Mum arrested over birthmark, local legend can stay in the UK & other stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities in the UK you shouldn't have missed this week curated by Melissa Sigodo
Good afternoon,
Thank you for subscribing to The Thread.
Apologies for the late email. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know I’ve been a bit caught up in a story that has triggered Black and Asian mothers across the world which I’m obviously sharing with you today.
I just wanted to add that while putting together the health section in this week’s newsletter, what stuck out to me is how some people want to make things better for most and how unfortuntately, some people are content with things being abominably worse for others.
And actually, that is the theme for the whole newsletter in general.
Let me know your thoughts on it.
Without further ado, I've cut through the noise so you don't have to.
Health
A breastfeeding mum was separated from her 6-month-old baby and locked in a cell for 20 hours after staff at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital had her arrested on suspicion of child neglect when they mistook her son's ‘blue spot’ birthmarks for bruises. Full story.
Racism cases at the nurses and midwives regulator were ‘dropped’ because alleged incidents happened outside work and "the view is that ‘people are free to be racist in their own time’ because they are not involving patients", a damning report into the Nursing and Midwifery Council has found. Full story.
A woman whose baby died when she was born at 22 weeks after being conceieved through an 18-month IVF journey in which she found out she had womb cancer, says that concerns about her symptoms were ‘ignored’. Vaishali Bamania has now joined other bereaved parents in writing an open letter to the newly formed government urging them to address racial disparities in maternity care as stillbirth rates are still higher for Black and Asian babies. Full story.
The creator of the Netflix show Supacell which is about Black Londoners who develop superpowers triggered by sickle cell anaemia - a blood discorder common in those of Afro-Caribbean heritage - says he hopes its success will raise awarness about the condition and “remove the stigma associated with it.” Full story.
A nurse consultant has developed a skin tone card to spot pressure ulcers and skin damage among black and Asian patients in a world first. Luxmi Dhoonmoon says she wanted to provide “a simple but effective visual tool that helps everyone” after noticing that patients from ethnic minorities “were presenting with late-stage ulcers that had not been diagnosed earlier” which can “lead to severe complications, including permanent muscle damage extending to the bone.” Full story.
Immigration & Asylum
A ‘local legend’ Nelson Shardey who was refused the right to remain in the UK despite living here for 46 years, doing jury duty and being awarded for bravery can now stay for good, the Home Office has decided. Full story.
Legal
Three women from charity Southall Black Sisters who complained about a violent racist attack on the Tube and were then charged themselves with assault, have had the case against them dropped by CPS after nearly 10 months. Full story.
Crime
A family paid tribute to ‘kind, helpful & deeply religious’ Akashdeep Singh, 26, who was killed after an arson attack on a family home in Wolverhampton which left four other people injured. Police have now released an appeal & CCTV footage of the attack in an appeal to catch the perpetrator. Full story.
A woman was struck in the face with a piece or mortar in a racist attack by a group of youths who threw objects at her in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The woman was left with minor injuries and her family has had to leave their home due to racist abuse. Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey has urged “political and community leaders to stand against racist attacks in east Belfast.” Full story.
Policing
The chief constable of Avon and Somerset, Sarah Crew says that acknowledging that her police force was “institutionally racist” allowed the force to make important changes including changes to the force’s stop and search policy, even though it “unsettled and hurt some officers.” Full story.
Entertainment
Game of Thrones spin-off actor Abubakar Salim says he was left ‘shocked’ after being ‘racially targeted and harassed’ when he released a video game through the company he founded, about the grief he suffered after his father died. Full story.
Politics
Labour candidate Jovan Owusu-Nepaul alleged that Reform UK supporters ‘spat at him’, tore up his leaflets and ‘interrogated’ where he was ‘really from’ during his campaign in Clacton, Essex, which left him fearing for the safety of those around him. Full story.
Labour MP Diane Abbott became the longest serving woman MP in Parliament earning her the title ‘Mother of the House’. Full story.
A Labour MP being sworn into the House of Commons decided to protest against the Monarchy. During the ceremony, Clive Lewis, who represents Norwich South, said “I take this oath under protest and in the hope that one day my fellow citizens will democratically decide to live in a republic.” Full story.
Housing
A mum-of-three was left in a panic after seeing “smoke coming” when a flat in her building caught fire. Emma Ali says that no alarms sounded off while her children slept and that she had to carry them to safety from the ninth floor. Full story.
Arts
A man who created a charity that stages opera, classical and choral music productions will open what is thought to be the first Black- and Asian-led production of composer Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman opera in the UK. Byron Jackson who grew up unable to afford music lessons says he hopes his initiative will inspire “new and diverse audiences.” Full story.
Family
The family of a 14-year-old aspiring footballer and Chelsea fan who drowned after jumping into the River Thames at a swimming spot in 2022, has urged parents to tell their kids not to go into open water ‘so that what happened to Brian [Sasu] won’t happen to their own children.’ Full story.
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The next podcast will be out next week so stay tuned.
If you have any thoughts on the stories featured, share them with me and I’ll highlight them on the next episode.
Palestinians attempting to play football at a school housing the displaced after an Israeli airstrike killed over 20 people in the town of Abassan, east of Khan Younis, with most of the victims being women and children. Full story.
A Black man who was given a job interview at a hotel only after he changed the name on his CV from "Dwight Jackson" to "John Jebrowski" is now suing for discrimination. Dwight Jackson says he attended the job interview and confronted the interviewer revealing his true identity, telling them that it was because his name “appeared more traditionally African American.” Full story.