation doubled down – resulting in 50% of their board leaving – and at once almost all trace of diversity in the organisation was removed.

That organisation had previously rated “Strong” in Arts Council England’s Creative Case for Diversity metrics, and instead of moving them to outstanding, Arts Council England chose to leave them as “Strong” in their 2021 report. That was the sum of their ‘sanction’.

It is in the context of insights like this that we must look at what’s going on in Arts Council England’s latest diversity statistics report.

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There are some exciting changes afoot when it comes to Arts Council England’s diversity metrics. The emphasis on inclusivity and relevance, and further thinking about how funding opportunities are more equitably spread, are all things I can get behind and I feel truly excited about how different things might be in the near future when it comes to funding distribution.

The increase in recipients of grant funding by those of the African Diaspora and of East, South-East, Central and South Asian heritage is a promising indication of what might be when it comes to funding distribution: the disbursement of the Developing Your Creative Practice grant has been one of the most successful in terms of ethnically diverse engagement.

However, the reality of the now is not anything that will see me cracking open the champagne just yet. The example given above is not an isolated case, at Inc Arts we have heard of many instances where individuals have questioned why so few organisations have been marked as “Not Met” the standards for diversity. Despite the evidence of last year’s “black squares” moment’ that showed the disparity between great and positive intent and the reality of huge underrepresentation and marginalisation within the sector.

Arts and Culture When the Ugliness Reared its Head — Amanda Parker

I suspect what may be delaying Arts Council England from moving from intent to action is the wider context – by which I mean government.

The creative and cultural sector is not close to being representative of the communities we all live in. And more: there are organisations which have “Not Met” Arts Council England’s own diversity standards as set out in the Creative Case for Diversity and yet we have seen no action taken other than an invitation to them to submit to Arts Council England their inclusion action plans.

At Inc Arts UK we mapped the Creative Case ratings with data on the 100 largest National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and organisations directly funded by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which confirmed that the inclusive progress that’s happening onstage doesn’t match what’s going on in business and behind the scenes roles. But is this so surprising, given the last year? The sector has been pivoting at speed around Cultural Recovery Funding and Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and at the same time having to lay off staff in their thousands. A recent Trades Union Congress (TUC) report suggested that the last year had seen a 44% decrease in the number of Black women employed in the arts and cultural sector. So, it’s not surprising that the last year has seen very little change in the numbers of ethnically diverse staff in arts staff teams that have survived the pandemic.

In Autumn Arts Council England promised that organisations would see sanctions applied to organisations failing to represent the UK’s rich diversity of people. I’ve not seen any sanctions applied yet, and I suspect what may be delaying Arts Council England from moving from intent to action is the wider context – by which I mean government.

What threatens our collective ability to create an inclusive arts and cultural sector lies less in Arts Council England’s intentions, and increasingly in what Arts Council England and others will be able to achieve in the context of government’s position on social equity and inclusion. From the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report through to the White Paper on education, government is, like the organisation mentioned above, doubling down in the face of a global response and genuine desire to make change - and is deeply, painfully at odds with the zeitgeist.

What we need to do is hold fast to the promise and support Arts Council England in standing firm to commitments to inclusion through both reward and sanction. To help government see – through the funding and creation of the magic that art makes - that there is so much advantage from taking an approach that is one of welcome, if curiosity and learning. If government is thinking of swapping social cohesion for short-term votes, then the arts and cultural sector has a part to play. Showing those who are currently living in defensive fear that there is nothing to lose and everything to gain in having a society that is collaborative, that shares perspectives and celebrates the deep understanding that comes with learning from others.

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IN MY OPINION: THE BLACK BRITISH FILM RENAISSANCE WHAT DOES THE BLACK BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY LOOK LIKE IN 2021?

TO BE ABLE TO BEGIN EXPLORING THE BLACK BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY, ONE WOULD HAVE TO FIRST EXPLORE BLACK BRITISH CULTURE. AS A WHOLE IT’S DEFINITELY LOOKING A LOT MORE WHOLE BECAUSE CREATIVELY, WE HAVE ALWAYS CARVED OUT OUR OWN LANES, OFTEN BREAKING THROUGH TO MAINSTREAM CULTURE; BUT WITHIN A STRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS NOT BUILT BY BLACK PEOPLE. 70

Arts and Culture In My Opinion: The Black British Film Renaissance — Pierre Godson-Amamoo

From the optimism of the 1960s with Lionel Ngakane’s Jemima and Johnny (1966), through to neorealism of the 1970s and 1980s with Horace Ové’s Pressure (1975), Franco Rosso’s Babylon (1980) starring Brinsley Forde, Burning an Illusion (1981) by the late Menelik Shabazz and John Akomfrah’s Handsworth Songs (1986), Black filmmakers have navigated these structures to produce seminal work.

With the formation of the Black Audio Film Collective in 1982 and the Sankofa Film and Video Collective in 1983 (creating work for Channel Four amongst others) from this period until recently, a burgeoning Black British film both flourished and regressed (in the mainstream at least) to the whims of these institutions.

Since George Floyd’s tragic death, the whole world has looked at itself. This has resulted in many large platforms and organisations (for example, Netflix, BBC and many others) now taking some genuine steps of recognition and actions to deconstruct the unsaid racism the Black community has often “understood” for quite some time.

Production companies and platforms on a bigger scale than ever before are now making a conscious effort to begin pushing our stories, featuring our talent in nonstereotypical roles and giving our emerging talent genuine roles behind the camera.

This also coincides with the rise in independent filmmakers.

Reminiscent of the pioneering Black British filmmakers and collectives, with greater access to technology and the internet, so many more people are just making work.

Whether it is a two-minute short, an online series, or an independent feature, there is a renaissance in people coming together to create an ecosystem. Where there are gaps with the major broadcasters programming, there is a growing pool of talent, and broadcasters are now starting to pick up these independent projects to take them to the next level.

This includes shows like Dreaming Whilst Black, which started life as a web series on YouTube before being picked up by the BBC. Given this is the beginning, I would say the Black British film industry today looks great because it’s looking like less of an industry and more of a movement. I say this because an industry (whilst very important) is about commerce. Right now, there are groundbreaking films and projects being made that also “happen” to also do well financially, such as Rapman’s Blue Story (2019). I have always believed this would happen one day but to truly be in and amongst this is exciting! Although I should note I have been excited in this way for the past three to five years.

Blue Story (2019) grossed £4.7 million, and Brotherhood (2016) made £4.6 million.

After seeing these results, one could argue that there is clearly a market for more production companies to take up stories that showcase our culture.

– REFLECTIONS ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF BLACK-LED FILMS When it comes to the distribution side of Black-led or Black-focused British films that’s where the reality sets in as the truth is less than five Black-focused British films have had national distribution theatrically, but the truth is when they are created, we see how profitable they are. Blue Story (2019) grossed £4.7 million, and Brotherhood (2016) made £4.6 million. After seeing these results, one could argue that there is clearly a market for more production companies to take up stories that showcase our culture.

However, this should never be at the cost of portraying our communities in a stereotypical way or without context. I feel that the portrayal of our culture is something that we need to take the lead on and champion because we know ourselves better than anyone else, right?

That is why I decided to launch a distribution company, Your Cinema, dedicated to showcasing Black-led films, documentaries and talent. Your Cinema is about helping to create the future we want to see in cinemas across the UK. The beauty of this moment in time is we are all ready for it and I mean audiences, cinemas, filmmakers and more, we are ALL ready for it!

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With Your Cinema being an entertainment platform designed to showcase Black culture, we are very excited about changing the landscape of how content from our culture’s consumed and we are focused on creating an ecosystem where we can watch our stories with truth and context. Whether this is online, in cinemas, on major streaming platforms and TV. We also want to have a space where people from all walks of life, but particularly Black and diverse communities, can find genuine entry points into the industry. Whilst connecting with people who are at the very top of the industry through our monthly Q&A sessions to help and equip the next generation who can in turn help to take our culture to the next level!

– BUILDING AND NURTURING AUDIENCES: ONLINE AND IN CINEMAS When it comes to building audiences, I believe there are two ingredients: quality and consistency. They are both important separately but when you bring these two elements together you can really take things up a notch. We are conscious of painting a new picture of what our culture’s like, we believe in being consistent and dedicated to creating impactful pieces of work that people want to watch regularly.

The pandemic has provided a challenging climate for cinemas, while creating an ideal and thriving environment for people continually making great work online. We are approaching theatrical distribution in cinemas with an understanding that ‘people will come out to watch good films’ and we are also using the same approach with our online work too.

It is exciting to see and be a part of, but more importantly, the time really is now!

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of British films made in the UK have meaningful representation of Race and Ethnicity on screen.

40%

of British films made in the UK have meaningful representation of Race and Ethnicity on their production teams.

Representation on screen is higher for bigger budget films, but relatively consistent across budgets.

62% 56%

for films with budgets over £10 million and

for films with budgets under £0.5 million.

Representation off screen (in production teams) ranges from

43% 36%

for films with budgets over £10 million and

for films with budgets under £0.5 million.

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Arts and Culture In My Opinion: The Black British Film Renaissance — Pierre Godson-Amamoo

Films produced in the East Midlands have the highest representation of Race and Ethnicity on screen

67%

Films produced in London and the North West of England have the highest representation in productions teams

both 50%

We also want to have a space where people from all walks of life, but particularly Black and diverse communities, can find genuine entry points into the industry.

Representation on screen was highest in Dramas

26% 0% and lowest for Sci Fi

References All figures summarised from BFI’s report Race and Ethnicity in the UK Film Industry: an analysis of the BFI Diversity Standards, which covers September 2019 – May 2020.

Nwonka, C. (2020) Race and Ethnicity in the UK Film Industry: an analysis of the BFI Diversity Standards.

London: LSE

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MAKING THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE MY WORK IS ABOUT THE MEETING AND FUSING OF DIFFERENT CULTURES AND CREATIVE PERSPECTIVES, EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN AND THE UNSEEN AS A MEANS OF EVOLUTION AND A STATE OF DYNAMIC MOVEMENT OF HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO REVEAL A SHARED HISTORY AND BELONGING. IT IS ABOUT AMPLIFYING THE LEGACIES OF NON-WESTERN AND OTHER DIASPORIC CULTURES AND KINGDOMS BY GIVING VOICE TO THEIR IMPORTANT ERASED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE POWER AND WEALTH OF WESTERN EMPIRES WITH THEIR KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND RAW MATERIALS.

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To counter the culture of silence and trauma in nonwestern communities, I use sound as a decolonisation tool to create an emotional release of tension. This is about the importance of the oral tradition of the people who have been forced together from ships to sea to new world. My last four projects have been about the huge impact of African and Diasporic art on worldwide contemporary history. Starting with the Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, on display in the Queens Presence Chamber, at the Queens House Art Gallery in Greenwich. My response to the Armada portrait which shows Queen Elizabeth I sitting, flamboyantly displayed, draped in pearls and finery, with her hand on the globe. Look more closely to this painting and you will see that the position of the finger is hovering over the Americas and the aspiration is the imminent expansion of the British Empire by the destruction of the Spanish Armada and control of the all-important oceans and seas that would lead to what is now known as the Atlantic slave trade.

Arts and Culture Making the Invisible, Visible — Peter Adjaye

, I wanted to create a sound installation, ‘A Proposal for Radical Hospitality’, that included a response from communities whose histories have connections to the transatlantic slave trade. For me this was a sonic transhistorical rendering, using a democratic musical form known as call and response. I wanted to amplify the voices of cultures directly affected by the transatlantic slave trade.

The Queen’s house was treated as a ‘transmitter’ utilising the unique acoustic reverberations generated by the perfect cube of the Great Hall. Artists and guests appearing in the workshop for the final sound installation are Randolph Matthews, Demba Sow, Luzmira Zerpa, the London Lucumi Choir, Bird la Bird, Meera Chauda, Natasha Lohan, Brenda Montague, and the Voices in Motion Collective.

My immersive soundscape Ceremonies Within is my soundart response, as a result of my close artistic collaboration with Nigerian American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola, for the exhibition at the Barbican A Countervailing Theory. It is an exploration into an imagined myth that reveals the story of an ancient civilisation in central Nigeria in Jos Plateau, which is dominated by female rulers. It challenges the preconceived notions of history, culture, gender, sexuality, race, the natural environment and more. It is a 12 channel soundscape that combines the authentic sounds of ancient African instrumentation with modern contemporary synths and strings. Taking the listener on a totally immersive sound journey that unfolds with the narrative and sequence of “drawings” with multiple West African percussion sounds such as Oghene double bells, thumb piano, claypot Udu drums, talking drums, djembes, shekere, gongs, Fula flutes with choral passages and embedded environmental sounds containing water and rocks. The sound installation allows the multitude of sounds to ‘bleed’ into each other uniquely as an organic movement within the space. It is constructed over three distinct movements that evolve around each other in the same space. The sound scape is featured in 180 gram limited edition vinyl only release on Music for Architecture Records/Vinyl Factory Records with exclusive cover artwork

by Toyin Ojih Odutola and designed by Adjaye Associates.

Imitation Lesson_ Her Shadowed Influence from ‘A Countervailing Theory’ (2019), Toyin Ojih Odutola.

Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Toyin Ojih Odutola

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My conceptual installation, We bear the Light of the Earth in Red, Green, Black and Brown, is an eight channel installation across three floors of Chiswick house, synchronised simultaneously to the house itself. Chiswick House, built between 1726 and 1729 is one of the earliest and most important neo-Palladian villas in England. The history of this Grade I listed heritage building includes art, artefacts, sculpture, landscaped gardens, vegetation and more from around the world, including an obelisk, sphinx and an ionic temple. The sound installation is designed to open some of the spaces within the house to be seen in a different light and perspective of history.

My site-specific sound installation is part of the Bring into Being exhibition, curated by Mariam Zulfiqar, featuring three artists, myself, Mark Wallinger and Jaimini Patel.

The surrounding borough of Hounslow, around Chiswick House and Gardens has a high population of people from the Asian community. Therefore, I wanted to bring together the sounds of West African and Southern Indian cultures into the house itself. I recorded master musicians live in the house by arranging for them to improvise over my composed electronic compositions, which I then later rearranged and mixed to create four soundscapes in the house. I also created two additional soundscapes for the 65acre landscape gardens, titled Sunrise of Invisible Gold, and Sunset in Rippling Bronze, both accessible for free via QR code as you enter the gardens.

We Bear the Light of the Earth in Red, Green, Black and Brown, Sunrise of Invisible Gold, and Sunset in Rippling Bronze, 2021 featuring master musicians: Alok Verma – Tabla, Djembe, Cajon, Udu, Kanijira, Dhol and Talking drums Jali Fily Cissokho – Kora Jonathan Mayer – Sitar and Tampura Kaykay Chauhan – Harmonium Rekha Sawhney – Vocals Robin Christian – Bansuri flutes Finally, my recent collaboration with Adelaide Damoah, Voices from the Silence: Kwame, Kwaku, Yaw, tells the untold history of Ghanaian soldiers that fought in the Second World War, for the British army in the Ghana Gold Coast Army who have largely gone unrecognised. Most of the soldiers who were killed are buried in unmarked or unrecorded graves. Both Adelaide and I have relatives that fought in this war, Adelaide’s great uncle and my father were in the Ghana Gold Coast Army and unlike their British counterparts were not comfortable in recounting their time in the war.

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For them it was a traumatic experience of fighting for a country that eventually did not respect them as British citizens. Adelaide had recorded her uncle talking about the experience and how this also involved the kidnapping of locals to fight in the war for the British. He is recorded speaking in Twi, the language most widely spoken in Ghana.

When I composed the soundscape for this collaboration, I used this unique textured baritone voice as a thread to run through the tapestry of sounds. The multimedia sculptural installation and soundscape is formed of a 4.2-metre canvas featuring a repeated reprehensive image, replicated thousands of times each one with his facial features removed to signify the unknown soldiers who fought in this war of our paternal ancestors who lived through the colonial era.

The sculpture alludes to an ancestral tree whilst invoking traditional Ghanaian funeral attire. My four-channel immersive soundscape is a cinematic journey of intrigue and drama featuring drones, strings, ancient West African percussion and the dialogue between Adelaide’s paternal uncle and great uncle that activates the structure. We combined these elements powerfully to reframe the history of Ghanaian colonialism and African Diasporic experience through image and sound.

I am currently working with one of the six winning design teams who are bidding to overhaul the history of slavery in the Liverpool docks. The commission includes creating public realm and a public art strategy and spans the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island, at the heart of the city’s UNESCO World heritage site. It includes the Canning Graving Docks, which in the past fitted out, cleaned, and repaired ships used in the transatlantic slave trade, central to Liverpool’s economy at the time.

How can we look at the future when the past is still so hidden? Exploring the histories that have been covered up and frozen in time is something important to me.

Understanding that ‘history’ did not happen the way it has been written down for hundreds of years is something that is essential to explore and for people to hear.

Arts and Culture Making the Invisible, Visible — Peter Adjaye

For them it was a traumatic experience of fighting for a country that eventually did not respect them as British citizens.

