If we can talk about ‘Black Excellence’ without also discussing Black okayness, there is something wrong – worsened by a culture of Black British historical remembrance that places ‘remember-worthiness’ only as far as our labour contributions. Whilst in cases this may be due to violent erasure in the archives, it may also reflect a state ideology that positions Black people human value dependent on labour.

And...

Black people are not Gods, and these monument games are unhelpful, with Black excellence “centred as the kid to impress” (Kinouani, 2021: 162).

There is no paywall, so please give it a read.

LONG-READ - It's an imperial life: historian talks Queen's legacy in thought-provoking essay

LONG-READ – It’s an imperial life: historian talks Queen’s legacy in thought-provoking essay

“We will not blame him for the crimes of his ancestors if he relinquishes the royal rights of his ancestors; but as long as he claims their rights, by virtue of descent, then, by virtue of descent, he must shoulder the responsibility for their crimes” – James Connolly, Visit of King George V (1910). #Lizposting: An Autoethnographic History Introduction In his play Twelfth Night, the bard Will…

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LONG-READ - It's an imperial life: historian talks Queen's legacy in thought-provoking essay

LONG-READ – It’s an imperial life: historian talks Queen’s legacy in thought-provoking essay

“We will not blame him for the crimes of his ancestors if he relinquishes the royal rights of his ancestors; but as long as he claims their rights, by virtue of descent, then, by virtue of descent, he must shoulder the responsibility for their crimes” – James Connolly, Visit of King George V (1910). #Lizposting: An Autoethnographic History Introduction In his play Twelfth Night, the bard Will…

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Hi everyone! Can I please ask for 5 seconds of your time to vote for my friend Tré for our local university community’s People Choice Awards? He is a black autistic writer who has given a voice to numerous disabled, lgbt people of colour the last 5 years since we graduated our bachelors. He is both an academic and a creative (poet) and his work revolves around racial inequality in particular — he goes out of his way to educate the community on racial issues but also in particular, the UK’s history of corruption and racism. Before the role was removed he was also working at our uni as the first point of contact for support of BAME students (Black and Asian Minority Ethnic). I sincerely can’t think of anyone who would deserve this award more. He is currently preparing to host an event based around the untold history of the British monarchy as a stand against the coronation of the new king.

Vote here. He is 4th from the bottom where it says ‘Tre Ventour - for exposing the history of racial inequality in the UK through education and writing’. All you have to do is select him and press ‘Submit’ at the bottom.

Please consider voting and go ahead and share this if you like also!!

The things people feel comfortable writing on social media, especially when they have a white PFP...

I don't usually comment on this but I'm so pissed.

Someone commented under Tre Ventour-Griffiths twitter post (he wrote an article about Bridgerton and it being endanger of becoming white)

the following:

There's an intersectionality of being a BIPOC and plus sized. This post is NOT that. The two are not even remotely the same. I don't get to choose to not be brown anymore. I can alter my body size and shape.

Also cops are not murdering people for being plus sized; people who are plus sized are not being denied housing, jobs, education, voting rights, being mass incarcerated, or facing the same kinds of micro-aggressions & discrimination BIPOC do on a daily basis. The last I checked there are no immigration policies trying to limit people of a certain size from coming to Western countries. The same can't be said for those of us who aren't white.

I sometimes hate this fandom because wtf is this?!

Re-Discover Yourself

7 July 2019

I wanted to get a better sense of running an effective participatory workshop, and learn new ideas and techniques, and so I participated in the Re-Discover Yourself taster session run by Marvin Mudzongo. Marvin was a speaker at So, is this female culture? and during his talk he mentioned the workshop as a space to learn through exploration, discovery and development of transferable creative skills.

For this workshop, we considered what makes us creative, and how we take the steps to discovery; discover, define, develop, deliver. Our ideas were generated by exploring what we enjoy and what makes us happy. Reading, music, illustrating, dog walking, family etc. We used these points to create a logo of our self. The purpose of this task was to develop a meaningful understanding of who we are and accelerate our wellbeing through creative arts. 

