"My N-word" case dropped, spreading joy with bubbles, 7yo still missing and other stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities you shouldn't have missed this week curated by Melissa Sigodo
Jim Ratcliffe got figures wrong and so did Eni Aluko but only one has had their credentials questioned and labelled a DEI hire.
Good morning, afternoon or evening,
Thank you for subscribing to The Source.
You may have noticed I was absent last week due to a family gathering, but I am back again with your recap which will be a combination of the last two weeks.
And what a horrifying last couple of weeks it has been. From the Epstein files and those awful pictures of Andrew Mountbatten and Peter Mandelson to Trump posting the video with the racist depiction of the Obamas – it’s been a disgusting and draining last couple of weeks.
But to add to it all, in the last few days we had billionaire and co-owner of Manchester United football club Jim Ratcliffe repeat the far-right claim that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants, and of course this deep insult and demonisation of immigrants was said without any challenge which is now at this point to be expected. He also got the numbers on immigration wrong which makes me wonder. If he had been former women’s footballer Eni Aluko who miscalculated footballing figures, perhaps his credentials would have come into question, and he might have been labelled a DEI hire and blacklisted from ever working again. But he’s a rich and powerful white man so it’s been reported that he’s given an apology for his colonisation remarks even though anyone with common sense wouldn’t call it one. And just like that, after Ratcliffe’s interview aired, Reform’s Nigel Farage was on television in the evening telling viewers that by the dictionary definition of colonisation, Ratcliffe’s comments were correct. No challenge on that either.
I hate to down other journalists but since Farage entered the race for prime minister, many in the profession are simply sitting back and viewing this as some form of entertainment, even aiding his casual walk to power with disproportionate coverage compared to political parties with more seats. On many occasions real journalism has been replaced with merely holding a mic or pointing a camera at anyone with a right wing or far-right view and allowing them to spout their misinformation and hate without questioning their position. This is platforming, this is PR, this is not journalism. It feels as though our politicians and their backers are in some version of the Big Brother House on steroids and all that the press can do is keep the cameras rolling. But sadly, this has real-life consequences. Especially when you speak out against it which has been evidenced by my DMs and comments on social media after Ratcliffe made his remarks.
But there is still good journalism left thankfully, although it is in short supply. And in this weekly recap, I have many examples of that journalism which in some cases captures those who are the best of humanity.
But please, do not forget that The Source which provides independent journalism from the Black community is also on a mission to reach 300 paid subscribers. With little resources, there are many challenges including legal ones that can stand in the way of important stories coming out. Although, I have had the kind support of some friends and colleagues in this industry, having the financial means to take on more stories, even the challenging ones that require a sharp legal mind, would make a world of difference.
Thank you to those who have already pledged a paid subscription including Debi, a lady who I met for the first time at the Mayor of London’s press event this week. I also got to meet the legendary Bus Aunty Bemi Orojuogun and so many other fantastic people.
So without further ado, here’s what you shouldn’t have missed this week.
The 20
Good News
A London bus driver has been spreading joy by blowing bubbles at oncoming passengers. Ricki Reid, 54, says he blew bubbles as a sort of therapy but realised the positive effect it had on others. Watch the full report at Reuters.
Leaders at a mosque say they were shocked when their Pilates class video for men over 50s went viral. The demand for classes has meant that the number of participants has had to be limited. Read the full story by Cathy Minton at BBC News.
More than 100 artefacts stolen by the British military from Africa in the late 19th Century are set to be returned to Nigeria. Read the full story by Makuochi Okafor and Helen Burchell at BBC News.
Missing girl
The search for a seven-year-old girl Inaayah Makda from Blackburn who was swept into the sea in Morocco has been halted again due to ‘extreme weather.’ Read the full story by ITV News.
Legal
A Black man who called a Black police officer “my N-word” has had his criminal prosecution against him dropped. Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice Online.
A bid to strike off a surgeon who racially and sexually harassed junior colleagues has been rejected by the courts. Transplant surgeon James Gilbert who harassed multiple surgeons with several of those incidents occurring during procedures, is now free to work again. Read the full story by Rebecca Thomas at The Independent.
A man who racially harassed a student at a train station telling them ‘what are you doing here’ and ‘go back’ before attacking them in the neck with an axe has been jailed for four years. Brian Patterson, 22, laughed and smirked during court proceedings. Read the full story James Mulholland at The Scottish Sun.
A man who left pigs heads outside youth centres and a school in Rainham, Essex, has lost his bid to be released from jail. Along with two others, the men spray painted “no mosques” at premises that were used by Muslims. Read the full story by Josh Bolton at Asian Image.
A high-flying consultant with endometriosis was fired after she had surgery to remove the cysts which left her barely able to walk when she returned to work. Read the full story by Anna O’Neill at BBC News.
Alleged Violence Against Women
A 36-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Zahwa Salah Mukhtar, 27. Zahwa who was deaf was found collapsed outside a care home in East London. She was described as a “kind and loving person” with “high aspirations.” Read the full story by Vicky Gayle at Hackney Gazette.
Health
An IV drip which promises to provide “radiance”, “even tone” and “energy” has been hit with claims of targeting women of colour by suggesting it can lighten skin. Read the full story by Aniqa Lasker at Hyphen Online.
A man diagnosed with prostate cancer says that Black men are overlooked in testing for the disease. Black men face twice the risk of dying from prostate cancer. Read the full story by Alec Blackman and Lorna Bailey at BBC News.
Crime
Anti-Muslim graffiti with the words “kill Muslim” and a cross has been found daubed on a fence near a primary school in Horwich. The hate crime was reported to police and the council, but the words remained on the fence as of Sunday. Read the full story by Zach Harrison at Asian Image.
Inquests
A second woman says she heard screams on the night that 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing before he was found in a storm drain in North Belfast. Read the full story by Kevin Sharkey at BBC News.
Policing
The President of the Black Police Association claims there is an attempt by longer serving chief constables to “get rid” of him and “marginalise the voices of those he represents.” Read the full story by Daniel Boffey at The Guardian.
Tributes
Tributes have been paid to a Bristol hospital’s first Black ward sister. May Tanner came to the England as part of the Windrush generation. Her husband Michael says she went out of her way for patients but that she experienced racism from those she tried to help. Read the full story by Andy Howard and Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley at BBC News.
Business
A man who ran a inside Brixton station for 36 years has been forced to close after Transport for London increased the rent from £40,000 a year to £125,000 a year. Customers showed up to hug Pritesh Patel who ran the stall with his brother since 1990. Read the full story by Hannah Williams at The Londoner.
World News
Four Haitian women who were allegedly deported from Puerto Rico were found with their bodies decapitated near the country’s border. A spokesperson for Haitians in Puerto Rico says that the killings could be linked to gangs who kidnap women and that deporting them was “condemning them to death.” Read the full story by Héctor Ríos Morales at Latin Times.
The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces carried out war crimes and a possible crime against humanity when it took over Sudan’s western city of el-Fasher last year, the UN human rights office says. Read the full story by Al Jazeera.
A Beninese skier has become the first person from the West African nation to take part in the Winter Olympics. Watch the report at Milano Cortina.
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