Voices from the Silence; Kwame, Kwaku and Yaw’ (2021), Adelaide Damoah and Peter Adjaye, Image courtesy of Adelaide Damoah, Photographer Todd White

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LIMINAL LIFE WORKING THROUGH DIFFERENT STRATEGIC MODES OF OPERATION SUCH AS AGENCY, SATELLITE, AND ARCHIVE HAS HELPED AUTOGRAPH NAVIGATE THE HOSTILE LANDSCAPE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORIES. MOREOVER, THE EMPLOYMENT OF THESE MULTIDIRECTIONAL WAYS OF WORKING HAS MEANT THAT FOR OVER 30 YEARS, AUTOGRAPH HAS CONTINUED TO FACILITATE DEEP INTERVENTIONIST AND COMPLEX LINES OF ENQUIRY ACROSS, THROUGH AND INTO PHOTOGRAPHY’S EUROCENTRIC EPISTEMIC BEDROCK.

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Arts and Culture Liminal Life — Mark Sealy

Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Every Moment Counts II (Ecstatic Antibodies), 1989. Courtesy of Autograph, London.

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In this type of cultural care work, the many “others” of the world, especially those subjected to and silenced by myriad forms of Western violence, may be seen and heard in our present, and more importantly, have a voice in times to come.

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Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Four Twins, 1985. Courtesy of Autograph, London.

Arts and Culture Liminal Life — Mark Sealy

Commissioning artists to produce new photographic work and caring for overlooked and under-represented images by bringing them into the Autograph collection means that different but coexisting visual narratives produced during these and other harsh and challenging times can have a place to rest untroubled, as photographs also deserve times of peace. Here, within the care of Autograph, they can be permanent, secure and anchored until they are found by future like minds of enquiry and put to work as aids in the understanding of our collective past. The unknowing aspects of production (the making, feeling, doing, process), the unformulated spaces and times of our creative being, are where our humanity’s call and responses reside and where praxis as a form of survival flourishes. If we do not provide the space for coexistence, justice, recognition, reparation, making and sharing, history will remain a tragic form of denial full of angry ghosts that will continue to haunt our cultural institutions. The ghost “is about that which has been silenced. All those things that society does not want to see. They are more powerful when they appear in the form of the supernatural because that way, you can’t ignore them. They scare you because they are full of rage. My ghosts are angry, and they are angry because they have been ignored and because what has happened to them has been ignored not just by one person but by society; the system ignores them, and the only way to break that silence is by screaming.” 1 Over time and space and through never-ending liminal ways of working, Autograph has been able to engage with artists through visiting both the familiar and seeking out the unfamiliar in the body politic of cultural production, where words become images and images become words, where bodies become signs and signs become bodies. Images, like the written and spoken word, transmit cultural knowledge, fuel memory and root a people’s sense of being to their place of belonging.

Commissioning new works by artists assists in nurturing unique expressions and reviving old formations of photography to have agency; looking again at that which has passed cultivates a more fertile, nuanced and inclusive record of our time. This curatorial approach operates as a form of resistance work that, word by word and image by image, aims to dismantle the brutal and universalising modernist mind-set. It contributes to and builds on forms of “transdisciplinary education and knowledge production.” 2 In this type of cultural care work, the many “others” of the world, especially those subjected to and silenced by myriad forms of Western violence, may be seen and heard in our present, and more importantly, have a voice in times to come.

Photography is omnipresent, sensorial, multidirectional, a layered, fluid, sonic creative process that permeates and resonates across our planet. The radicality of recognising the sensory or disruptive jazz-like experience of photography frees the viewer from the confines of a purely Eurocentric aesthetic desire to contain frame, chart, collect and own all the meanings an image might produce. Working towards a more improvised and receptive way of thinking through photography opens up space for sensing, feeling and perceiving the work that a photograph generates across different individual, temporal and cultural experiences.

This is where repressed knowledges are free and alive, shared and embraced, and nothing is history as everything that has passed is active with us in the present, moulding and reworking our sense of humanity, reminding us of the duty we have to embrace and produce acts of restorative decolonial care as a core function of our daily life. Otherwise, as Baldwin reminds us, “in the end, it is the threat of universal extinction hanging over all the world today that changes, totally and forever, the nature of reality…We human beings now have the power to exterminate ourselves; this seems to be the entire sum of our achievement” 3 this is the situation we have to address, reverse and undo with urgency until all the ghosts trapped in the violence of history have been recognised and heard.

Footnotes 1.

BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts (2020) Ghosts featuring Mariana Enríquez. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000mt18

2.

Deliss, C., (2020) The Metabolic Museum.

Hatje Cantz Verlag, Berlin, p. 63.

3.

Baldwin, J., (1963) The Fire Next Time.

Penguin Random House UK, London, p.53.

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Queen Mother (Iyoba) Pendant Mask, 16th - 17th century, currently displaced at Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Linden Museum, and a private collection

Arts and Culture Gatekeepers and Thieves: A Case on Restitution — Mistura Allison

GATEKEEPERS AND THIEVES: A CASE ON RESTITUTION E SHOCK YOU?

- A WEST AFRICAN PROVERB AMONG THE OFFENCES RELATED TO THE FIELD OF CULTURAL HERITAGE, THE LOOTING OF ARTEFACTS IS CERTAINLY THE MOST DEPLORABLE. IN AFRICA, LIKE ELSEWHERE, LOOTING OF ARTEFACTS NOT ONLY RAVAGES WORKED OBJECTS BUT ALSO DEPRIVES LOCAL COMMUNITIES OF THEIR HERITAGE. NONETHELESS, DUE TO THE ART MARKETS’ EXPONENTIAL DEMAND FOR ANTIQUITIES AND A DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL MARKET, IT IS ALSO THE MOST PROFITABLE. INDEED “ETHNOGRAPHIC” WORKED OBJECTS FROM AFRICA WERE FIRST COLLECTED DURING THE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES AS PART OF THE EUROPEAN COLONIAL AGENDA; HOWEVER, IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE 1920S AND 1930S THAT THEY BECAME “ART” AND THUS AWARDED A PRICE (BRODIE, 2005).

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Although museums in the West boast centuries of expertise as “cultural gatekeepers”, they often fail in doing their due diligence, as “somehow” they manage to acquire illicit artefacts.

Although museums in the West boast centuries of expertise as “cultural gatekeepers”, they often fail in doing their due diligence, as “somehow” they manage to acquire illicit artefacts. Coincidently, their acquisitions are almost always protected by what it feels to be an infinite number of conceptions, ultimately legitimising their possession.

In this article, I will be referencing to displaced artefacts and archaeological pillages in Nigeria to build my case; as I believe that looted African artefacts (or from any provenance!) should be studied, but not displayed in museums. I believe that if African worked objects are not fully comprehended, how can the damage caused by its illicit removal be properly assessed, and dismissed? To support my argument, it could be interesting to subdivide the phases of looting and consequently analyse legislations, and how these work in relation to museums. I argue that in substitution to illicit antiquities, museums should possess moral awareness and empathy; and consider the consequences of the systematic plundering that happen in many African countries. Museums should not be the only ones to be singled out and give accountability; however, by displaying stolen artworks, by default, they become participants and collaborators of African cultural theft.

Prior to narrowing my argument down to specific case studies, I think that it is necessary to understand the context in which contemporary looting occurs in Nigeria.

Archaeological looting thrives in three stages: the first phase consists of the retrieval of objects, the second involves their movement to a safe place, and finally is the sale.

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Sometimes, as some archaeological sites are located in the close proximity villages and/or isolated and not subject to the competent authorities checks, searches are executed during the day, perhaps with the involvement of the local population. Once an artefact is discovered, it is stored in safe havens, by those who want to manage the sale without intermediaries; or are delivered directly to the merchants (Eyo, 1997). The sale of the objects can be led by local leaders, who share the proceeds among all the inhabitants; but also, by art dealers, who in some cases provide for the monetary maintenance to the villages (Willett, 2000). This questionable partnership lasts as long as there’s need to deliver an appropriate amount of cultural goods. It is also possible that the artefacts to be entered in the antiquity black market are actually stolen directly from museum exhibitions (as it occurred at Ile - Ife).

Sadly, there are networks of antiquity dealers, galleries and small museums belonging or directly linked to this crime. Yet, the growing interest in Europe and United States towards African cultural heritage, has encouraged smugglers to single handily deal with the transport of the “lesser quality products” destined abroad. The export of cultural goods can take place by air, sea or by land. In the first two instances, art traffickers normally would have false export permits, whereas in the third case, the movement of materials happens across some African nations by car (Ekpo 1997). Most of the illegally harvested archaeological assets, are placed in the international market by networks linked to collectors at auction houses or museums. Consequently, the obvious illegal aspect of the trade and awareness of what happens “behind the scenes”, there should be no discussion on whether museums should display looted African artefacts.

Arts and Culture Gatekeepers and Thieves: A Case on Restitution — Mistura Allison

Sadly, there are networks of antiquity dealers, galleries and small museums belonging or directly linked to this crime.

Critical and condemning one might be in regards to looted African artefacts, sometimes it may happen that museums acquire works of art of illegal origin as a result of recklessness; this has occurred in France at the Musée du Quai Branly. It happened in 1999 and it involved the acquisition of some sculptures from Nok. Thankfully, a few months after the purchase, the managers of the museum admitted the mistake and obtained authorisation from the Nigerian government, to exhibit the sculptures in their own institution in Paris for a period of twenty-five years.

Regardless, my stance against the display of looted artefacts still stands and I believe that to an extent, a useful approach in preventing international trafficking of artefacts is stipulated perhaps by Decree n. 77/1979; which allows Nigerian police and customs officers to search, without warrant, anyone suspected of buying or selling antiquities without authorisation - which must always be made to the Commission - and ratified by Nigeria of the UNESCO Convention of 1970. The latter, largely due to the significant number of member countries signed up, is the main international instrument in the fight against illicit trafficking of artefacts.

Despite the many shortcomings in its text, the 1970 Convention, in fact, is a diplomatic tool which scope is restricted to artefacts from museums and that grants to each State the discretion to independently decide based on compatibility with their own legal system, which measures of the Treaty should be adopted (Brodie, 2009).

In addition, the 1970 Convention does not provide useful procedures to ensure the return of artefacts to their homeland and does not contain obligations or sanctions against so-called ”transit states”, that even being neutral, serve as the link between the country of origin and final destination of cultural property. In recent years, both the central government of Nigeria, and the International Community have initiated several programs to address the problem of looting.

The various initiatives promoted by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to raise awareness on the issues related to the despoliation of Nigeria’s cultural heritage: starting from the dissemination of news related to the theft of stolen goods, to the drafting of an inventory of African cultural heritage and finally to the publication of the Red List of African Archaeological Cultural Objects at Risk (ICOM 1997). The latter, consists of a list of the main categories of exposed archaeological heritage at risk of theft.

However, these initiatives have proved to be ineffective in the long run, as the looting of artefacts happens to be a wellestablished phenomenon, rooted in national consciousness, and underestimated on an investigative level.

By exploring and giving context as to what the looting of African artefacts entails, I have argued against the display of stolen objects in museums based on common ineligibility grounds. However, these grounds are often petulantly challenged by museums wanting to proceed with their exhibition of illicit and decontextualised objects.

A prime example of this would be the Africa: The Art of a Continent exhibition in 1995 at the Royal Academy of Arts, which by wanting to display their looted artefacts, in true Shakespearean fashion, generated debate as to whether they should.

To reiterate, in their words, they should be allowed to display looted artefacts to the public because “while the illicit trade in items of cultural property from archaeological sites in Africa and elsewhere must be eradicated, the cause of promoting awareness of both the damage that this trade is causing the patrimony of the states concerned and the importance of these works cannot be served by hiding them from an interested and possibly influential international audience. This process of publication, allied, as is our intention, with an extensive education program, must accompany the implementation of national as well as international legislation for the profile and effectiveness of such measures to be maximised” Royal Academy of Arts (1995) 85

I have extensively quoted this issue released by the Royal Academy, because no paraphrasing would have fairly depicted the extent of how museums through various conceptualisations, will defend their possession of looted artefact; even when they know it’s wrong.

The British Museum, illegitimate custodian of hundreds of bronzes looted from Benin during the 1897 Punitive Expedition, has adopted a similar rhetoric to the Royal Academy. This is the pompous conviction that looted artefacts from Africa should be displayed and kept in foreign countries as to attract an ‘influential international audience’; an audience that has a better opportunity of viewing displaced worked objects in European cities like London, Paris or Berlin rather than in Lagos, Addis Ababa and Cape Town.

Furthermore, museums defend their tenure of looted African artefacts by constantly referring to conceptualisations such as “Shared Heritage” or “The Universal Museum” (DIVUM, 2002). These arrogant imperialistic concepts urge critics to ‘recognise that objects acquired in earlier times must be viewed in the light of different sensitivities and values, reflective of that earlier era’ (DIVUM, 2002); and one should not blame them for displaying artefacts that are historically known to be looted, as it is an accusation that belongs in the past.

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This is the pompous conviction that looted artefacts from Africa should be displayed and kept in foreign countries as to attract an ‘influential international audience’; an audience that has a better opportunity of viewing displaced worked objects in European cities like London, Paris or Berlin rather than in Lagos, Addis Ababa and Cape Town.

Brass plaques from the royal court palace of the Kingdom of Benin, 16-17th century, currently displaced at the British Museum, Adam Eastland / Alamy Stock Photo

Arts and Culture Gatekeepers and Thieves: A Case on Restitution — Mistura Allison

Can concepts such as the “Universal Museum” be used to brush looted worked objects under the rug, most especially when they have well-documented evidence showing how violence is adapted when acquiring antiquities?

How can museums in Europe justify displaying looted artefacts by parading the fact that African scholars and experts also have the opportunity to contribute intellect, thus “sharing heritage”? It is obvious that museums such as the British Museum and the Royal Academy do not truly believe in their own farce, as works of art by British and European masters should be on their Grand Tour of African museums by now. No? There’s the question of multitude perspectives in regard to interpreting African artefacts. Would discussions that argue against the display of looted art be truly taken into consideration? Or for example, a contrasting observation that declares that African artefacts would serve their newly contextualised purpose by perhaps being returned to their countries of origin - would that be taken on board as a counter cultural supremacy proposition?

Finally, the very simple and straightforward fact that illicit looting is a crime, that African artefacts (whether from 1891 or 2021), should not be displayed, especially outside of Africa. As long as looted African artefacts remain outside of their domain, at the very least genuine intellectual power should be shared with the people belonging to the country when interpreting worked objects. By taking this approach, Western museums could shy away from the criticism that in addition to possessing looted African artefacts and sometimes displaying it; they are also culprits of cultural centrality.

As long as looted African artefacts remain outside of their domain, at the very least genuine intellectual power should be shared with the people belonging to the country when interpreting worked objects.

References Brent, M, A. (1996) View Inside the Illicit Trade in African Antiquities, in Schmidt, P.R. and McIntosh, R.J. (eds.) Plundering Africa’s Past. Bloomington Brodie, N. (2009) An Archaeologists View of the Trade in Unprovenanced Antiquities, in B. Hoffman (ed.) Art and Cultural Heritage: Law Policy and Practice, Cambridge Brodie, N. (2005) An outsider looking in: Observations on the African ‘art’ market, in N. F., (ed.), Safeguarding Africa’s Archaeological Past, British Archaeological Reports International Series 1454, Oxford Coombes, A. E. (1994) Reinventing Africa: Museums, Material Culture and Popular Imagination, (New Haven, Yale) Eyo, E. (1997) The Dialectics of Definitions: ““Massacre”” and ““Sack”” in the History of the Punitive Expedition McIntosh, R.J., Togola, T., McIntosh, S.K. (1995) The Good Collector and the Premise of Mutual Respect among Nations.

Shaw, T. and MacDonald, K.C. (1995) Out of Africa and Out of Context Willett, F. (2000) Restitution or Recirculation: Benin, Ife and Nok, in Journal of Museum Ethnography

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BUNDLEHOUSE: WORLDWIDE SOON COME? – ONE MILES LONG LINES FOR FOOD AT DISTRIBUTION CENTRES, REGIONAL MANDATORY CURFEWS, STORES HURRIEDLY SHUTTERED WITH CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL, MASSIVE WILDFIRES BURNING UNCONTROLLABLY IN AREAS PREVIOUSLY UNAFFECTED IN RECENT HISTORY, HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AT THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE, OVER A HALF MILLION SOULS LOST TO A VIRUS IN THE SO-CALLED RICHEST COUNTRY ON EARTH, RECORD RAINFALL CAUSING FLASH FLOODS THAT DESTROY INFRASTRUCTURE CAUSING MASS EVACUATIONS – BUNDLEHOUSE: WORLDWIDE SOON COME? NO, BUNDLEHOUSE IS HERE. IT IS HERE. IT IS NOW. 88

Bundlehouse/Bundle House/BUNDLEHOUSE/BUNDLE HOUSE, a name/term I coined in 2005, is about rebuilding one’s home, one’s life and community after life as they knew it, had been dramatically altered. I think about climate change, natural and man-made disasters, famine, war, pandemics, and genocide as examples of events that would affect a place so deeply, as to cause displacement and forced migration; dramatically changing lives in what sometimes feel like an instant.

Arts and Culture Bundlehouse: Worldwide Soon Come? — Nyugen E Smith

Bundlehouse (like oil + water), Nyugen E Smith, 2019, courtesy of artist

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I create playful imaginary spaces where the conscious and unconscious mind wrestle with the gravity of the subject matter and is felt in the body, while the allure of public theatre, ritual, and oration hold the attention of witnesses.

