Scream club, inquiry into police spying, politics of division & other stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities living in the UK you shouldn't have missed - curated by Melissa Sigodo
Announcement: Unfiltered Conversations Between Black Women starts on Monday
Good morning, evening or afternoon,
My name is Melissa Sigodo and thank you for subscribing to The Source and supporting independent journalism. I hope you are doing great!
Announcement
This coming Monday the 20th of October at 8pm, I am hosting The Source’s first-ever Unfiltered Conversations Between Black Women live chat here on Substack. I will be joined by the brilliant creative entrepreneur, producer, TED speaker and writer, Nova Reid.
Join us for an unfiltered conversation about standing in our power as Black women where we’ll discuss:
Having agency over our choices professionally as Black women, as well as taking up space and the challenges we face.
Navigating daily disrespects and intercultural harm - why it hurts more when it comes from your own.
How to support each other and show up.
We felt this was a much-needed conversation so come along on Monday and hear us air it out. We won’t be holding back. So download the Substack App to make sure you can tune in.
You can follow Nova Reid here on Substack as well below
To watch the live stream, click here and bookmark this link and download the Substack app which is where you can tune in from. You will also be sent a link in a separate email when the event starts this Monday at 8pm.
Look forward to seeing you all there!
Black History Month continues this week, and here are some lesser-known figures in history who you really should get to know.
Joseph Johnson
Joseph Johnson also known as ‘Black Joe’ was a seaman discharged from the Merchant Navy after becoming wounded. He was unfairly blocked from receiving a pension, so he took to the streets to earn money by singing nautical songs around London docklands and building a model of the sailing ship Nelson which he wore on his head.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, London is said to have had a ‘sizable’ Black population of around 15,000 to 20,000 residents. Half are said to have been freed from slavery.
John Blanke
John Blanke, a royal trumpeter in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII asked for a pay rise and a promotion and successfully received it. He is the only Black Tudor who has an identifiable image in history.
Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque from Norwich was the first Black English circus owner and possibly the first Black circus owner in the world. He became famous for his ‘extraordinary’ shows. His name would later become immortalised in the Beatles song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite’
As well as being a successful businessman and equestrian, Pablo whose real name was William Darby helped those less fortunate than himself and often put on fundraisers for charity. When he died, it is said that a ‘great procession’ accompanied him to his burial, watched by thousands of people.
Sarah Forbes Bonetta
Sarah Forbes Bonetta previously Omoba Aina was captured from war in what is now present-day Nigeria and was ‘gifted’ or ‘adopted’ by Queen Victoria, depending on which historical version you read. She later became the Queen’s protégé and spent time in Windsor. When Sarah married and had a child, she named her daughter Victoria and the Queen became her godmother.
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Without further ado, here’s what you shouldn’t have missed this week.
News
Tributes have been paid to a “true champion for equality” Baroness Rosalind Howells who died at the age of 94 this week. The trailblazer worked tirelessly to support Stephen Lawrence’s family, victims of the New Cross Fire and the Windrush generation. She achieving many firsts as Black woman in her lifetime. Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice.
A woman has held an open air scream club in Primrose Hill, London, which attracted dozens of people. Organiser Mona Sharif proposed the idea on social media where people meet up to scream about their frustrations over various stresses such as losing jobs and exam stress. She says she hopes that it will help with the loneliness crisis. Watch the report by BBC London.
A new report has estimated that grassroots Muslim-led organisations are saving the UK taxpayer around £30 million a year. The programmes are said to create savings linked to less involvement in the criminal justice system as well as better mental health and lower reoffending rates. Read the full story by James McNeill at Asian Image.
Health
A mum whose daughter died from an asthma attack linked to pollution says she hopes there will be “a day of reckoning” as 1.6 million motorists take legal action against car manufacturers over claims that several diesel vehicles made from 2009 onwards used devices that allowed them to “cheat emissions tests.” Read the full story by Jess Glass at The Standard.
A women’s health campaigner is calling for Black and mixed-race women to be listened to after she had to “push” for an MRI scan which led to her getting emergency surgery. Meagan-Blake had two cysts removed which doctors thought could have been ovarian cancer. Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice.
Overseas care workers are being advised to carry panic alarms and to travel in groups as reports of verbal abuse and spitting surge. Chief Executive of Work Rights Centre, Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol says that hate crime incident are caused by leaders running ‘politics of division.’ Read the full story by Chris Osuh at The Guardian.
Crime
A 17-year-old girl, an 18-year-old boy and two men aged 22 and 23 have been arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm following an incident at a Wolverhampton skatepark. Police say there is ‘no evidence at this stage’ of any racial motivation. Read the full story by Tanya Gupta at BBC.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of affray, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and a racially aggravated public order offence after allegedly threatening people with a knife in Bradford. Read the full story by Daryl Ames at The Telegraph and Argus.
Politics
Migrants will be required to learn the equivalent of A-level English after the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to raise it from GCSE level. CEO of Work Rights Centre, Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol says that the plans ‘demonise migrant workers.’ Read the full story by Kate Devlin and Holly Bancroft at The Independent.
Legal
Three neo-Nazis who plotted attacks on mosques and synagogues amassing over than 200 weapons included 3D-printed parts of a semi-automatic gun have been jailed. Christopher Ringrose, 35, Marco Pitzettu, 26, and Brogan Stewart, 25, who found each other online have been sentenced for 29 years in total. Read the full story by Mark Brown at The Guardian.
Former actor Laurence Fox who was accused of racism after calling for Sainsbury’s supermarket to be boycotted over its Black History Month celebrations has been granted a retrial in his libel case. The judge says that accusations of racism caused the 47-year-old “serious harm to his reputation.” Read the full story by André Rhoden-Paul at BBC.
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