News

Mayor Marvin Rees and Helen Grant MP - both OBV alumni - will be part of a Europe delegation of minority elected officials and activists heading to the White House to talk to senior officials and grass roots activists about how best to tackle race inequality in the US and Europe.

In her thought provoking piece in the Guardian, Chibundu Onuzo looks at one potential fallout from the Eu referendum outcome. But shines a light on the common experience on the ideal of free movement for the majority of the Black world. We re-publish the article in full here:

The news that, post-Brexit, British citizens may have to apply for permission to travel to Europe as well as pay a fee, made me experience an uncharacteristic burst of schadenfreude.

The human rights barrister Matthew Ryder QC has been appointed London’s first Black Deputy Mayor by Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Ryder has been given responsibility for the capital’s social cohesion, social mobility and community integration.

On his appointment Mr Ryder, said:

We’re really keen to make sure everybody is actively working and living side by side, leading interconnected lives, rather than diverse communities in little silos.”

My good friend Dr Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman sent a me a note regarding a Radio 4 documentary about the British Museum. It’s a fascinating programme, one that raises many questions about what exactly is the Museum for ? Why for example, if it is world Museum are there no artefacts from Oceania or very few from the Americas ? And why is Africa in the basement, or worse still as many of us now not even on display at all.  Below is the blurb promoting the programme:

Simon Woolley

Intro by Simon Woolley

How many times have you heard a racist and sexist comment followed by those immortal lines, ‘It’s only joke’, 'get that chip off your shoulder', or lightening up’. Prof Thomas E Ford writes a brilliant article deconstructing the various elements of the bigoted joke and how it poisons our society.

Q: Why did the woman cross the road?
A: Who cares! What the hell is she doing out of the kitchen?

The Talk Talk radio presenter Julia Hartley - 'the killer' - Brewer (her shock jock promotional blurb) called up yesterday wanting to talk about the ‘Blacklivesmatter’ protest at City Airport.  Actually, she didn’t really want to talk about ‘Blacklivesmatters’ or the issues they seek to raise, but rather to spew scorn on the movement because of the ‘disruption they are were causing to passengers’.