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Lest We Forget (Puerto Rico Edition) by Nyugen Smith and Marvin Fabien, 2018, courtesy of Raquel Peréz-Puig and the artists

Arts and Culture Bundlehouse: Worldwide Soon Come? — Nyugen E Smith

– THREE

– TWO My Bundlehouse series includes free-standing (FS) architectural structures (delineated using the abbreviation, FS followed by the number of the object in the series), installation, mixed media collage works on paper, wallmounted mixed media work, and related conceptual projects. As with the free standing Bundlehouses, I approach making works on paper as an act of construction. I always begin with a line drawing of the Bundlehouse, which acts as the structural support upon which I add washes of paint, oil pastel, soil, coloured pencil, collage from print media, found materials, and remnants from other work in my studio.

There is a direct relationship between my Bundlehouse work and my performance practice. I include performance for video and photo in this conversation. What establishes the structure for the performance? What is the colour palette?

How does the additive and subtractive method apply to my performances? What are the remnants and where do they come from? What are the spaces/places I am referring to with each performance?

I create playful imaginary spaces where the conscious and unconscious mind wrestle with the gravity of the subject matter and is felt in the body, while the allure of public theatre, ritual, and oration hold the attention of witnesses.

Bundlehouse: Where Do We Begin, Nyugen E Smith, 2019, courtesy of artist

As time goes on, I learn more about the work from what it teaches me about living, about being from, of and distant from a place. It teaches me about humanity. I get closer to knowing what it feels like to affect change through art while deepening my questioning of what role my work truly plays in making the world a more just, equitable, peaceful, loving, caring, smarter, generous, or mindful place.

In each one of the conceptual maps in my Bundlehouse Borderlines series, the landscape is populated by Bundlehouses. They occupy multiple territories on each map that are divided by vulnerable borders created by a meticulous hand-sewing process. The maps include cartographic elements such as cartouches, flora and fauna, illustrations referring to the people of the land, compass rose, and references to folklore and mythology. So far, the maps are a hybrid of countries/landscapes in the Caribbean that have experienced natural disasters; hybridised as commentary on external perceptions about the Caribbean, and maps that are reoriented to propose new ways of considering spaces.

People of the global majority, primarily in the so-called developing world, have long been experiencing crises like these, while those who consider themselves to be part of the developed world, have largely remained as passive spectators, at times offering varied forms of temporary aid.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels, shifting weather patterns and extreme weather events have brought Bundlehouse to the doorsteps of the most privileged.

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BundleHouse, Borderlines (detail), Nyugen E Smith, 2017, courtesy of artist

Arts and Culture Bundlehouse: Worldwide Soon Come? — Nyugen E Smith

– FOUR March of 2020 was the start of something else for me.

Concerns and conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic was unfamiliar territory that guided me back to a familiar place within my creative self that was music.

From 1995-2002, I actively pursued a career in rap music while simultaneously pursuing my passion in the visual arts until deciding to put music to the side. I knew one day I would bring music back into the mix of my overall practice.

A creative block at the onset of quarantine in the northeastern United States caused me to convert my visual arts studio into a space to record music.

My younger brother Donnel R Smith (aka Don Dilli, aka DR. Smith), who I consider my first creative collaborator, is a music producer, educator and digital marketing enthusiast.

He and I recorded a catalogue of unreleased music and a number of hip-hop and R&B format radio commercials on New York City based radio stations, WQHT HOT97FM and WKRS 98.7. KissFM from 2000-2001. Ironically, social distancing brought us back together to create again.

From 1995-2002, I actively pursued a career in rap music while simultaneously pursuing my passion in the visual arts until deciding to put music to the side. I knew one day I would bring music back into the mix of my overall practice.

Our collective efforts in collaboration with friends, Melvin Andrews, Richard “Younglord” Frierson, and Gemma Weekes, has birthed an independently produced music project titled ALGO-RIDDIM: A Bundlehouse Sonic Relief Pack. Tapping into the rhythms of the Caribbean and Africa, and situating itself within hip-hop culture, the album is a sonic reflection on our times, reflecting on the past with a focus on the future.

Each ALGO-RIDDIM Bundlehouse Sonic Relief Pack is a limited edition collector’s item. It includes one limited edition 12” coloured vinyl LP in full colour gatefold sleeve, access to the digital version of the album and interactive online experience, one limited edition 18” x 18” screen printed flag, a 12” x 12” art poster, and a relief pack. The relief packs are limited-edition works of art by Bundlehouse founder Nyugen E Smith, that are reminders and symbols of the plight of global citizens who need aid in the form of food, healthcare, protection, shelter and safety.

I now look forward to experimenting with methods of performing this music in a way that incorporates my performance art practice, to continue bringing memorable experiences to the public, charting a unique map for myself as an interdisciplinary artist and inspire others to remember the part(s) of themselves they have tucked away.

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ACTIVIS AND IDENTIT 94

Activism and Identity

SM

TY

In its simplest definition, activism means to bring about change through action. In this section, we hear the voices of activists as they reflect on what it means to be Black in white spaces, the complexities of curating spaces that recognise trauma but are not wholly defined by trauma and the need for our own spaces to gather and rest. The activism recounted here is an intergenerational journey of organising and uniting to struggle for dignity amidst the weight of a colonial past.

On Parallel Lives and Intertwined Belongings — Kwame Nimako A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan Backyard Stories as a Strategy for Survival: Eat Little and Live Long — Makeda Thomas What Are We Talking About?

— Jean-François Manicom

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PARALLEL LIVES AND INTERTWINED BELONGINGS THE POSITION AND STATUS OF INDIVIDUALS IN STRATIFIED GROUPS IN ALL SOCIETIES ARE CONSTANT FACTORS IN SHAPING THEIR LIVES AND INTERACTIONS, WHICH IN TURN HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSIFICATION AND SELF-IDENTIFICATION. THE POSITION AND STATUS OF BLACK PEOPLE IN EUROPE IS NO EXCEPTION. SOMETIMES THE COMPLEXITIES OF THESE INTERACTIONS CAN BE CAPTURED IN AN ADAGE OR MAXIM. FOR THIS REASON, I CONCEPTUALISED THE NOTION OF PARALLEL LIVES AND INTERTWINED BELONGINGS, BY WHICH I MEAN PEOPLE WHO SHARE THE SAME SPACE BUT IN UNEQUAL POSITIONS RESULTING FROM DIFFERENT TRAJECTORIES OF ARRIVAL. WHICH IN TURN GIVES RISE TO DIVERGENT EXPERIENCES AND MEMORIES. 96

Activism and Identity Parallel Lives and Intertwined Belongings — Kwame Nimako

These patterns and factors can be identified and analysed in different epochs and spaces. For instance, in the age of the transatlantic ‘slave’ trade, African captives shared the same ship as their captors (intertwined belongings) but the histories of how they boarded the ship and conditions experienced on the ship were fundamentally different (parallel lives). In other words, one group arrived voluntarily, the other by force. Which directly shaped their experiences and memories. Similarly, when African captives arrived in the Caribbean and the Americas against their wishes, they shared the same space on plantations or farms with their enslavers (intertwined belongings) but their histories of arrival their roles in an imposed division of labour also diverged fundamentally (parallel lives). Put bluntly, African captives were forced to work without contract or consent. Later, the formal abolition of slavery made citizenship (as opposed to common spaces) an intertwined belonging; and parallel lives which in turn gave rise to different understanding and notions of freedom and emancipation.

Marcus Thuram taking a knee in solidarity of Black Lives Matter movement. Photo by REUTERS

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Equally compelling is the fact that memories linger, especially collective memories, which has consequences for knowledge production and the relevance of concepts. For example, one occasion that has brought the experience of parallel lives and intertwined belongings to the fore was the recent racial abuse of Black football players in the England team at the finals of the 2021 European football cup when the three Black footballers missed penalties.

Equally compelling is the fact that memories linger, especially collective memories, which has consequences for knowledge production and the relevance of concepts. For example, one occasion that has brought the experience of parallel lives and intertwined belongings to the fore was the recent racial abuse of Black football players in the England team at the finals of the 2021 European football cup when the three Black footballers missed penalties.

For those who hurled racial abuse of the players, the footballers were not viewed as individuals who missed the penalties. They were abused because they are Black and represented not England, but their “race” and “history”.

The response from the Black footballers suggests that they were not surprised because racism in football is hardly an isolated experience; it reflects racism in society. In fact, it had been their everyday experiences and it reinforced their consciousness that “the struggle goes on”, and by implication, so do their emancipation struggles.

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I use the concept of emancipation here deliberately to signify a process whereby a stigmatised social grouping that finds itself in a dominated position in society struggles to improve its collective condition. The group seeks to attain a fully-fledged place in society, integrate into the existing social order and effect significant changes therein. This has always been the process in which Europeans who happen to be Black (or Black Europeans) have been engaged. This is far more encompassing, transformative and enduring than the social mobility of an individual within a dominated group. In other words, collective Black emancipation struggles should not be confused with the social mobility of a handful of Black individuals within the dominant society.

Clearly left to social mobility as individuals alone, the Black footballers would not have been racially abused.

Activism and Identity Parallel Lives and Intertwined Belongings — Kwame Nimako

Apparently, when Europeans encountered other peoples on an ever-increasing scale after the sixteenth century, and came on top in the ensuing conflicts, they attached power to ‘race’ and difference, and power was expressed in an axis of superiority-inferiority. As the power of Europeans over other peoples has declined (due to various types of resistance) and difference and diversity have become permanent, mainstream white academics and policymakers want to throw difference out and yet maintain residues of power.

Despite the obvious, it is still the case that “mainstream” white academics and policymakers continue to preach colour-blindness. The journey from colour conscious Europe to colour blind Europe is not very difficult to trace.

Apparently, when Europeans encountered other peoples on an ever-increasing scale after the sixteenth century, and came on top in the ensuing conflicts, they attached power to “race” and difference, and power was expressed in an axis of superiority-inferiority. As the power of Europeans over other peoples has declined (due to various types of resistance) and difference and diversity have become permanent, mainstream white academics and policymakers want to throw difference out and yet maintain residues of power.

Those who preach colour blindness subsume difference under a superiority-inferiority paradigm. In other words, it is predicated on the assumption that if you identify difference or acknowledge “race”, you should assign inferiority-superiority to it, as European scholars have done for so long: we cannot be different and be equal. Thus, we should be colour-blind. But this is not sustainable because colour blindness does not correspond either to the historical or to the current daily experiences of Black people in Europe. Consequently, it sets a trap for the Black scholar because if you go along with the colour-blind narrative, you will be considered a fool by the white preachers of colourblindness because they know they are lying. If you reveal that you can’t be fooled, that you recognise difference and “race”, you will be considered ungrateful at best because you do not appreciate the contribution of white Europeans to your “education and civilisation” , and revengeful at worst because you can’t let go of the idea of historical injustice.

But for so many Black people in Europe the memory of humiliation during slavery and colonialism lingers and the struggles for dignity find their expression in religious activities, poetry, music, dance, performance, and literature.

Black History Month is one of the occasions that all these issues come together.

The struggle goes on.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF KEY MOMENTS AND ISSUES IN THE BLACK BRITISH CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT 100

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

ORIGINALLY, THIS PAPER WOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON MY HISTORY IN ACTIVISM – LOOKING AT THE BRITISH BLACK POWER MOVEMENT AND THE BLACK WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS THAT FOLLOWED. British Black Panthers (1971) copyright 2021 Neil Kenlock

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On reflection, I decided that, for Serendipity’s Annual Windrush Day lecture and this paper, something a little different was needed to underscore the significance of both the Black Power Movement and the Black women’s organisations. They needed to be located more firmly in the context of a longer history of mobilisation and organisation: i.

This paper will honour those in the Windrush generation, but I want us to think of them not as a generation of victims i.e., good negroes who came, worked hard, and were treated badly. I want to chart how they met the challenges and hostilities they encountered and fought back. It is a longer intergenerational story: of my parents, the generation before them, of my peers, and the continuing generations who now respond to that past legacy.

ii. This work of historical recovery highlights the fact that the genealogy of organisations that will be described here are part of a tradition that goes back many years to our first period of significant settlement in Britain. It is the story that is part of a broad movement of resistance to the violent hostility our fore parents met. It was the beginning of the cause for civil rights that can be properly named a movement for equality in Britain.

That Black British Civil Rights Movement can be defined as “a continuing struggle for equality in treatment - for a guarantee of equal access to opportunities and equal protection/treatment under the law - with respect to such as work, education, housing, policing, and citizenship”. That last word ‘citizen’ is important as it underscores the continuing importance of the notion of membership of a community and the benefits/entitlements that thus flow.

In this paper I want to highlight the key moments and issues of that movement for Black British Civil Rights.

It will be divided in five phases: 1. Before Windrush: the inter war years 2. The Windrush pioneers 3. The Children of the Windrush and the Black Power Movement 4. The Black Women’s Movement and other communitybased groups 5. The Twenty-First Century Movement 102

Beverley Bryan and her sister, courtesy of Beverley Bryan.

One of the first Black organisations that came to the fore at this time was the African Progress Union (APU) which had been set up by John Archer, a mixed-race seaman, a Pan-Africanist who mobilised against imperialism, and the Mayor of Battersea in London.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

– 1. BEFORE WINDRUSH: THE INTER WAR YEARS Before the Windrush docked at Tilbury in 1948, there was a sizeable Black population in the thriving seaports and industrial areas of such as Liverpool, Cardiff, Hull, London, and Glasgow. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Black and other Imperial labour had been brought in from the West Indies, West Africa, East Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and China by British shipping magnates who used their labour to depress the general level of wages. After the Great War, the Black presence grew with Black-owned businesses and families, bolstered by Black military personnel. At the same time, tensions also grew in those ports and cities, as demobilised white servicemen with high expectations, after surviving the trauma of that war, came demanding housing and jobs, in a time of scarcity.

Riots broke out in 1919 in all the major port towns and London over an eight-month period, as white gangs roamed the streets looking for unsuspecting Black individuals to beat up and terrorise for taking their jobs and women. Five deaths and thousands of injuries ensued. Among them was Charles Wootton, a Bermudan seaman, who was chased by the mob and stoned until he fell in the river and drowned.

Despite that, the Black workers were arrested and generally blamed for provoking the attack: These Black workers and their families had to turn to their own resources to resist this onslaught. One of the first Black organisations that came to the fore at this time was the African Progress Union (APU) which had been set up by John Archer, a mixed-race seaman, a Pan-Africanist who mobilised against imperialism, and the Mayor of Battersea in London. The APU hired Edward Theophilus Nelson - a Guyanese-born Pan Africanist lawyer, to defend 15 of the men accused in the 1919 “riot”.

The response of the government to the riots was to set up a repatriation scheme to “send them back” to their places of birth - even though seafarers and servicemen saw themselves as citizens of the Empire; it was an early signal of the limits of British citizenship. Some who could or would not take up this offer were left destitute. They continued to face hostility in finding work with the colour bar giving preference to white workers (as opposed to British workers).

The sentiments of exclusion were reinforced by the Coloured Alien Seamen’s Order of 1920 - considered, by some, as the first instance of state-sanctioned race discrimination, which stated that “coloured” seamen must show documentary evidence of status as British or register as an “alien”. As the citizenship status of the Black community was always an issue, the separation of race from British identity was being made clear.

This was the start. There was a flowering of radical, and civic minded organisations, coming from all different ideological positions, as discontented seamen made cause with professionals from the Colonies, student activists and Pan Africanists. The key aspect of civil rights at the time was the right to work, and so there was opposition to the colour bar and racist immigration and repatriation rules. Recognising the link between race and poverty, they supported and petitioned for access to the law for justice, and always, the rights accorded to all in the Empire.

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The APU was mentioned before, but there was the Society of Peoples of African Origin founded by Felix Hercules in 1918 before the riots. Black businessmen and students combined to bring the grievances of Black people to the British public, petitioning such as the Colonial Office on the treatment of citizens in the Colonies. On the other hand, the Indian Seamen’s Union of 1925 focused, specifically, on fighting the repressive ‘alien’ order.

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As the situation worsened, Kamal Chunchie set up the Coloured Men’s Institute in 1926 in Canning Town as a community centre and refuge, to fight against the racism experienced by Black seamen and their often-mixedrace families.

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In the same period Harold Moody formed The League of Coloured Peoples in 1931, with such as Stella Thomas, the first Black African woman called to the Bar of England and Wales. Other prominent members included CLR James, Jomo Kenyatta and powerful women like Una Marson and Amy Barbour-James who were particularly active in the League. The organisation was formed in response to their own lived experience of racism and the “colour bar”. They would campaign for the rights of Black British seamen; support Black professionals facing racial abuse, and generally promote the welfare of its African and Asian members, as they raised awareness about ‘coloured’ people across the world.

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More radical was the Negro Welfare Association of 1931 with the aim of the “complete” liberation and independence of all Negroes who are suffering from capitalist exploitation and imperialist “domination”.

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At the same time Pastor Erkarte set up the African Churches Mission to provide much needed sustenance to impoverished seamen and abandoned mixed race children. He had come to Liverpool in 1915, from Calabar in Nigeria, with the hope of becoming a missionary but met extreme racism and resolved to make a difference in his own way.

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In the mix also was the Universal Negro Improvement Association, with headquarters in London from 19351940. Marcus Garvey, the pan-Africanist, was near the end of his life, but his ideas of Black pride, self-reliance and self-love still found root.

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Other Pan-Africanists, like Amy Ashwood Garvey were there too with the experience of UNIA to help to launch the West African Students’ Union. Having lived in Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, and Britain, Ashwood Garvey had a profound understanding of British imperialism.

