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Lord Simon Woolley elected Principal of Homerton College, Cambridge

Homerton College is delighted to announce the election of Lord Woolley of Woodford as the next Principal of the College. Lord Woolley will succeed Professor Geoffrey Ward on 1st October 2021. He is the first Black man to be elected head of a College at Cambridge or Oxford.

"If the system is saying to us we know there's a problem and we're gonna just put that on a shelf [then] as a Black woman my life is not being prioritised. It's just not fair."

The above is Rachael Buabeng's response to the persistent issue of high maternal mortality rates. She is the founder of Mummys Day Out, a predominantly Black space to empower and encourage women through their motherhood journey.

After an intense week of jointly hosting Pathway to Success with Professor Chris Stone I’m taking the day off. This allows me to reflect on the magnitude, pleasure and hope this project brings to the 30 participants, its partners and wider society; that nurturing Black, Asian and minority ethnic political and civic senior talent is a key element for societal change.

After receiving 900 applications for thirty places we quickly decided to have two cohorts instead of one, such was the deluge of talent.

'We're not asking for your success, we're demanding it!'

The six-day Pathway to Success scheme came to an end on Friday with the March 2021 cohort reflecting on their time learning from leaders across politics, civic life and business. 

The Court of Appeal has rejected Siyanda Mngaza’s leave to appeal - but her family’s fight goes on.

The latest update was provided by the FreeSiyanda campaign team earlier this week.

Community Alliance Lewisham (CAL) is a community group comprising Lewisham locals who are invested in minority ethnic engagement in the local community.

Their main aims in supporting the ethnic minority groups in the community include dispensing information, signposting and hosting informative events with a key focus on the areas of mental health, employment and education.

The group have been meeting monthly since their 2016 inception with their initial focus has been on building solid foundations and a strong network.

Another week and seven days closer to the local election. As things stand, we are 30 days away from the Monday, April 19 deadline for voter registration. The deadline to apply for Postal Voting is Tuesday 20 April 17:00. Polling day (the day everyone heads out to vote in person) is 6 May.

A recent revelation from the Home Secretary looks like it could have a lasting impact on elections in the capital.

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This weekend you’re likely to see a significant amount of support from Trade Unions, activist groups and individuals both in the UK and abroad to mark the UN’s Anti Racism Day.

A joint statement released earlier this week from Stand Up to Racism and the Trade Union Congress optimised the mentality with which leading organisations are approaching the day. They reflected on the events of the last year as having brought the fight against racial inequality ‘back into the spotlight’.

Artwork created by Dr Pen Mendonca

At the time of writing, £94,315 has been raised for an initiative which aims to stand in the gap for communities in what has been a turbulent pandemic.

Organised by Patrick Vernon OBE on behalf of the Ubele Initiative, the Majonzi fund aims to provide small grants to help families, communities and faith groups organise memorial events and tributes (whether physical or online), so they can celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones post lockdown.

Yesterday evening, the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons with a majority of 96 votes (359-263).