Description

This issue features so many esteemed contributors: the imminent Vice-Chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; the founder of the largest alliance of Black British artists; the first Black Muslim
woman to become the President of the National Union of Students; the co-organiser of the 1981 Black People’s Day of Action.  We also take a moment to acknowledge some of the pioneers that have come before us such as Patrick Parson, Paul Henry and Jean “Binta” Breeze.

 

Contents

Editor’s Welcome — Pawlet Brookes

Insight: Black Arts at the Intersection
“I just want to make the work!” The present landscape of Black-led theatre in the UK — Amanda Huxtable
National Black Arts Alliance — SuAndi
Towards a Global Idea of Dance and the Black Body — Away Home at Home — Jean Abreu
Rising Up the Crooked Ladder: An Artist Spotlight on Carol Leeming — Nicole Moore

Diasporic Dialogues
Bridging Worlds: Diasporic Dialogues and the Art of Remembering — Igor Tavares
Dancing Ghosts — Caroline Elizabeth Johnson
Men(d)ing: A Speculative Archive on Contemporary Masculinity — Freddy Houndekindo
Journey to Suriname: Located Knowledges and Embodied Knowledges – Historical Crime Scenes and Healing — Farida Nabibaks
An Open Letter to the African Diaspora — Jada Imani

Launchpad
Remember to Smile Like We Practised — Balafaama Dan-Princewill
This Life is a Butterfly — Yasmin Ghandour

Forgotten Histories
“They Called Me N****r”: Marson, Lamming and The Historical Roots of Literary Protest by Caribbean Immigrants in Britain — Professor Verene A Shepherd
Reparations for Imperialism, with special attention to Liverpool, ‘the second city of Empire’ — Professor Stephen Small
The Black Atlantic’s Quest for Reparations — Professor Adekeye Adebajo
This is Where I Came From: Gorée, Diaspora and the Reckoning of Return — Maya Brookes

Serendipity Remembers
Dancing with the Ancestors: The Legacy of Patrick Parson — Pawlet Brookes
Dub Ravings and Truths: Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze Uncensored — Opal Palmer Adisa
Paul Henry: Crafting Movement, Shaping Legacy — Pawlet Brookes and Brenda Edwards

Space and Place: Environmental Racism
Rooted Resistance: Environmental Racism and the Diasporic Struggle for Climate Justice — Zamzam Ibrahim
Addressing the Injustice of Air Pollution will Bring Universal Benefits for All — Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

BlackInk New Writing Competition
Do No Harm — Carolyn Turner
Independence Longing and Diaspora — A Commonwealth Tale — David L Hutchinson

Spotlight: Nations, Flags and Identity: Contradictions and Comparisons in a Global Context — Pawlet Brookes
2025 in Numbers
Calendar Highlights
Coming Soon
The Interview – Leila Hassan Howe