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Later (1935) came the Colonial Seaman’s Association established by Chris Braithwaite (a Communist and anti-colonialist), to oppose the colour bar in the shipping industry.

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The Coloured Seamen’s Union of 1936 representing West Indians, West Africans, Somalis, Adenese, Malays and Yemenis, was set up in Cardiff for that same reason.

It began making demands on the National Union of Seamen to abandon the colour bar and represent ALL seamen.

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The next year, the International African Service Bureau was launched by George Padmore, CLR James, and Ashwood Garvey to promote understanding of Africa to the British public; and expose the iniquities and exploitation in the Colonies. A similar but more focused group which began at the same time was the Indian Workers Association, formed to speak to working class Indians about their struggle for Independence.

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In those two decades after the riots there was the sustained development of Black organisations by men and women who took on activist roles. Many of these people had travelled as merchants; some had come to the UK to further their education so they could assist in the development of their own countries. Some moved from the USA. Others were born in the UK. It was a fusion of the cosmopolitan middle class “West Indian”, the transnational working class seaman who had travelled the world and the internationalist Pan Africanist. They embraced different political philosophies, but all were prepared to deal with individual prejudicial acts, state-sanctioned racism and the unjust treatment of their sisters and brothers in the Colonies.

The Second World War changed the trajectory of some but not all of these organisations. Some withered away with the exigencies of the war effort. Some, like the African Progress Union and the Colonial Seamen’s Union, were centred around a single individual, so could not survive the founder/ leader’s death. Some continue today! However, the war mobilised a whole new set of servicemen and women to the centre of Empire with some 12,000 Caribbean personnel seeing active service in the RAF. Another 2,500 workers were employed in the war factories and some 600 Caribbean women came to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service– all determined to save King and Country because they fully understood the implications of a Nazi victory. Other women like Una Marston were still active and gave great assistance through her morale-boosting work with the BBC overseas service. More and more information is being excavated about British born women like Esther Bruce who made her contribution, as a cleaner and firewatcher, in protecting her London community in the Blitz; or Lillian Bader, the first Black woman to join the RAF.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

In those two decades after the riots there was the sustained development of Black organisations by men and women who took on activist roles.

Black People’s Day of Action March, 1981, photo by John Sturrock

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The hostility was felt from the workplace, to accommodation, to the streets -with verbal and physical abuse from such as the British Union of Fascists and the League of Empire Loyalists.

– 2. THE WINDRUSH PIONEERS The end of the war would begin a new phase in the Black British Civil Rights Movement and Black people’s relationship with Britain. Some servicemen and women chose to go back to their countries of origin; others, onethird, elected to stay, to help rebuild a shattered economy.

In the same period, the 1948 British Nationality Act was passed. It created a single class of citizenship - open to all British subjects wherever they were. Politicians were not happy with the non-white immigration it made possible, but they tolerated it because they wanted labour. There was, then, active recruitment of labour from the Caribbean.

Working class Jamaicans like my parents took up that call for labour, migrating from Jamaica to Brixton, London in 1953, as part of a long chain of family migration that included their own brothers and sisters, their children, nieces, and nephews. Most people were now increasingly, spread out in the other big industrial cities like London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds. Nationally, between 1955 and 1960 the number reached 161,450 (Dabydeen, Gilmore, and Jones 2008, 219).

Their labour was needed for low level jobs but not their presence. The hostility was felt from the workplace, to accommodation, to the streets -with verbal and physical abuse from such as the British Union of Fascists and the League of Empire Loyalists. Finally, the ever-worsening situation exploded in August 1958, with largescale confrontations in Nottingham and London, where Black men and women had to defend themselves with machetes and bottles against the menace of white mobs. Events reached a climax in May 1959, with the stabbing death of Kelso Cochrane, an Antiguan carpenter.

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The murder galvanised the community, as the police refused to acknowledge the killing as racially motivated – although they were aware of the fascist, Oswald Moseley’s, work in the area. 1200 people turned up for Kelso Cochrane’s funeral, but this could not have been surprising. With the debarment from pubs and clubs in many areas, these new migrants had formed their own networks of safety and support: in barber shops, front room hairdressing salons, churches, social welfare clubs and street corners.

Between 1958 and 1959, the organisations for community defence continued to evolve. Mobilisation was legal, physical but also cultural. Claudia Jones, a Communist and political refugee deported from US, had been in the UK since 1956.

And she worked with that other feminist powerhouse, Amy Ashwood Garvey, fusing race and class politics to launch the West Indian Gazette: the first Black newspaper, and to form a new organisation The Interracial Friendship Coordinating Council, with the aims of apprehending Kelso’s killers and outlawing the incitement of racial hatred. In that tense period, Claudia Jones came up with a creative outlet to the fear and stress in the community. She said: “A people’s art is the genesis of their freedom” and went on to organise the first celebration of Caribbean culture in St Pancras Town Hall, which in a few years became the Notting Hill Carnival.

Man walking past ‘Powell for PM’ graffiti, photograph by Evening Standard/Getty Images

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

Other organisations were formed out of the 1958 riots.

The West Indian Standing Conference started off strongly as an effort to provide leadership with the support of the short-lived West Indian Federation. It was suspicious of the army of researchers and welfare organisations mushrooming in London, now intent on investigating and ameliorating race relations. The organisations had to be more focused on robust defence rather than just explaining our situation to white people, or simply focusing on welfare.

Over the next few years, the Conference gradually became more concerned, more militant in its call for action from the authorities: to secure equal access to resources and opportunities - a key tenet of civil rights. The Conference produced its own report in 1966 Nigger Hunting in England?

- highlighting allegations of police brutality, which was soon to become a recurring theme. Additionally, there was a continuing debate about whether these organisations should be mixed or Black only. These were working class people who had to mobilise against open racism but also the State.

And they were becoming ever more militant.

1959 was also a critical year for me: it was the year I came to the UK, as one of the many children who began to join their parents. With so many women as early migrants, the realisation that there was no possibility of an early return to their home countries, forced them to send for their dependants left behind. Of course, the white hostility of 1958 increased the sense of panic and the need to act on their part. But the assault they faced was not just on the street; it was also through parliament as the government moved to change the immigration dynamics.

In 1962 British Immigration Act was passed and with it the automatic right of abode (ROA) was lost. Now for the first time, a work voucher was required by British citizens, although children were exempted, allowing dependants.

Following that, in 1968 the Labour government passed ANOTHER Act restricting East African Asians with British passports and introducing the concept of patriality - proof was required that they, their parents or grandparents had been born in Britain, i.e., were patrials (Williams, 2015).

These moves to limit entry were not helped by Enoch Powell’s fearmongering Rivers of Blood speech in 1968, which was loudly supported by white workers who came out on marches - goaded by right-wing newspapers.

These were my eventful school years: the increasing hostility was met by increased resistance on many levels - at a time when accepted notions of self-worth and value were being questioned by marginalised people around the world. Black became Beautiful and Powerful. People were acutely aware of the freedom movement in the United States of America. In fact, Claudia Jones, through the newly formed Conference of Afro-Asian-Caribbean Organisations was able to organise a British Freedom March to the US Embassy in 1963, to coincide with Martin Luther King’s March on Washington. The American Civil Rights struggle was my reading. The movement was known, followed, and celebrated, with visits from King in 1964 and Malcom X in 1965. Caribbean migrants were also aware of the process of self-government taking place back home, and similarly aware of a comparable process on the Indian subcontinent the home of their fellow workers - engaged in those unskilled jobs roundly rejected by British born locals.

So, the two main migrant groups had common understandings of the anti-colonial struggle in their home countries, and racism in their sites of work, but the immigration fight brought them together on a third front: to resist further discriminatory legislation and racist practices. In 1965 the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination was formed, knitting smaller AfricanCaribbean and Asian groups together for this specific goal.

However, it lasted no more than two years. There were few gains, and disillusionment at the limitations and the timid provisions of the Race Relations Act of 1965, which had promised so much. More militant groups Racial Action Adjustment Society (RAAS) and the Universal Coloured People’s Association (UCPA) emerged in 1967 while Stokely Carmichael visited London.

The next move on immigration was another Bill in 1970 to cement partiality. The pushback was strong from all migrants. This immigration protest was one of the first demonstrations I participated in with the West Indian Students Union, another organisation for local and Caribbean based students. My vivid memory of the huge immigration demonstration in central London is of our numbered “alien” badges protesting this latest onslaught and our labelling as non-patrials. Nevertheless, the Bill became an Act in 1971, but the “patrial” clause had to be modified to include those migrants with five years residence in the UK. This Act set the tone for immigration to continue as a divisive and racist issue in the fight for civil rights – based, as it was, on the implicit notion of white Anglo-Saxon heritage.

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In other areas there were other similar groups: The Black Unity and Freedom Party (BUFP) (another successor to UCPA) was in London and Manchester; there was the South-East London People’s Organisation with its youth arm, The Fasimbas. In west London, we had the Black Liberation Front – all responding to an upsurge of militancy that was propelled by local struggles as well as international solidarity, and keen to make links with Black brothers and sisters across the world. Black Power organisations existed in all the major British cities - like the Leicester-based Black People’s Liberation Party. Or the Black People’s Action Collective with branches in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, and London. These organisations helped us to grow as young people working together, to historicise and interrogate our identity while studying and discussing Marx, Fanon, CLR James, among others. They brought together young people with shared experiences and fulfilled a need by providing confidence, security, and a sense of belonging.

Culture was important in binding us, as we embraced that lived experience, distilled in poetry, art, or music amplified through the sound system that tracked our lives and chroniclers such as Linton Kwesi Johnson and Menelik Shabazz, who transformed experience into creative testimony.

– 3. THE CHILDREN OF THE WINDRUSH AND THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT A new generation of us was growing up in this “hostile climate”. Apart from the racist pressure of the Immigration Acts, there was police harassment, and a continuing housing crisis, where the colour bar remained high and rigid with open discrimination. As young people leaving school, it seemed as though Black people were under siege from every direction. But we were no longer prepared to turn the other cheek. The consciousness that we were part of worldwide movement was not new. We were inheritors of a long tradition sown by the first Pan African Congress in 1900; embedded from 1919 but receiving new nourishment with our sense of Afro-transnationalism – i.e., a greater connection to our brothers and sisters in America and Africa.

So, at that same time I moved to Brixton to teach, I joined the Black Panther Movement (BPM). The BPM was an outgrowth of the UCPA, an organisation that helped to radicalise Black people in the fight against racism but retained the message of strong support for anti-colonial and liberation movements in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. One of the people who encouraged me to join the BPM was Olive Morris, whom I knew from secondary school; and who had been one of those young people severely beaten up by the police.

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Our newsletters in 1970, the year I joined, give a good illustration of the kinds of issues that were the focus, and these can be seen in the headline stories we took out on the streets to sell, as we encouraged new membership. BPM’s Freedom News led with the Mangrove Nine, at the Old Bailey, where nine Black people including members of the BPM were on trial for “riot” – a story with echoes of 1919!

The admission by the judge that there was “evidence of racial hatred”, on the part of the police, was the first victory of its kind in the courts. Many other cases of police harassment were added in the ensuing years: Oval Four, Brockwell Three and others.

A Grassroots issue led with education. Bernard Coard came and spoke to us and shared his book, about how Black children were being shunted into schools for the educationally subnormal (ESN). This became a longstanding campaign issue, because as I witnessed and experienced as a teacher: children often came to England confused, disoriented – communicating in their mother tongue. That communication was mis-diagnosed, and they were referred to the ESN school. The BPM response was to set up our own supplementary schools on Saturdays. All over the country these Saturday schools flourished in Black organisations. And yet the threat of exclusion from the mainstream continued.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

Black Voice exposed the ‘shanty town conditions’ of housing in Moss Side, Manchester; followed by the huge waiting list of 22,000 homeless families in Hackney in London, which underlined the national crisis in housing affecting many Black families.

Black Voice exposed the “shanty town conditions” of housing in Moss Side, Manchester; followed by the huge waiting list of 22,000 homeless families in Hackney in London, which underlined the national crisis in housing affecting many Black families.

The same issue carried a picture of a policeman kicking a young Black man on the streets to underscore the extremely hostile relationship there was between young Black people, especially young Black men, and the police. It was the easiest thing to be arrested, as youths were routinely stopped, harassed, and searched. The 1824 Vagrancy Act was re-activated to stop and search anyone “loitering” under suspicion (“sus”) even within their own community.

The inevitable effect was profiling, harassment, and confrontation by the police’s Special Patrol Group (SPG), on the way to more incarcerated Black bodies.

Another article would highlight the case of Aseta Simms found dying in a police cell in Stoke Newington, London in 1971 - a recognition that police malpractice affected the whole community police harassment was a major issue for all the organisations of the 70 and 80s. The first “uprising” between Black youths and the police was at the Notting Hill Carnival in 1976. What could civil rights mean if there was no right to freely walk the streets while Black, with equal treatment under the law? The “uprisings” of 1981 drove that message home when the youths showed that they had had enough. Eventually, the community law centres would have to make this defence work a major part of their focus.

The importance of organised, campaigning defence work had been critical from the 1919 and 1948 riots in Liverpool.

Again in 1981 with the Brixton Defence Campaign and similar single-issue organisations in other cities.

However, that substantial agenda of most of these Black Power organisations did not outlast the 1970s. On reflection, the dissolution mirrored some of our earliest organisations in certain ways: there was a comparable too-wide agenda, but a centralised leadership. In this case, the largely male, hierarchical, leadership was older than the general membership of dynamic eager young people. Essentially it was too fractious and there were too many combustible issues and personalities. One gain, nevertheless, was that because fortunately most of these organisations had a women’s caucus and the beginnings of organising around a women’s agenda, this period of dissolution offered more space for women: it helped some of us to withstand the disintegration of the organisation.

Mangrove 9, Flyer in support of the defendants

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– 4. THE BLACK WOMEN’S MOVEMENT AND OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED GROUPS It was the women of that caucus group who decided that we had to find a way forward and start an autonomous group.

Olive Morris with her friend, Liz Obi occupied the shop front on Railton Road in Brixton. With the squatting action, a message was sent, and two new organisations began. One was Sabarr Bookshop, which we set up to continue some of the work of the BPM, after a firebomb on the Panther’s bookstore. Sabarr’s aim was also to pursue the campaigning education agenda: against the raging scandal of ESN schools and supporting Black supplementary schools with the Black content missing from the mainstream curriculum. As a teacher I could develop those activities in my class, but much more was needed. It became clear that some of this had to be written by young people themselves. Black Ink was the first community run Black publishing imprint designed to give voice to the lives, issues, and concerns of young people - the first example of Black narratives that paved the way for other independent Black publishing initiatives.

The other organisation involved in that squatted action was known then simply as the Black Women’s Group (BWG) because it was the only group of its kind that we knew of.

BWG consisted of women from BPM but was now expanded by the participation of other women such as Gerlin Bean, Jocelyn Wolfe, and Gail Lewis: those who had worked in a mixed group but no longer wanted to deal with male chauvinism; or those coming from the white women’s groups who were at that time focused on reproductive rights and liberation from the home. We did not want to follow such a narrow agenda as we knew Black women’s experience of work was very different – it was “hard labour” with no option of a choice to stay in the home. Additionally, the ongoing war on the streets on young men could not be ignored.

But it was not just about state harassment. There was institutional racism and systemic oppression that included, but was not limited to, gender. Our solidarity was with migrant women workers, who were in the worst paid jobs.

Black women of African and Asian descent united in such significant industrial action as those carried out by workers at Mansfield Hosiery, Grunwick, and Imperial Typewriters (Bryan, Dadzie and Scafe: 2018, 36).

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Solidarity led to a network system that members used to start and support other groups whose agenda we shared: The West Indian Parents Action Group; the supplementary school Ahfiwe School; Black People against State Harassment defence campaign; The Mary Seacole Craft Group for young mothers; the women of the liberation movements in Southern African in particular; and, importantly, several anti-racist and anti-fascist groups.

An example from an issue of Speak Out demonstrates the work of BWG beyond the study group and discussions: campaigning on the “sus” law; informing on sickle cell anaemia; linking internationally with a sisters’ visit to China; and providing an alert to the 1977 Green Paper on Citizenship and Nationality offering two kinds of citizenships. The questions we raised about civil rights and the proposals for citizenship(s) are stark: what are the civil rights the Green Paper wants to deny Black people?

They include: ...

• • • • •

The RIGHT to free education and health treatment. ...

The RIGHT to unemployment and Social Security payments.

The RIGHT to vote. ...

The RIGHT to form a political organisation. ...

The RIGHT to enter and leave the country without immigration controls.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

By 1979, our network of women’s organisation included such as Abasindi Cooperative, Camden Black Women’s Group, Leicester Black Women’s Group, Southall Black Sisters United Black Women’s Action Group.

Speak Out Issue No.4 Black Women’s Group Brixton

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The 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence by racist thugs brought us back to fundamental agenda and the limitations of state support.

By 1979, our network of women’s organisation included such as Abasindi Cooperative, Camden Black Women’s Group, Leicester Black Women’s Group, Southall Black Sisters United Black Women’s Action Group. This encouraged us to feel that we were ready for a national debate with other Black women across the country and to launch the first national Black women’s conference as the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent. The gathering itself was enough to grow new women’s groups; and with Margaret Thatcher’s election that year, we began a new decade of Black women’s contestation of our role in the State and the impact of her policies on our families and communities. It led a group of us, that eventually became settled as three, to start to set down the experiences of our lives in Britain. By the time the book The Heart of the Race was published, we could list 21 Black women’s organisations active in the early 1980s.

