Bus Aunty lands Burberry, drug dealers held missing boy captive and other stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities you shouldn't have missed this week - curated by Melissa Sigodo
Black women have to fight to be heard and watching Marverine Cole on GMB was triggering
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This summer has been getting a little bit busy and between being ill and keeping abreast with all the news, I had to take some time to celebrate a special family member’s birthday. But as usual, I’ve recapped all the news you shouldn’t have missed this week.
This newsletter serves to highlight the experience of ethnic minorities in the UK as well as specifically telling stories from the Black community, so I thought it would be fitting to share an example of how difficult it is for Black women to be heard.
On Wednesday, multi-award-winning journalist and broadcaster Marverine Cole joined her ITV colleagues on the breakfast show Good Morning Britain (GMB) to discuss the new guidance for police to disclose the ethnicity of charged suspects in high profile cases (I’ve recapped it in the newsletter). Marverine has previously written for The Source as a guest contributor, so I looked forward to hear what she had to say on the matter.
But unfortunately, and predictably, when asked to give her opinion - Marverine barely got a chance to begin stating it. Her colleague Richard Madelely didn’t waste a second before stepping in and interrupting her several times. He pounced on every sentence she attempted to start while none of her other colleagues even tried to stop him. You can watch the clip I posted over on TikTok which has been viewed over 200,000 times as it left many feeling infuriated as expressed by the hundreds of comments. Watching Marverine hold her own in such uncomfortable circumstances resonated deeply with Black women who often experience being shut down. Whether it be in the office, in public spaces and in the media - we are often talked over or ignored, even when asked for our opinion.
But thankfully, Black women can create our own spaces and platforms where we can be heard without interruption and that is exactly what Marverine has done. She’s given her thoughts about the whole experience on GMB on her Substack. Here’s a little excerpt.
“I sat there, the only Black woman on set discussing legitimate concerns about the heightened levels of prejudice rippling through the national discourse, and found myself fighting for basic respect to finish a sentence,” writes Marverine Cole.
But one thing for sure as you’ll see from the social media comments is that her contribution was incredibly valuable and it was absolutely needed. So thank you for pushing forward Marverine. It isn’t an easy thing to do.
You can read the full powerful piece on Marverine’s Substack. Subscribe to it as well and support the voices of Black women.
Before we dive into the recap which includes some stories that slipped through the net, I just wanted to pay tribute the journalists who have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. I have to say that news of more killings this week simply left me feeling numb and in disbelief. The war on Gaza has continued unabated with every day bringing more horrors than we thought imaginable. International journalists have been blocked from entering Gaza since the assault on the region began and those brave Palestinian journalists have risked and lost their lives while shedding light on what would have otherwise been left in the dark. The situation is unbearble. Every day I ask, ‘how can this go on?’.
Palenstinian journalist. They are the best of us.
News
A man who was stabbed in the head by a British Army soldier while on holiday from Barbados to the UK has received enough funds following public donations to a GoFundMe. Tharel Thompson can now pay the deposit towards having a crucial surgery. Read the full story by Melissa Sigodo at The Source.
Viral TikTok star Bemi Orojuogun known as Bus Aunty has secured a collaboration with British luxury fashion house Burberry. Their latest campaign features Bemi on a double decker bus filming herself as she cruises around the city of London. Read the full story by Mar Piera at Highxtar.
Sport
A 47-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially abusing a Bournemouth football player Antoine Semenyo during the first Premier League match of the season. Another racist incident two days earlier saw Tottenham Hotspur player Mathys Tel racially abused online after missing a penalty against Paris Saint-Germain. Read the full story by Sky News.
Health
The cancellation of the NHS Health survey for England “quietly admitted by government has prompted warnings from the Britain’s association for Muslim medics that it risks “hampering” efforts to tackle health inequalities. The survey which has run since 1991 and is based on a sample of 10,000 people who are then interviewed face-to-face with their statistics on weight and smoking status collected - will be “the last of its kind”. Read the full story by Weronika Strzyżyńska at Hyphen Online.
Legal
A man has been jailed after repeatedly stabbing and racially abusing a passenger on the train in a random attack as police say the man nearly lost his life. Christopher Patricks, 41, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated GBH and wounding with intent and was sentenced to 4 years, 2 months and 29 days in jail. Read the full story by Joseph Reaidi at News Shopper.
Two drug dealers have been jailed after forcing a teenager to package up crack-cocaine and heroin. The teenager who cannot be named under reporting restrictions as he is under the age of 18, had been reported missing by his family but was being held captive by the dealers in Cardiff, South Wales. Read the full story by ITV News.
A man who sent racist death threats to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been given a 12-month suspended and 14 weeks imprisonment which will run concurrently. Liam Shaw, 21, admitted sending two emails containing threatening and offensive content to Rishi Sunak’s the public email address while he was in office. Read the full story by ITV News.
A man who was charged with a hate crime after abusing a mother wearing a niqab who stood at a bus stop with her 11-year-old son in Glasgow, Scotland, has now been sentenced. Gary Chalmers, 39, was sentenced to 12 months of supervision and required to pay a fine of £500, as well as being required to perform unpaid work. Read the full story by Marissa MacWhirter at Asian Image.
Housing
A total of 13 children all under the age of 11 have died in falls from windows in their rented or temporary housing in England since 2019, according to a study. One of the children who died was one-year-old Exodus Eyob who he fell out of an open window from the 7th floor in 2022. Exodus’s family’s lawyers called for a mesh or guard to be installed for the safety of children in towers. Read the full story by Meghan Owen, Tarah Welsh and Naresh Puri at BBC.
Male Violence Against Women and Girls
A son has been found guilty of manslaughter after killing his mother while his brother slept in the next room. Donald Yeboah killed his mother Leticia Brobbey, 52. Leticia had expressed concerns about her son’s behaviour the day he attacked her. Read the full story by Anthony France at The Standard.
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