Apart from the flourishing of the Black Women’s movement, the dissolution of the Black Power organisations seeded many other entities/groups that went on to intensify the struggle for civil rights. Members from BPM and BUFP (Darcus Howe, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Leila Hassan, Farrukh Dhondy and Jean Ambrose) formed the Race Today Collective, which linked its publishing activities in the journal Race Today with on the ground mobilisation around the same issues. One activity that they helped to organise was the Black People’s Day of Action in 1981 -through the New Cross Massacre Action Committee following the New Cross fire in January - when 13 teenagers attending a birthday party tragically lost their lives.

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The Day of Action was a national event that brought together Black organisations from across Britain, as parents, teachers, students, workers, and activists stood together to demand answers from the police who were ready to blame the partygoers rather than pursue a forensic inquiry. “13 dead and nothing said” was the refrain. This galvanising moment expressed the frustrations of dealing with a State that did not see us as equal citizens experiencing pain and trauma.

It was not a surprise that one month later all the major cities were ablaze when young people erupted on the streets, expressing their frustrations at unending police violence, lack of attention to racist attacks and joblessness. It began in Brixton in April, but spread to Toxteth, Moss Side, Handsworth, Chapeltown and many other inner cities and towns - lasting until July. The inevitable government inquiry into this cross-country uprising was the Scarman Report, which called for a massive injection of state funds in those areas. Community-oriented groups in housing, education and employment working for the same goals, of equality of access and equal treatment under the law, took up the funding offer. As organisations became more single issue and managerial, grants became more available. Almost overnight, a spate of self-help and welfare organisations - with Black women’s centres and police monitoring committees - appeared. But what happens when you take money from that state you were fighting against?

Who were the now salaried answerable to? The funding paymasters? A strong case was made that the grants were our taxes, and some organisations continue to work to secure such funding in the struggle to secure civil rights.

Others have gone the voluntary route.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

The 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence by racist thugs brought us back to fundamental agenda and the limitations of state support. This well-known case is critical in the civil rights movement in several ways. First: it reminds us of what happened to Kelso Cochrane in 1959, when our Windrush forebears were struggling to survive the first blast of British hostility. Like Cochrane, this was an unacknowledged hate crime with an incompetent police investigation that refused to accept the murder as racist or recognise the culture of institutional racism that guided their actions. But the campaign for justice and accountability was maintained

by Lawrence’s family. Second: the Lawrence campaign exemplifies how we can respond to the denial of justice, understanding that mobilisation and organisation are essential political tools. The Stephen Lawrence Family Campaign did that work to inspire a community to keep the case in focus until justice was served.

The third critical point to note about the campaign is that with the success of the case, the McPherson Report of 1999 was forced to admit that the police had failed the family because of institutional racism: i.e., policies and practices/procedures embedded in the system to prevent equality of opportunities and expected outcomes. And this led to the Race Relations Act of 2000 which, finally, included the police within the orbit of prosecution for racial discrimination – some 35 years after the disappointing provisions of the first Act.

The third critical point to note about the campaign is that with the success of the case, the McPherson Report of 1999 was forced to admit that the police had failed the family because of institutional racism: i.e., policies and practices/procedures embedded in the system to prevent equality of opportunities and expected outcomes.

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– 5. THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MOVEMENT The period between the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the revelation of pandemic inequity has reminded us, that nativist resentment and structural racism persist. The organisations of the last two decades are pursuing key issues that remain unresolved, until fundamental concerns about civil rights are addressed.

A key issue is the toxic relationship between young people and the criminal justice system, which the American Black Lives Matter movement has merely amplified. United Families and Friends Campaign is fighting for redress, for justice for their family members who have died in police, prison, and psychiatric custody, and for transparency in the criminal justice system.

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4Front want to challenge the UK’s addiction to criminalisation, policing, and prisons. The statistics show that there are 78,000 young people in prison and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) in England and Wales; 28% are Black and this statistic has doubled since March 2006; 1,784 people have died in police custody since 1990; and 48% of all Black homicide victims are 16-24 years old. Started by a young Black woman, 4Front centres on healing whilst directly reimagining transformative justice, with a focus on peace, safety, and freedom for the next generation.

A different and more radical “re-imagining” comes through Abolitionist Futures which is a feminist abolitionist collective organising in favour of penal abolition and prison reform - social justice rather than just criminal justice.

What makes that abolition so difficult is the pernicious role that education plays. Organisations like The Black Child Agenda and the indefatigable Cheryl Phoenix, draw attention to the prevalence of Black children in the pupil’s referral unit (PRU), which is reminiscent of the ESN of old and suggesting that the schools-to-prison pipeline is a real threat in the UK. The same threat could be said, to be present with the Metropolitan Police’s racialised database, the Gangs Matrix, which has been condemned by Amnesty International for its pernicious profiling.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

No More Exclusions is an abolitionist grassroots, coalition movement working to end persistent race disparities in school exclusions in the next five years; and to affect change at the legal, policy, practice, and cultural level over the next 10 years. They advocate for putting the youths in charge.

Ubele operates intergenerationally for the future of communities of Black and Minoritised people, supporting young leaders in grassroots activities, and in the challenge of writing proposals for grant funding. Its founder, Yvonne Field, has felt the conversation become more urgent in the last year because of the BLM movement and the consequences of COVID. Manhood Academy Global - mentoring and coaching for boys - through social, emotional, economic, and spiritual guidance.

Urban Synergy - supporting young people write their own future, with 500+ volunteer mentors.

A key issue is the toxic relationship between young people and the criminal justice system, which the American Black Lives Matter movement has merely amplified. United Families and Friends Campaign is fighting for redress, for justice for their family members who have died in police, prison, and psychiatric custody, and for transparency in the criminal justice system.

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We must also highlight the existential threat to the young, who with the absolute right of citizenship, are being mistreated through bad education practice and police profiling.

The Black Curriculum can underscore all this positive direction, through its consultancy for teacher training and curriculum development. It is a Black History resource for schools that probes beyond slavery.

In the sphere of Black women organising, older organisations such as Southall Black Sisters continue their work focusing on domestic violence, but the children of austerity are the new organisers. Black Women’s Forum recognise the need for and importance of Black self-organisation and coordination. So, with their online mobilisation, they use volunteers to collate and curate activities of organisations across the country, such as the FivexMore campaign for Black maternal health, mobilising with the disturbing knowledge that Black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth. Or Sisters Uncut’s more radical direct action against austerity, domestic violence, and immigration abuse.

The Yon Afro Collective provide a creative space for women artists in Glasgow, focused on centring their experience of Blackness and on supporting artists.

These twenty-first century organisations thrive on creativity and finding new ways to mobilise and organise. I would place Serendipity in this category with its focus on creative i.e., generative arts - using culture to build resilience and resistance; reclaiming and recreating old traditions that can be grounded in new forms.

There is innovation too in the speedy communication from the Institute of Race Relations’ (IRR) Research Team: the fortnightly Calendar of Racism and Resistance- an excellent digest for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Similarly inventive is the Radical Reels Rebel Radio as the largest intergenerational and intersectional community of artists, bands, podcasters with “a love of radio, community and diversity”. A dynamic brew!

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These diverse twenty-first century organisations value networking and linkages, with the use of online strategies, YouTube channels, and all the major social media platforms being utilised. Independence is emphasised in voluntarism, working with donations, income generation, and crowdfunding.

What I hoped is shown is how the Windrush legacy is located in the long history of a movement of resilience in resistance. That movement started with the key issue of immigration, because without citizenship, the embedded structures do not need to account for you. And thus, it is easier to deny rights. Organisation and mobilisation have led to gains in all areas of professional, economic, and cultural life. But the Windrush scandal reminds us that all gains are provisional; we cannot rest because institutional racism and its support structures of gender and class bias have had centuries to embed. Exposure and continued pressure are needed to promote the awareness and action that will dislodge these practices.

We must also highlight the existential threat to the young, who with the absolute right of citizenship, are being mistreated through bad education practice and police profiling. The sense of injustice has found its international linkages, as in previous phases of the movement, with the galvanising effect of BLM. With their new digital mobilising tools, these twenty-first century groups are fighting back - and with an added urgency caused by such government action as the latest Bill to restrict and criminalise protest.

What is heartening is the range of strategies being employed, the different ways they approach the onslaught: the focus on young leadership; the recognition of allyship; the appreciation of the personal; the confidence and attention to self-care; the re-affirming and re-making of our strong culture. They have a tradition, a history, and the tools to do it i.e., the means to take the movement forward.

Activism and Identity A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement — Beverley Bryan

References BBC (2012) The Stephen Lawrence Case. The Long View. [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/ sounds/play/b019f9h7 [Accessed 15 August 2021] Bentil, J. (2018) Black Women Fighting Back: How the Black Women’s Movement Interacted with the Boundaries of Nationhood in Thatcher’s Britain. MA diss. Leeds University.

Bryan, B. (2020.) From migrant to settler and the making of a Black community: an autoethnographic account. African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, 13 (2), 177-197, DOI: 10.1080/17528631.2020.1716519 Bryan, B., Dadzie, S., Scafe. S., (2018) The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain. London: Verso Press.

Courtman, S. (2021) Claudia Jones’ rebel heart.

British Library [Online] Available at: https://www. bl.uk/windrush/articles/claudia-jones-rebel-heart [Accessed 15 August 2021] Dabydeen, D., Gilmore, J., Jones, C., (2007) The Oxford Companion of Black British History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Elkins, W. F., (1972) Hercules and the Society of Peoples of African Origin. Caribbean Studies 11 (4)Available at: https://www.jstor.org/ stable/25612422?seq=1 [Accessed 15 August 2021] Fevre, C. (2020) ‘Race’ and Resistance to Policing Before the ‘Windrush Years’: The Colonial Defence Committee and the Liverpool ‘Race Riots’ of 1948.

Twentieth Century British History, Volume 32, Issue 1, March 2021, Pages 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1093/ tcbh/hwaa044 Killingray, D. (2018) ‘To do something for the race’: Harold Moody and the League of Coloured Peoples - 9781526137968 Available at: manchesterhive.com [Accessed 14 April 2021] Making Britain [Online] Available at: http://www. open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/search/ node/League%20of%20Coloured%20People [Accessed 15 August 2021]

Olofinjana, I., O. (2012) Legacy of Daniels Ekarte (c. 1890s-1964) and its implications for African Pentecostal Churches in Britain. Israel of Jana.

[Online] Available at: https://israelolofinjana. wordpress.com/2012/01/17/40/ [Accessed 15 August 2021] Prescod, C. (2019) The ‘rebel’ history of the Grove.

[Online] Available at: https://irr.org.uk/article/therebel-history-of-the-grove/ [Accessed 15 August 2021] Reddock, R. (2014) The first Mrs Garvey: PanAfricanism and feminism in the early 20th century British colonial Caribbean. Feminist Africa.

Rowe, Michael. 2000. Sex, ‘race’ and riot in Liverpool, 1919, Immigrants & Minorities, 19:2, 5370, DOI: 10.1080/02619288.2000.9974991 Sivanandan, A. (1981). From resistance to rebellion: Asian and Afro-Caribbean struggles in Britain. Race and Class. 23 (2/3) 111-152.

Wild, R. (2008) Black was the colour of our fight: Black Power in Britain, 1955–1976 (PhD dissertation).

University of Sheffield, UK. Williams, C. (2015) Patriality, Work Permits and the European Economic Community: The Introduction of the 1971 Immigration Act. Contemporary British History 29 (4) https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.20 14.1002775

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BACKYARD STORIES AS A STRATEGY FOR SURVIVAL: EAT LITTLE AND LIVE LONG

22 ARTISTS AND THEIR COLLABORATORS WERE INVITED BY DANCE ARTIST AND CURATOR, MAKEDA THOMAS, TO PERFORM AT HER HOME IN THE “LITTLE CARIBBEAN” COMMUNITY OF FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN DURING THE SUMMER OF 2021. “EAT LITTLE AND LIVE LONG” RAN EACH SATURDAY FROM 5 JUNE THROUGH TO 4 SEPTEMBER. THE TITLE OF THE PROGRAM AND MENU COMES OUT OF CARIBBEAN CULTURE AND “THE YARD” AS BOTH HOME AND AS A SITE FOR COMMUNITY GATHERING, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE-RAISING.

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Activism and Identity Backyard Stories as a Strategy for Survival: Eat Little and Live Long — Makeda Thomas

“Eat Little and Live Long”. Survive. Prepare: Home-cooked meals. Cook curry okra. Shadow sang for us to plant peas.

Gather your people. Plant your feet. Make a stage. This is how we eat little and live long. What does it mean to gather, oneself, in and with the presence, of others? How do our collective Black dancing bodies manifest this presence?

To “eat little and live long”, in our abundant modern world - whether or not it actually applies to food - may be an unfathomed discipline; mystifying, when in a plenitude of resources - scarcity still exists. What does it mean to make an offering of home, time, and space? In a COVID/postCOVID/COVID virtual reality? To dance, in this offering, is to be our most intimate with others.

“Eat Little and Live Long” is a housewarming. A gathering that merges food, dance and storytelling. A recognition of the tremendous historical complexity of the concepts, philosophies, techniques and ingredients of Caribbean food and identity; a making…good on ancestral knowledge to transform stories of loss into tales of togetherness; a way in which personal history comes into dialogue with public memory.

#EatLittleAndLiveLong, photo courtesy of David McDuffie, Gerald Horton, and Makeda Thomas

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– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH J. BOUEY | “CHIRON IN LEO”.

Follow “Chiron”, as they rise from a depression. Breathe.

Walk with them through the streets of Brooklyn. Dance through their memories and stories. Hear their mother’s voice. Feel you know them. In ways that matter. Eat: Black-eye Peas Accra Grilled Whole Okra with Garlic and Ginger Smoked Herring with Jasmine Rice Organic Spring Salad Pine, Ginger, Turmeric and Lemon Juice

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– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH BROTHERHOOD DANCE | “GREENS-N-BREAD”.

Homegrown. What is our relationship to the vegetation we grow? To the okra we grow in New York, in South Carolina, in New Orleans, in Abuja, in Addis? To the okra that cannot be consumed by she who is under Oshun? The same okra that aids in ovulation, that is good to eat during pregnancy, which is under Oshun? Two children were born in this home. Eat: Callaloo + Red Beans and Rice Collards Greens + Corn Bread Fresh Watermelon

#EatLittleAndLiveLong, photo courtesy of David McDuffie, Gerald Horton, and Makeda Thomas

Activism and Identity Backyard Stories as a Strategy for Survival: Eat Little and Live Long — Makeda Thomas

– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH SHAMAR WATT | “DAWNING OF THE SUNS”.

“There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns”, said Octavia E Butler. Call on your ancestors. The most ancient. Call on the you of a thousand years to come. What does it mean be one’s own totem? To be magic? To dance in the rain you’ve made? Inside. It means Revival. Eat: Roti with Curry Channa and Potato Pumpkin Masala Spinach Coconut Pineapple Tart Cucumber salad

– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH FANA FRASER | WITH LOVE, V. She asks: What is to be done when our dreams become reality? For an extended present moment?

She answers/asks: Keep repeating what is already being done?

We search for a language to say the ineffable, to say the unrepeatable, to decipher that which was written on the body moons ago. A heavenly subterranean fantasy paradise. Eat: Bake and King Fish Bake Maracas Fixings (Cucumber, mango, lettuce, tomato, cabbage, tambarind sauce, Chandon Beni sauce, garlic sauce, pepper sauce, pineapple, red onion, and, and, and…)

Nasturtium Garden Salad (from Chris’ garden in Madison) Guinness and Milk

– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH ANDRÉ ZACHERY AND SADAH ESPII PROCTOR | “AGAINST GRAVITY: FLYING AFRIKANS AND OTHER URBAN LEGENDS”.

Salt. The folk say it is from eating salt that we, Black People, lost the ability to fly. It is interesting to note that as we move with André through his consideration of flight, that he is surrounded, completely, and spectacularly by 12 Black women. Eat: Menu by Hector Caribbean: Pwason Gros Sel Pwason Rouge Grille Sôs Pwa Blanc Diri Blan Banan Frit + Pikliz Spring Salad

– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH THOMAS F DEFRANTZ | “INDIGENEITIES::KNOWING FROM BEFORE” AND MX OOPS | “NONFATAL ERROR”.

Krik! Krak! Black bodies in flight. Knowing. From before.

How does the body remember what the mind does not? The practice of travel through air is a Black art. We journey. We have been birds. Phoenixes. Long lived and long memoried.

We project ourselves into the future… “walking moving through listening and knowing thinking from now to then. moving through the spaces of ‘acting like you know.’ how do you know? because you must, and you do.”

Eat: Menu by @spiceshanty: Ceviche shooters with Fried Plantain Chips Spicy Potato Ball on a bed of Baigan Choka Sautéed Mix of Bhagi (from my neighbor’s garden) and Spinach Spring Mix Salad Cardamom mini tres leches with rose water cream 121

– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH JADE CHARON | “GOLD” AND OBIKA DANCE PROJECTS | “SWAMP BODY”.

We do because we know. That our emancipation may, at times, call for gold bodies to become swamp bodies. To become saltwater bodies and transmute to bodies of fresh water. Dance becomes an Ame to the call home - to our bodies. Eat: Menu by @spiceshanty: Pholourie served with tangy homemade tamarind sauce Boil and Fry (medley of root vegetables (cassava, plantains, yams) Sautéed spicy salt-fish and tomato Spring Salad Hibiscus Apple Crisp

– #EATLITTLEANDLIVELONG WITH CHRIS WALKER | SEAWEED KING + FUTURPOINTE | RENT-A-TILE + SOFIA SNOW | “POEMS FOR LEILA”.

The “Seaweed King” walked through the kitchen and left parts of himself in the ackee.

What remains when we gather, when we transform, collectively? How do we grow it? Harvest it? Prepare it.

And share it? Does it require fire? This is a kind of work that cannot be made on oneself, by oneself. It requires movement; is a mourning dance; is a Brooklyn bongo. Questions remain.

Like, what’s Love got to do with it? And, in whose home can we afford to burn the cane? Eat: Ackee with Seaweed Roasted Beets + Boiled Yam Tostones with Pikliz Grilled Roucou-Spiced King Fish Spring Salad Eat Little and Live Long is co-produced by MGMT ARTS, Chris Walker, UW Madison School of Education Impact 2030 Fellow, The Wood Shed Dance Online Platform, and DaCoJo Productions.

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Activism and Identity Backyard Stories as a Strategy for Survival: Eat Little and Live Long — Makeda Thomas

#EatLittleAndLiveLong, photo courtesy of David McDuffie, Gerald Horton, and Makeda Thomas

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WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? 124

Activism and Identity What Are We Talking About? — Jean-François Manicom

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HISTORY, DIGNITY, MEMORY, THE RESISTANCE OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ANCESTORS AND DIRECT PARENTS OF MILLIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE CURRENTLY LIVING ON EARTH.

N° 560 route de Darbonne figure 6. Photo courtesy of Jean-François Manicom

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We must build, manage and preserve a heritage collection, but we must also rely on contemporary art and artists, by buying works and commission them, but also create the conditions for their creations through artist residencies, for example, knowledge, facts, historic and scientific approach are not enough.

1. We are talking about a history that transcends racial divisions, social divisions to become a history of humanity.

2. We are talking about the creation of a new world, the emergence of new societies, we are talking about the creation of new geopolitical balances.

3. We are talking about the creation of the capitalist world, of global economic logic. The plantation is the mother of colonialism and the grandmother of globalisation.

4. We are talking about a system without mercy or morality created to generate wealth, we are talking about a system that, at its official end, has succeeded in mutating, creating new rules, new laws, with the same at the controls and the same under the whip …and that’s it: it’s this long, painful, complex, rich, traumatic, varied, international, intercontinental story that we are trying to talk about at the International Slavery Museum (ISM): the task is immense and it is with courage and determination that ISM opened its doors in 2007 in Liverpool.

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This is not due to chance: Liverpool is the European epicentre of the departures of the ships for the slave trade, this port alone gathered half of departures of English ships of all ports, and more than Nantes, Bordeaux and La Rochelle all together.

It was after a deep silence of several decades that Liverpool began timidly to face its past, and slowly, step by step, under the pressure from activists and with cross-willed, ISM was finally born. It is the only European National Museum dedicated to slavery and its legacies, a free entrance museum with thousand people a day (out of pandemic time) and a total since the opening of more than four million visitors in fourteen years.

Our work at ISM is above all, the acceptance of being more than a museum, we must not hide our face: more than in any field of monstration, the very particular and painful subject on which we works means that we cannot claim any kind of neutrality, and consider us a neutral space: a museum is anything but not a neutral place, for me “neutral position” is at best to show great naivety, and at worst to play the game that the scientific or political authority at the level of local, municipal, or national, asks you to play.

Activism and Identity What Are We Talking About? — Jean-François Manicom

We are talking about traumatic stories that have affected millions of people and the legacies of which are always open scars and injuries.

At ISM we have been forced to accept that our visitors consider us as a hybrid place, not because we wanted it or conceived like this: but because hybrid and complex is their own feeling when visiting us.

Maybe it is the absence of any place of recollection, the absence of graves to honour the ancestors in the public space, maybe it is the great national European and international silences that have surrounded this history but we became more than we had intended to be.

I consider us to be in the middle of a new crossroads: the museums of tomorrow, and I am talking mainly about museums that talk about traumatic or difficult stories, which must be place between the traditional notions of museums and the active contemporary art and experimental centres.

We must build, manage and preserve a heritage collection, but we must also rely on contemporary art and artists, by buying works and commission them, but also create the conditions for their creations through artist residencies, for example, knowledge, facts, historic and scientific approach are not enough. We are talking about traumatic stories that have affected millions of people and the legacies of which are always open scars and injuries.

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We need interdisciplinarity …

There is a limit where only sensitivity can make us feel, only poets, performers, visual and sound artists, videographers, can open doors for us.

Who else can talk about feeling guilty about being a victim?

The self-denigration. The colonial gaze on yourself.

Who can speak of family silence, of the family secret that often surrounds the origins?

What about the strange relationship between Caribbean people and the danger of the cursed sea?

Who can speak about the strange and ambiguous bond of love and repulsion between a country and its colonies?

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What does it mean to feel like a foreigner in the so- called motherland?

Who can evoke the gaze that has been worn for centuries on the Black body?

Where is the limit between exotism and racism?

If I accept the European point of view and vision.

May I have an exotic gaze out my own body?

Who will create a new imaginary: an Afrofuturistic poetry that runs behind its own past?

Who will mix the worst of the past with the better of the future to build a little way for today?

Activism and Identity What Are We Talking About? — Jean-François Manicom

Who will break the conventional codes of representation?

And will create a new myth?

Who will try to escape the aquarium of his own certitude and stereotype?

What is the way to go out of your own bubble of certitudes?

Who is going to talk about the double punishment of being a woman’s body in the middle of an ultra-violent society where the body becomes a commodity?

Artists have this power to make you immediately feel and understand more directly and by artists I mean all the different fields of contemporary art including performance and visual-art.

They can be artists from all over the world, whether they speak your language or not their message does not need translation.

We have to build this chance to collaborate: artists, academics, museum curators, member of the public, because I deeply think that we are now at this Who will talk about the female exciting moment of time where trauma that will certainly be we can invent together a new transmitted in an invisible and way to speak about the past unconscious way from mother while inventing the future. to daughter …

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NEW WRITIN

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New Writing

NG

The BlackInk New Writing competition returns for this second edition, this time opening the doors to writers from across the African and African Caribbean Diaspora in the UK and internationally. This initiative, led by Serendipity and Writing East Midlands, seeks to support Black writers of short fiction.

The judging panel included Jacob Ross, Pawlet Brookes, Serendipity and Henderson Mullin, Writing East Midlands.

We are delighted to announce the two winners of BlackInk New Writing competition 2021.

Winners Ioney Smallhorne – Learning Sleazy Carol Wallace – The Unfinished Business Honourable Mentions Malumi Adeboye – The Four of Them Simba Mandizvidza – The Visit Scherin Barlow Massay – The Neighbour Seeks a Wife

Honourable mentions are available to read on BlackInk and Writing East Midlands websites and you can listen to the winning stories being read by Tyrone Huggins via the QR code.

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LEARNING SLEAZY

BREEZE CARRIES THE PROMISE OF A NEW COLONY, SWARMS OF ANTS, AMBITIOUS AND FERTILE, LEAVE THEIR NESTS.

Eva is eight and feeling like a big girl, on an errand to buy corn-on -the-cob for an impromptu barbecue at Aunties’.

Her mum stood in the door watching her wash-belly cross the street, hand wafting the frenzied flying ants from her face. A crow spots an injured ant grounded and astray, swoops down, pecks it out from the curb.

Walking past Claude’s greasy-spoon-café pumping out clouds of fried bacon and hash browns, Eva begins reciting the Green Cross Code as her feet meet the dead-end street; the width underwhelming, nine steps and a leap and she reaches the other side. Some ants take their nuptial flight conjoin, breed mid-air.

The Caribbean mini mart preserves the Islands in brine and hot tomato sauce. Stacked food towering narrow aisles. Customers would often collide, pass back-to-back, shuffling sideways. “You looking for me sweet girl?” calls the shopkeeper. Drones of males, sexually mature and persistent, search for a virgin queen. Posters advertising big-people-dances in the window block the sun’s view. His eyes crawl over her bare legs, scraped and bruised with mishaps and ramping. Eva wants to flick the flying ant from her thigh with his hungry eyes, damp and shiny forehead damp. “Mummy sent me for eight corn-on-the-cob.” She tugged at her shorts, wished they were jeans, the circling in her ankle involuntary.

“You growing nice though-healthy.” The shopkeeper’s jaws goat-chew gum, saliva clapping and sticking. He manoeuvres out of sight, around boxes of ripe plantains blackening with sugar, plump mangoes, their honeyed flesh 132

New Writing Learning Sleazy — Ioney Smallhorne

His eyes crawl over her bare legs, scraped and bruised with mishaps and ramping.

Eva wants to flick the flying ant from her thigh with his hungry eyes, damp and shiny forehead damp.

intoxicating fruit flies. The low buzz of fridges keeping Super Malt and ginger beer chilled. Hairs on Eva’s limbs stand, sensing something she didn’t have the vocabulary to explain.

“Firm and sweet- yuh see?” The shopkeeper’s outie-belly button protruding, his shirt now in line with her forehead, his hand squeezing an ear of corn, thumb slug-like, stroking the husks, the nail thick and long almost yellow like the exposed kernels. *** Later that evening, Eva feels sick watching the corn roast on the barbecue, butter dripping onto hot coal, reigniting a flame. Family members biting into them, wiping the juice from their mouths.

Impregnated queens chew off their own wings find an underground nest, never to fly again.

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UNFINISHED BUSINESS

ACCORDING TO MY EARTHLY DEATH CERTIFICATE, I DIED FROM CANCER-RELATED COMPLICATIONS IN MY SLEEP, BUT MY TRANSITION RECORD WAS BLOCKED BECAUSE I WAS MURDERED. ALTHOUGH I WAS SHOCKED AT THE CAUSE OF DEATH, THE NICE MAN IN TRANSITION CALLED SHINIGAMI FURROWED HIS BROW THEN ASKED:

“Augustus, you didn’t know Lucile was an Obeah woman?”

I waffled about grafting for the four-bedroom house, the trappings of success, my unshakeable faith in marriage and disinterest in Lucille’s hobbies. Shinigami dismissed my excuses and revealed instances where dead relatives whispered warnings in my dreams, yet I chose to march down the aisle with the She-man who ruled with an iron fist and banished me from the marital bed. Shinigami added: “There was overwhelming evidence Augustus, to summon your ancestors to arrest her unfeeling heart.”

Disappointed, I told Shinigami the digestible earthly story, how the young Doctor called me Augustus and not Mr Tranter, linked me with cancer, then rushed me through the palliative treatments available to gift me extra life. I didn’t want months, but the Doctor was armed; no, the results are correct, no, they didn’t make an error in the laboratory, yes, he was a qualified doctor and yes, he was up to date on every ground-breaking treatment. If I had known the awful outcome for an innocent lump on my belly, I would have stayed at home and left the two thousand pounds in the bank. The doctor understood my anger then tried to hold my hand to feign compassion then pointed me towards the cashier office to settle my bill.

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By the time I decipher the unwanted news, I was back in South London and there was much to consider. How was I going to break the news to Lucille? Where was my son Francis now? I willed my anxiety-laden feet through the garden gate, overwhelmed, I rested on the gatepost and vomited the sympathetic hospital tea and biscuit. The purging did not abate the emotional distress, so I cried shamelessly and prayed for strength. There was no nice way to deliver bad news, so I poured out the doctors’ words but Lucille wasn’t moved; I cried for days while she wandered around ignorant to the sadness gripping our household.

I told my friend Kenroy at the social club about Lucille’s response, and he wasn’t surprised.

Apparently, Lucille paid him to fix the garden lights which strangely connected to the shed behind the conifers.

He assumed he had authority to check the shed, lift the tarpaulin and look in the fridge-freezer filled with adult shoes stuffed with bush. Kenroy believed Lucille works Obeah and the frozen shoes belong to women and men who upset her constitution. I sadly ended the friendship with Kenroy, calling him Godless for insinuating Lucille’s bush-tea was specially brewed to take my life, money and house. Frantic, for sensible camaraderie, I shared Lucille’s Obeah allegation with my best-friend Lyndall who calmly confirmed the Wickeders hated Lucille’s prosperity and I should ignore malicious gossip. However, when I asked if Obeah can be reversed, he panicked; he didn’t want to hear anything about spell- reversals, in case it deflected to him.

New Writing Unfinished Business — Carol Wallace

Soon after, I caught Lucille offering my soul threads to her ancestors; on another occasion she chanted incantations over my body, not in English or Jamaican patois.

Although I declined the bush-tea, within two weeks, I moved from being able-bodied to disabled, from independence to dependence. Lucille played the dutiful and caring wife very well, bawling when her- people visited to confirm the no cure diagnosis, observe my degeneration and pray for her strength. I didn’t worry, Lucille got upset at my-people trailing through the house praying for a miraculous recovery and Francis’ return.

Lyndall became quite attached to Lucille, taking her shopping and keeping her smiling through my diabolical days. I admired his strong sense of loyalty to the Tranter Family until he showed discontent at my dying wish to find my son Francis. He reiterated that Lucille didn’t want Francis to return uncured but, once quietened, he agreed to search for him but warned me not to test our long-standing friendship.

Soon after, I caught Lucille offering my soul threads to her ancestors; on another occasion she chanted incantations over my body, not in English or Jamaican patois. When I asked what she was doing, she was apparently giving extra protection and when I asked why she didn’t offer the extra protection when the lump first appeared, she became mute and denied being an Obeah woman. Protection versus Obeah? I didn’t know what to believe; with such suspicions I drifted from wakefulness to unsolicited sleep when she left the house. I shared my melancholy with Lyndall and he tried to pacify me with “Lucille is a formidable woman, doing her best in a bad circumstance.”

Shinigami shook his head and I cried when I told him there was nothing to cure my son. How I realised the most important things in earthly life are sharing love, respect, health, strength and being a benevolent human. Shinigami agreed with my reflection but advised the cure for my son lay within me.

Or: “I will take her for a spin to release her pent-up tension.”

Or, the latest: “If you want to help Lucille, stop moaning.”

I told him that twenty-five years ago, Francis announced “Dad, I am a can’t change-and-won’t change gay man.”

I was shocked, demanded reimbursement for the sacrifices and liberties endured to pay for his prestigious education and upbringing. He called my views ancient and described my disappointment at no big job, wedding, or grandchildren self-serving pessimism. In response, I called my flesh and blood an abomination, before pushing him through the front door. At the time, Lyndall and Lucille told me it was a wise decision to leave him in the wilderness until cured. I was ready to beg Francis forgiveness, but Lyndall returned to my dying bed to report he couldn’t be found. Lucille had banned any further searches for the lost son, there was nothing else left to regret, beat, or battle, so I willed death.

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I thought the morphine-induced out of body hallucination would stop by the time Francis arrived, but I stood next to my crumbled body watching Francis cry uncontrollably and beg for my return. He tried to resuscitate my body, I cheered him on, he crushed my rib cage in the effort while the witch Lucille and treacherous Lyndall miraculously found my living will.

However, death wouldn’t visit my bed and my tormentors Lucille and Lyndall constantly demanded I signed papers in return for care. I refused, charged my mobile phone and mustered the strength to ask my doctor to arrange a visiting nurse and I got Jenny. Nurse Jenny made me comfortable when I became helpless, emaciated and drained; she didn’t mind washing, feeding or speaking to me for free.

I knew it was unprofessional, but I asked Jenny to help find my son and within one day, Jenny located him on a career promotion website. Francis is a big director in a big company in the city and Jenny rang him.

I thought the morphine-induced out of body hallucination would stop by the time Francis arrived, but I stood next to my crumbled body watching Francis cry uncontrollably and beg for my return. He tried to resuscitate my body, I cheered him on, he crushed my rib cage in the effort while the witch Lucille and treacherous Lyndall miraculously found my living will. Apparently, I chose to pass away naturally; I wasn’t stupid, my true will was lodged at Walker Solicitors and Jenny had the contact number ready for Francis when I pass.

Shinigami shook his head and exclaimed: “Your wife will join you in two years Augustus and you can seek answers at her transition trial.”

His information was not useful; dead people can hold malice and hatred in abundance, but I can’t wait two years for justice. He understood my dissatisfaction and without saying a word, he opened the unfinished business door and let me through. I thought it got easier for those left behind, in reality, I am constantly lifting my son’s broken heart. The argument about never returning home was gone and he missed me, but Lyndall and Lucille are selling lies about my homophobia influencing his disinheritance. He cried from sunrise to sunset in his preserved bedroom, only stopping to sleep for a few hours then wake to resume the sorrow. It is hard for a father to see such distress knowing I cannot hug, wipe away tears and confirm that everything said by his mother is a lie.

Shinigami was right about the Obeah interference. Lucille never drew the curtains in the house to respectfully mark my passing, refused to wear black or mourn because she is too busy extracting my essence with sage, crossed brooms and tape measures. She isn’t that smart; I gained entry through my-people attending the nine-nights of celebration to guide my journey to the promised land. Inside the house, I was horrified to see Lucille has found black clothes and tears, ever-loyal Lyndall is kissing one hand while his other is firmly placed on her twerking bum. I shot Lyndall a hallelujah slap across the face, he fell to the ground and everyone heard him say: “Lucille, keep him tied-down this time and unable to create any further mischief.”

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New Writing Unfinished Business — Carol Wallace

Shinigami felt my peace and without saying a word he stamped my transition papers from purgatory to the new world. I am a very happy spirit, floating to earth with my ancestors to see my self-serving pessimism being rescinded.

Despite the growing disquiet amongst my-people, Lucille had the front to try and fix me. Every time I slipped into Francis’ dream, knelt at his feet to offer the sun, the moon and stars, she blocked me from uttering a comforting word and the house.

I discover her power is weak when God-fearing people enter the home so I can stand by my son reiterating Lucille’s lying version of my sudden death and observe his growing concerns about the brevity of my illness. I felt snippets of Francis’ happiness; the forgotten good, bad and indifferent memories retold to him in humour over games of dominoes.

However, this gift is a double-edged sword; as the mourners leave the dead house and he is alone with Lucille, I feel his renewed pain and loss. I would gladly sell Lucille’s soul to take away her pious words about my low value and inability to love. Shinigami said my soul will be damned if I sell the soul of a soul-eater who will be standing trial for her heinous crimes against humanity. Faced with no choice, I guard Francis each night but lately I stand over him because I cannot let him go.

The night before my funeral, Lucille was off Obeah-watch entertaining Lyndall with my vintage brandy saved for Francis’ wedding day. I slipped into Francis’ bedroom and entered his dream to whisper a request for the removal of any items placed in the coffin by his mother or Lyndall. By the time I finished, Lucille burst into the room to force me out of the house, I left but prayed Francis heard my words.

At my funeral, Lucille put on an impressive wife in mourning performance with Lyndall holding her hand throughout the service while my son comforted himself. After the final hymn, Pastor Brown asked the congregation to file out so the family could have a last moment with my body. As predicted Lucille put something into my coffin, Francis, overcome with grief, couldn’t look at my dead-face but Lucille’s sister Evelyn saw the crime. She pulled out the white muslin cloth tied with black thread and threw it in the font without making a fuss. The undertakers closed my coffin and I am allowed to wander freely because Lucille’s bag-of-tricks could not tie me to the graveyard.

Shinigami felt my peace and without saying a word he stamped my transition papers from purgatory to the new world. I am a very happy spirit, floating to earth with my ancestors to see my self-serving pessimism being rescinded. We watched my son move into our family home with his partner Peter, I stood by his side when he married the man and shouldered the tears endured to adopt my granddaughter Angel and my grandson Augustus.

Lyndall left Lucille once he found out there was no money or house to rob, and I burned down the garden shed to free good people from her bondage. Lucille lives in a nursing home muttering nonsense incantation and begging the perfectly normal Obeah-free wicker doll, I left as her legacy, forgiveness.

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2021 IN NUMBER £74 2.5% billion Contributed by Black and global majority led businesses contributed to the UK economy.1

3 69 6

Innocent men have their convictions overturned after nearly 50 years.2

Tributes to slave traders and colonialists removed across UK.3

Statues of Black women listed in the Public Statues and Sculpture Association database.4

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Authors and illustrators published in UK in Spring 2021 were Black British.5

6

Medals won by Black British Athletes at Tokyo 2020.6

47

Black Olympians represent Team GB at Tokyo 2020.7

7

Black Paralympians represent Team GB at Tokyo 2020.7

155

Black academic staff working at a Professorial level.8

2021 In Numbers

N RS

5.

Marks, H., (2021) Publisher catalogues show representation on the rise but patchy. The Bookseller. [Online] Available at: https:// www.thebookseller.com/news/publisher-catalogues-showrepresentation-rise-patchy-1252595 [Accessed 10 August 2021].

6.

This figure estimated greatly exceeds previous estimates which largely excluded business owners of Black Caribbean origin (Minority Supplier Development UK, 2021).

Locker, M. (2021) These Athletes Made History at the Tokyo Olympics. Time. [Online] Available at: https://time.com/6087917/ olympics-firsts-history-tokyo/ [Accessed 10 August 2021]

Legrain, P., and Fitzgerald, M. (2021) Minority Businesses Matter: The Contribution and Challenges of Ethnic Minority Businesses in the UK. An OPEN report for MSDUK. Available at: https://diversityuk. org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Minority-Businesses-MatterFINAL.pdf [Accessed 10 August 2021].

2.

Courtney Harriot, Paul Green and Cleveland Davidson alongside three friends became who known as the “Stockwell Six” were put on trial at the Old Bailey on the word of transport police in 1972 and had their convictions overturned in 2021.

Sky Sport. (2021) Tokyo Olympics: Team GB’s Medal Winners [Online] Available at: https://www.skysports.com/olympics/ news/15234/12365248/tokyo-olympics-team-gbs-medal-winners [Accessed 10 August 2021].

7.

Sky News (2021) Stockwell Six: Convictions of three men from 1970s overturned by Court of Appeal. [Online]. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/stockwell-six-convictions-of-threeblack-men-from-1970s-overturned-by-court-of-appeal-12349812 {Accessed 10 August 2021].

3.

4.

Out of 376 athletes representing team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 27 Black women and 20 Black men including Athletics, Boxing, Cycling (BMX), Football, Gymnastics, Judo, Rugby Sevens, Swimming, Taekwondo and Weightlifting. Of 51 athletes representing team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, there are four Black women and three Black men.

Alice Dearing made history as the first Black female swimmer to represent Great Britain at an Olympic games in Tokyo 2020’s marathon swimming event. Emily Campbell became the first British woman to win a weightlifting medal.

Mohdin, A., and Storer R. (2021) Tributes to slave traders and colonialists removed across UK. The Guardian [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/29/tributes-toslave-traders-and-colonialists-removed-across-uk [Accessed 10 August 2021].

The statues of know people include Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE at Caernarfon Castle, Dr Erinma Bell MBE in Manchester Town Hall (temporarily in Manchester Central Library), Floella Benjamin at Exeter University, Devon, Jackie Kay at Lochside Walkway, Edinburgh Park, Mary Seacole at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, Harriet Tubman at Huddersfield Library. This follows the Public Statues and Sculpture Association’s database established for International Women’s Day 2021. This follows 2020’s estimate of two know individuals and excludes sculptures of Black men and non-binary people as databases are incomplete.

Including Silver medallists Kye Whyte (men’s BMX racing), Emily Campbell (women’s weightlifting +87kg), Benjamin Whittaker (boxing, men’s light heavy), men’s 4x100m relay (including CJ Ujah, Zharnel Hughes and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake) and Bronze medallists Frazer Clarke (boxing, men’s super-heavyweight) and women’s 4x100m relay (including Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita, Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot).

Other record making international highlights include the first ever gold medal for Bermuda won by Flora Duffy in the women’s triathlon. Tamyra Mensah-Stock becoming the first Black American woman to win the 68-kg freestyle wrestling. Allyson Felix becoming the most decorated Olympic female track and field athlete of all time. Lamont Marcell Jacobs beating odds of 30-1 to win the 100m gold for Italy.

Footnotes 1.

The Bookseller’s analyse of 33 catalogues from the UK’s ‘Big Five’ publishers and selected independent press found that our of 4,017 authors and illustrators, 2.5% were Black British. When compared against data for British writers only, the figure rose slightly to 3%. Over 200 books were published by British based writers and illustrators from Black and global majority backgrounds, and over 400 international writers from Black and global majority backgrounds in Spring 2021.

Team GB (2021) Our Athletes [Online] Available at: https://www. teamgb.com/athletes/our-athletes/5FH4icjG796D2GnbMHFhIL [Accessed 10 August 2021].

Paralympics GB (2021) Sports [Online] Available at: https:// paralympics.org.uk/sports [Accessed 10 August 2021].

8.

155 out of more than 23,000 or 1% of university professors in the UK are Black, according to official figures. This is a slight increase from 2020 where the figure was 140.

Coughlan, S. (2021) Only 1% of UK university professors are Black.

BBC News [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ education-55723120 [Accessed 10 August 2021].

UK Public Statues of Women [Online] Available at: https://pssauk. org/women/ [Accessed 10 August 2021].

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COMING SOON Books Digital Black Feminism: Critical Cultural Communication Catherine Knight Steele Release Date: 26 October 2021 Publisher: New York University Press Black women are at the forefront of some of this century’s most important discussions about technology: trolling, online harassment, algorithmic bias, and influencer culture. Catherine Knight Steele points to the history of Black feminist technoculture and its ability to decentre white supremacy and patriarchy in a conversation about the future of technology.

This is the Canon: Decolonise Your Bookshelves in 50 Books Joan Anim-Addo, Deirdre Osborne, Kadija Sesay George Release date: 28 October 2021 Publisher: Quercus Publishing A decolonised reading list that celebrates the wide and diverse experiences of people from around the world, of all backgrounds and all races. It disrupts the all-too-often white-dominated “required reading” collections that have become the accepted norm and highlights powerful voices and cultural perspectives that demand a place on our shelves.

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The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story offers Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Release Date: 18 November 2021 Imprint: Kokila Publisher: Penguin Random House In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years.

This is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: it is the source of so much that still defines the United States.

The Teller of Secrets Bisi Adjapon Release Date: 9 December 2021 Imprint: HarperVia | Publisher: HarperCollins In this stunning debut novel - a tale of selfdiscovery and feminist awakening - a feisty Nigerian-Ghanaian girl growing up amid the political upheaval of late 1960s postcolonial Ghana begins to question the hypocrisy of her patriarchal society, and the restrictions and unrealistic expectations placed on women.

Coming Soon

Zora Neale Hurston Essays Zora Neale Hurston and Henry Louis Gates, Genevieve West Release Date: 4 January 2022 Imprint: Amistad Publisher: HarperCollins Spanning more than 35 years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and author.

The Love Songs of W E B Du Bois Honoree Fanonne Jeffers Release date: January 2022 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers The journey of multiple generations of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era, by prize-winning poet Honoree Fanonne Jeffers.

The great scholar, W E B Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive.

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: Afrobeat, Rebellion, and Philosophy Dr Adeshina Afolayan, Dr Toyin Falola Release date: February 2022 Publisher: Bloomsbury Fela Anikulapo Kuti was the Afrobeat music maestro whose life and time provide the lens through which we can outline the postcolonial trajectory of the Nigerian state, and most other African states. Through his music, Fela did not only challenge consecutive governments in Nigeria, but his rebellious lyrics facilitate a philosophical subtext that enriches intellectual Afrocentric discourses.

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd (editor) Release Date: 12 April 2022 Publisher: Orion Publishing Co From National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and edited by critic and writer Valerie Boyd, comes an unprecedented compilation of Walker’s fifty years of journals drawing an intimate portrait of her development over five decades as an artist, human rights, women’s activist, and intellectual.

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: Afrobeat, Rebellion, and Philosophy - Dr Adeshina Afolayan, Dr Toyin Falola

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replace with: Kofi Ansah ‘Indigo’ Couture 1997 - Narh & Linda - Photo © 1997 Eric Don-Arthur. Courtesy of V&A Museum

Coming Soon

Africa Fashion 11 June 2022 – 16 April 2023 V&A

Exhibitions Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 50s – Now 1 December 2021 – 3 April 2022 Tate Britain This exhibition will explore work by artists from the Caribbean who made their home in Britain, alongside other British artists who have also made work addressing Caribbean themes and heritage.

It celebrates how people from the Caribbean have forged new communities and identities in post-war Britain – and in doing so have transformed British culture and society.

The exhibition features over 40 artists, including Aubrey Williams, Donald Locke, Horace Ové, Sonia Boyce, Claudette Johnson, Peter Doig, Hurvin Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner and Alberta Whittle.

Africa Fashion will celebrate the irresistible creativity, ingenuity and unstoppable global impact of contemporary African fashion creatives. Over 250 objects spanning iconic mid-twentieth century designers to the present day, complemented by photographs and textiles from the V&A’s collections, will explore the vitality and innovation of a fashion scene as dynamic and varied as the continent itself.

The V&A will explore how music and the visual arts also formed a key part of Africa’s cultural renaissance, laying the foundation for today’s fashion revolution. Following a major public call-out, new acquisitions highlighting African diasporic fashion trends of the day, paired with personal testimonies, will go on show for the first time. Alongside, Africa Fashion will highlight the new generation of groundbreaking designers, collectives, stylists and fashion photographers working across the continent today, transforming global fashions as we know them.

African Cosmologies Photography, Time and the Other 24 September - 6 November 2022 FotoFest International Biennial, Houston Autograph’s Director Mark Sealy is curating African Cosmologies, one of the largest exhibitions of African photography featuring over 30 artists from across Africa and the Diaspora.

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CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS 2022

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Date

Event

Location

26 December – 4 January

Afrochella

Accra, Ghana

18 January

Martin Luther King Jr Day

USA

24 January

World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture

Worldwide

February

Black History Month

USA

15 February

Carnival

Trinidad

1 February

Abolition of Slavery Day

Mauritius

3 February

Heroes Day

Mozambique

25 February – 1 March

Carnival

Trinidad, Brazil

8 March

International Women’s Day

Worldwide

11 March

Moshoeshoe Day

Lesotho

21 March

Human Rights Day

South Africa

29 March Boganda Day

Central African Republic

7 April

Karume Day

Tanzania

22 April

Stephen Lawrence Day

UK

29 April

International Dance Day

Worldwide

29 April – 8 May

Let’s Dance International Frontiers

Leicester, UK

30 April

International Jazz Day

Worldwide

17 – 25 May

Dak’Art Biennale

Dakar, Senegal

5 May

African World Heritage Day

Across Africa

21 May

Afro-Colombian Day (Día de la Afrocolombianidad)

Colombia

21 May

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Worldwide

Calendar Highlights 2022

Date

Event

Location

1 June

Madaraka Day

Kenya

11 June

AfroFest 2022: Afrobeats Festival

Bristol, UK

19 June

Juneteenth

USA

19 – 20 June

Radiate Windrush Festival

London, UK

June/July Black Europe Summer School

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

22 June

Windrush Day

UK

July

Blak History Month

Australia

5 July

Unity Day

Zambia

1 – 3 July

Essence Festival

New Orleans, USA

6 - 9 July

Afroeuropeans Conference 2021

Brussels, Belgium

18 July

Nelson Mandela International Day

Worldwide

1 August Emancipation Day

Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kits and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands

2 August

Culturama Day

Saint Kitts and Nevis

9 August

International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

Worldwide

23 August

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

Worldwide

28 – 29 August

Notting Hill Carnival

London, UK

October

Black History Month

UK

20 November

Black Consciousness Day (Dia da Consciência Negra)

Brazil

26 December – 1 January

Kwanzaa

USA 145

BLAXPLOITATION: FILMS THAT DEFINED AN ERA

SPOTLIGHT USES THE PRINCIPLE OF SANKOFA, WE TAKE A STEP BACK IN ORDER TO GO FORWARD. THIS YEAR WE ARE STEPPING BACK TO THE 1970S TO PAY HOMAGE TO BLAXPLOITATION AND THE GIFT IT GAVE TO THE CINEMATIC WORLD. The political landscape of America in 1971 saw widespread protests against the Vietnam war, Jesse Jackson establish the organisation, People to Save Humanity (PUSH), and Marvin Gaye’s release What’s Going On in response to police brutality. 1971 also saw the release of Sweet Sweetback’s Baasasssss Song and Shaft, two films that heralded a genre that came to be known as Blaxploitation, and for a time at least, Black protagonists took centre screen.

With no fewer than 200 films being made throughout the decade that followed. This fiftieth anniversary is an opportunity to take a renewed look on both the political and social backdrop to the genre and just how important Blaxploitation films have been to cinematic history.

“Blaxploitation” as a concept was itself devised by one of the genre’s biggest critics, Junius Griffin, the then president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter in Hollywood and a former film publicist. Many in the NAACP and PUSH were concerned that so called Blaxploitation films perpetuated negative stereotypes of Black people as gangsters, pushers and pimps, fuelled by drugs, sex and violence. Moreover, the films exploited Black communities as white producers and distributors made huge profits on what were essentially the low-budget B-movies. Support and criticism of Blaxploitation films are perhaps, in reality, two sides of the same coin. Where mainstream representation was limited, Blaxploitation films were a showcase of Black beauty, fashion, music and cultural politics. The genre dealt with social and political issues, transgressive acts and defiance against “the man”.

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Both Black consciousness and the Black Power movement are a key undercurrent to the Blaxploitation genre. The Black Panthers are referred to directly or indirectly in almost every film, notable being called on for support in both Shaft (1971) and Foxy Brown (1974). The Black Panthers themselves praised many of the films for their depiction of Black American’s struggles and resistance, going so far as to make Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) required watching for party members after its release.

It is important to recognise that prior to 1968 Blaxploitation films simply would not have been possible. In the same year that Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, the Motion Picture Production Code (also known as the Hays Code) was abandoned by Hollywood. The code required censorship of everything from sex, profanity, drugs and the excessive use of firearms, through to storylines that sympathised with criminalised characters, queer and mixed romantic relationships. Blaxploitation films have it all.

Black protagonists were no longer depicted as accepting of their fate, they were heroes. Most notably in Pam Grier’s portrayal of Foxy Brown (1974) as she seeks vengeance on the white leaders of a brothel and drug syndicate who murdered her boyfriend. Pam Grier went onto define the image of Black women in the genre; confident in their beauty, their bodies and their sexuality whilst fighting for their families and communities. Tamara Dobson’s comparatively more modest Cleopatra Jones (1973) is still assertive and autonomous, defining “Black is Beautiful”. John Shaft (Richard Roundtree in Shaft, 1971) works within and around the confines of the system and Black Caesar (1973) charts the rise and fall of Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson) in the duplicitous circles of police corruption and criminal gangs.

Spotlight Blaxploitation: Films that Defined an Era

(Although it is necessary, to note that many representations of Black men were as hypermasculine misogynists.)

Drug use in Blaxploitation films also fall on two sides, from the glorification of drug dealers in Super Fly (1972), which has been the subject of much criticism, through to Cleopatra Jones (1973) which highlights how Black communities were simultaneously being disproportionately affected by, criminalised for, and fighting against drug use.

As art mirrors life, Richard Nixon’s 1971 “War on Drugs” specifically sought to target and disrupt Black communities (and Vietnam war protesters). Whilst evidence suggest that federal agencies played a part in flooding Black communities with drugs. The legacy of which is still evident within the criminal justice system today.

From action films to horror, the gaze of Blaxploitation films is defined by the work of seminal Black directors (although the era had its share of white directors). These include Melvin Van Peebles, who privately funded the controversial Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) in order to have complete creative control. William Crain, behind the cult classic Blacula (1972), who was one of the first Black filmmakers to attend a major film school (University of California, Los Angeles) and achieve commercial success.

The director of Shaft (1971), Gordon Parks, is known for his photojournalism of the civil rights movement and the lives of struggling Black Americans, alongside fashion photography in Vogue and Essence magazine, which he co-founded. His son, Gordon Parks Jr followed in his father’s footsteps to direct Super Fly (1972) and Three the Hard Way (1974).

Blaxploitation films offered for Black actors, which were few are far between in mainstream Hollywood and made them stars. Tamara Dobson, Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Thalmus Rasulala, Marlene Clark, Jim Brown (an ex-professional football player), Gloria Hendry, Fred Williamson, Vonetta McGee, Ron O’Neal and Richard Roundtree all cut their teeth and made their names in Blaxploitation films. Dressed iconic fashions of sharp suits, big collars, pimp coats, capes, evening dresses and afros they became the faces of this new sub-genre of exploitation films.

Blaxploitation films were the first to be set to soundtracks of funk and soul occasionally more popular than the films themselves. Notable scores include those by Isaac Hayes (Shaft, 1971), Willie Hutch (The Mack, 1973, Foxy Brown, 1974), Marvin Gaye (Trouble Man, 1971), Curtis Mayfield (Super Fly, 1972), Rudy Rae Moore (Dolemite, 1975), Earth, Wind and Fire (Sweet Sweetback’s Baasasssss Song, 1971), James Brown (Black Caesar, 1973) and Bobby Womack (Across 110th Street, 1972). The soundtracks contributed to the genre’s success with an instantly recognisable sound that defined an era.

Love them or hate them, it is difficult to deny the enormous influence of Blaxploitation films, evident in the huge number of spoofs, parodies, spin-offs, remakes and contemporary blockbusters. At their height, Blaxploitation films offered a new lens on what Black-led cinema could present in the mainstream. One that was as unapologetic, powerful and iconic as it was nuanced, complicated and contentious. In the wake of the cinematic period, examined with an informed eye, one can recognise that discussions that started as at the dawn of Blaxploitation still prevail. As Junius Griffin writes in the New York Times (December, 1972).

“Now that the movie industry has discovered the black market, we have the obligation to insist that the door be opened all the way. We must work in the creative and production part of the industry, as well as participate in the distribution of films. Our contribution must be more than consumption at the box offices to see a few black actors. Our rewards in return should be strong images of a proud people and increased purchasing power from our investments, our creative energies and our employment.”

The need to build an industry that has Black representation both on screen and off screen is as important now as ever.

References BaadAsssss Cinema (2002) Directed by Isaac Julien.

Boyd, T. (2018) The return of Blaxploitation: why the time is right to bring back Shaft and Foxy Brown.

The Guardian [Online] Available at: https://www. theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/11/blaxploitationshaft-foxy-brown-film [Accessed 14 August 2021] Griffin, J. (1972) Black Movie Boom – Good or Bad? The New York Times [Newspaper] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/17/archives/ article-1-no-title-black-movie-boom-good-or-bad. html [Accessed 14 August 2021] Michna, M. E. (2020) Blaxploitation: Black Power on the Big Screen. [Online] Available at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/ stories/511fb739f8d149289675b7d853bb6a2c [Accessed 14 August 2021] Schager, N. (2021) Netflix Doc: CIA Flooded Black Communities with Crack. Daily Beast [Online].

Available at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflixdoc-alleges-cia-flooded-black-communities-withcrack [Accessed 14 August 2021] Wikipedia. Blaxploitation. [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaxploitation [Accessed 14 August 2021]

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Somebody must have the ingenuity, to programme, to commission, to find ways of speaking to these potential audiences.

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The Interview Philip Herbert — Interview By Pawlet Brookes

The Interview

PHILIP HERBERT – CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR ENCOUNTERS WITH CLASSICAL MUSIC AND WHAT YOUR JOURNEY HAS BEEN?

It was something that wasn’t really planned. It started with hearing music in the home, my fathers’ record collection.

It was eclectic. There was Handel, there was spoken word accompanied by orchestral music. There was gospel music and then going to concerts to hear Handel’s Messiah.

Hearing my late mother singing in a choir and just getting used to what a choir sounded like when I was about five years old. At school, it was hearing live music being played by a teacher and coming home and pretending to play the baby buggy like a piano. And then father, saying, “well, I’ll buy your toy piano over Christmas”. And then after I demolished that, a real piano was found and alongside it, a piano teacher. Father taught me to read music, he didn’t really read music, but he taught me the process, through one of those, “Teach Yourself to Read Music” books. My mother supervised how to practice. I remember being taken to lunchtime concerts at Leeds Art Gallery, and it was a challenging experience to sit and listen and be quiet when you’re about eight or nine years old.

There wasn’t a plan, it was just something that happened.

Philip Herbert, photo by Leicester Mercury, 2015

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It is about people appreciating that you are there, and that you are serious about pursuing classical music.

At the time, whenever you asked about Black composers - named composers, as a part of the classical canon; there was never much of a response.

– THAT’S A GREAT EXPOSURE AT AN EARLY AGE, AND A VIEW THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T QUITE COMPREHEND WHEN YOU’RE COMING FROM THE BLACK COMMUNITY. WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE YOU HAD WHILST TRAINING? It is about people appreciating that you are there, and that you are serious about pursuing classical music. At the time, whenever you asked about Black composers - named composers, as a part of the classical canon; there was never much of a response. Nobody spoke about the fact that there were people like yourself involved in classical music at that point in time in the twentieth century, as well as people earlier on in history.

– WHY IS VISIBILITY IMPORTANT IN CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR BLACK PEOPLE? It is a question of being prepared to search for it. That is how I found it. But again, it was by accident, because I remember going to an Arts Council England meeting and making a connection with someone from America. They talked about an award-winning radio programme that featured Black classical composers and gave me the name of a document; it was like an anthology, a compilation of composers that were active instrumentalists, performers, singers, in opera, right across the board. All of this seem to be taking place in America. From there on, I just looked through this anthology and asked about scores that might be available at the Centre for Black Music Research in Chicago. I managed to get hold of some scores and I was really blown away by the quality of what I found. It was a real inspiration, in that you felt part of this whole tradition.

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– WHERE ARE THE BLACK BRITISH COMPOSERS? HOW HAVE BLACK BRITISH COMPOSERS CONTRIBUTED TO THE CLASSICAL LANDSCAPE? There are Black British composers and some of them have made their mark. There’s Errollyn Wallen, Eleanor Alberga, Shirley Thompson. It is a period where right now people are recognising that this is something that we have overlooked.

We should be including these composers in the canon and in the activity of classical music today. It has taken some time to recognise that there are people who have been active, and they have something to say, up to now, there hasn’t been any drive to include Black composers. When you’re talking about inclusion, if you’re going to be part of classical music, you are expected to be saying something in similar ways to Western European perspectives.

– HOW DO WE INTRODUCE BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC AND INSPIRE YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE? It is about people accepting that you have something to say, it is also about a recognition that there is value. Some of that has to do with what is on the school /university curriculum.

At a national level, there are questions to be asked, such as: who gets to decide what’s in that curriculum? How that curriculum is disseminated in a educational environment in order to inspire another generation?

The Interview Philip Herbert — Interview By Pawlet Brookes

– ELEGY FOR STEPHEN LAWRENCE, A PIECE THAT REFLECTS A TIME WHERE RACIAL INJUSTICE WAS SO PREVALENT AS A BACKDROP WITHIN OUR CULTURE. WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO COMPOSE THIS PIECE? – RECENTLY COURTNEY PINE WAS THE ONLY BLACK MUSICIAN ON THE A-LEVEL CURRICULUM IN THE UK AND THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT TO REMOVE HIM. THIS MAKES YOUR QUESTION OF WHAT IS IN THE CURRICULUM, VITAL TO ADDRESS. We have got to look at the access that people have to music.

I grew up in an era where peripatetic music was free. When you had a chance to learn quite a lot of instruments. You also had peripatetic music services coming into schools, you had musicians standing in front of whole gatherings in the hall. An assembly where they would illustrate on various instruments, what could be played. They probably arranged popular music of the time to try and interest and engage pupils with the idea of playing a musical instrument. So being able to see it close up, and even try it close up, was free of charge. Now we have moved to this era where decisions are being made about cutting funding that underpins the performing arts in the school setting.

Then you have got a further problem, where the funding that underpins creative arts subjects in Higher Education is being cut. If you are cutting a whole system, you are making it difficult for people to access the subject music.

Pre-pandemic, it was becoming more and more difficult to access music education. How do people access it when times are difficult as they are now, with a pandemic? If people in a family are having to decide whether to pay for sports kit or a school uniform, how do you invest in an instrument, music lessons, and then buy the scores? There are a lot of things that you have to invest in. If you are playing an oboe, you have got to invest in the reeds because they break. If you are playing a stringed instrument, you have got to invest in buying the strings, the resin, you have to keep the instrument in good condition. You have to invest in time to practice.

Then you have got to have the motivation. You have to feel that you are included. After you have done all your practice when you go to a rehearsal. If you are not included in that rehearsal process, if you are not valued within an ensemble; it could be a school ensemble, an amateur ensemble, a music hub ensemble. If you do not feel that that is the right place, because you do not feel welcome, then how do you survive?

There was not a specific strategy at that point in time. At that particular point, in 1999, seeing six youths coming out of that judicial process, they were not answering any questions. The whole notion of somebody’s life being taken.

The justice system seemed to be asleep. It was just a gut reaction. I just thought of several things. One of these things has to do with questions that you ask at this point in time. Why has it happened? What can we learn from what’s happened? What happens if we forget what has happened and how we got here? In writing that piece of music, it was about remembering. It is six minutes long, time to sit, listen, reflect, and ask those questions. Ultimately, it is about what we can do in the future to make things better, because things have happened. We cannot change the narrative. But we can do something about the future.

– GIVEN THAT WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE FUTURE THERE ARE SEVERAL PLACES THAT I WANT TO JUMP TO HERE, SO I’LL DO MY BEST. SERENDIPITY ARE QUITE PRIVILEGED THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH YOU IN THE PAST, ON BALLARE TO DANCE AND SILENT ARIA AND CURRENTLY, SIREN CALLS TO AN ILLUSIVE JOURNEY, A NEW PIECE THAT RELATES TO MEMORY UNDER THE CONTEXT OF WINDRUSH. TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS. There is a lot of documentation that is available in terms of film footage and news items. It’s been enlightening to look at some of that footage to see the decisions people had to make, when they first decided to come to Britain, and to witness the experience that they had when they came, and to look at the anticipation, and the expectations that they had, and what happened to those when they came to this country. People came, they had an aspiration to improve life, for themselves, and for the communities in which they would engage. They put down markers and make significant contributions to life in Britain. It is fascinating when you consider what has been contributed, and how it has been valued. You question what has happened to some of our citizens who have emigrated from the Caribbean to Britain?

The acknowledgment that they have been living in a hostile environment.

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Music is about communicating a message in sound. If we have more, composers from diverse backgrounds, audiences who can hear sounds which are familiar to them, even though they are couched in classical form, would be more inclined to come to the concert hall, and sit down and listen.

– WHAT CHANGES ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, AND WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THOSE CHANGES?

– IS THE MUSIC THAT YOU ARE CREATING AND COMPOSING PART OF THOSE ANCHORS THAT WE NEED AS POINTS IN TIME WHEN WE LOOK BACK IN TERMS OF LEGACY? It is a reflection on those experiences. It is a reflection on the call that was made to those groups of people. It is a reflection on the nature of the call, I suppose, and the expectations people had when they were responding to that call. The reality of what was encountered, I guess that’s what I’m trying to capture in music.

– WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? Be tenacious. Try to find strategies that enable you to open the door to the opportunities that you want to find.

– IN THE SPIRIT OF TENACITY, WHAT ARE THE OTHER BLACK COMPOSERS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE PROGRAMMED AND FEATURED MORE? There are too many to document. People like Adolphus Hailstork, George Walker, Tania León and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

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There is a danger that we spend a lot of time navel gazing and talking about change. We know that these changes need to happen. We need to have strategies that deliver programs that helps us to hear some of this music much sooner than we are across mainstream orchestras in the UK. I have contributed to the conversations with significant movers and shakers within the industry. Some of the things that I have to say are not easy. But it is not that what I have got to say is challenging or difficult. It’s just that if change is to happen, it needs to happen now.

One of the things I am seeing is that it’s almost as if we think that we are the only people starting this journey, and we’re not. There are other people who have started on this journey, a long time ago. They have structures across their education systems, right up to the highest levels. When you talk about some of this repertoire, some people already understand that this is part of the canon. They understand that if they have enabled students to become international artists, they have done their job. You can see this in some of the inauguration ceremonies of presidents in the USA, where you see the diversity of performers, delivering high-class, high-quality music performances, for these inaugurations for the world to see. There are things that we can learn from individuals who have devised these programmes, taught these artists who could perhaps come to Britain, as artists in residence, or consultants, who can help to influence change much sooner, because they have done it before.

The Interview Philip Herbert — Interview By Pawlet Brookes

– WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF THE BLACK BRITISH CLASSICAL COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS? It is to be ambassadors. It is to find our voice and to speak.

Musically speaking, it is about finding your voice and expressing that in music so that people understand your perspective. Unless we are prepared to share ideas and converse and have the conversations with the established musical organisations. Then being willing to share and being willing to illustrate a perspective in music. Sometimes people are surprised by the perspectives that can happen in music. For instance, when the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra came to play at the Proms. People were taken back at the spectacular nature of the music that was being performed, written by composers like Arturo Marquez, a Mexican composer. He celebrates Mexican musical culture, in his compositional process, and it is about him having great pride in what that means. Taking pride in the way in which that is expressed in the music. That was translated to the performers in the way in which they delivered it and people, because they had not heard this before, were astonished at how beautiful it was.

– WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE? I am just hoping that things will speed up the process of change. So that we can have an environment where we are not having these conversations. We are too busy getting ready to go to these venues and concerts to hear these new sounds. When you look around the console, you can see new audiences. People that you wouldn’t have thought would have dreamed of going to hear a concert, present in the concert hall, enjoying themselves. When you look on stage, you can see the performers who look like the people that they are performing for.

– FINALLY, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ARTISTIC JOURNEY IN THREE WORDS? Eclectic, persistence and integrity.

– SHOULD WE BE COMMISSIONING A GREATER POOL OF DIVERSE COMPOSERS? DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD HELP TO RESHAPE THE LANDSCAPE? BECAUSE IF WE’RE NOT COMMISSIONING, OR CREATING NEW WORK FOR THESE NEW VOICES, THEN WE’RE LEFT WITH WHAT WE’VE ALWAYS HAD. Music is about communicating a message in sound. If we have more, composers from diverse backgrounds, audiences who can hear sounds which are familiar to them, even though they are couched in classical form, would be more inclined to come to the concert hall, and sit down and listen. Somebody must have the ingenuity, to programme, to commission, to find ways of speaking to these potential audiences. Sometimes the ensembles who are about to play probably have to think about new ways of reaching out to diverse communities. The associated education work needs to reach out to embrace the broader community.

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CREATING SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART: CAN DANCE CHANGE THE WORLD? Serendipity’s eleventh publication focusing on dance from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora is available to order now.

Black women have been at the heart of social justice movements and making positive change in their communities the world over and their impact to the international dance ecology is no different. This publication features the contributions of dance practitioners, who through their own activism and artistry have brought to light untold issues and taboos, codified techniques, developed and raised the profile of dance from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora and engaged with communities in innovative ways.

Contributors include Jeanette Bain-Burnett, Lizzy Cooper Davis, Chanon Judson, Wanjiru Kamuyu, Greta Mendez, Marlène Myrtil, Vivine Scarlett, Maya Taylor with an introduction by Anita Gonzalez and a preface by Pawlet Brookes.

Order at: www.serendipity-uk.com/shop

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IN SITU: RESPONDING TO SPACE, PLACE, PEOPLE AND TIME 29 APRIL – 8 MAY 2022 LEICESTER UK WWW.SERENDIPITY-UK.COM

Ballet Hispánico’s Dandara Veiga in Batucada Fantástica. Photography by Rachel Neville

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“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds” Bob Marley

ISSN Number: 2634-4289