Guest speakers included Kezzabelle Ambler and poetry from Tre Ventour. Kezz offered an inspiring talk about the power of the mind, the power of writing and the power of creativity. She shared her artwork, a manifestation of self love and empowerment. Kezz emphasized the value of learning to trust as a freelance and to voice yourself, adding “we are all artists”. 

Kezzabelle runs a group Weaving Words for writers from her home in Kettering every Tuesday 1-3pm. 

Tre Ventour asks if you can support Black Lives Matter and the monarchy in thought provoking essay

Tre Ventour asks if you can support Black Lives Matter and the monarchy in thought provoking essay

God Save the People: When will Black lives matter? “As they plundered, exploited and brutally controlled colonies and the people in them, all to enrich Britain as part of the growth of the capitalist project, colonialists swore by the racial hierarchy. Whiteness was not simply a descriptor; it was used to give anchor to the idea that Europe was the place of modernity and civilisation. White…

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Tre Ventour asks if you can support Black Lives Matter and the monarchy in thought provoking essay

Tre Ventour asks if you can support Black Lives Matter and the monarchy in thought provoking essay

God Save the People: When will Black lives matter? “As they plundered, exploited and brutally controlled colonies and the people in them, all to enrich Britain as part of the growth of the capitalist project, colonialists swore by the racial hierarchy. Whiteness was not simply a descriptor; it was used to give anchor to the idea that Europe was the place of modernity and civilisation. White…

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Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose

Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose

Delving into the story behind BBC slavery epic The Long Song with Tré Ventour…

Through her books, including Small Island and The Long Song Andrea Levy has been a voice for generations of people. The Long Song is a story about Black people. It’s a story about White people. It’s a story about slavery set in Jamaica, both before and after abolition in 1833.

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Review: Can a live action Brief Encounter match the movie classic?

Review: Can a live action Brief Encounter match the movie classic?

The Playhouse Theatre has tackled one of Tre Ventour’s favourite films with their stage production of Brief Encounter…

One evening, after seeing A Passage to India at Royal & Derngate last year, fellow reviewer Kevin Evans (Bill in Brief Encounter) told me that the Playhouse Theatre are putting on Brief Encounter in January / February 2018.

The cogs in my head began to churn and my curious nature…

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Can you handle an Othello for the world we live in now?

Can you handle an Othello for the world we live in now?

Following Laurence Olivier, Adrian Lester, and the first Black British actor to play Othello, David Harewood – Francesca Amewudah-Rivers joins the number of actors that have played the character since his conception in the early 17th century. Directed by Miranda Cromwell and abridged by Dzifa Benson, the National Youth Theatre version of Othello at Northampton Royal & Derngate really was quite…

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Can you handle an Othello for the world we live in now?

Can you handle an Othello for the world we live in now?

Following Laurence Olivier, Adrian Lester, and the first Black British actor to play Othello, David Harewood – Francesca Amewudah-Rivers joins the number of actors that have played the character since his conception in the early 17th century. Directed by Miranda Cromwell and abridged by Dzifa Benson, the National Youth Theatre version of Othello at Northampton Royal & Derngate really was quite…

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Is a light touch the right way to tell a dark story?

Is a light touch the right way to tell a dark story?

“History is not just stuff that happens by accident, we are the products of the history that our ancestors chose, if we are White. If we are Black we are products of the history our ancestors most likely didn’t choose.” – Kevin Gannon, 13th 

And many of our cities in Britain are this melting pot due to the very same history our ancestors chose / didn’t choose; and the reason Britain has a…

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Is a light touch the right way to tell a dark story?

Is a light touch the right way to tell a dark story?

“History is not just stuff that happens by accident, we are the products of the history that our ancestors chose, if we are White. If we are Black we are products of the history our ancestors most likely didn’t choose.” – Kevin Gannon, 13th 

And many of our cities in Britain are this melting pot due to the very same history our ancestors chose / didn’t choose; and the reason Britain has a…

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Two Trains Running: a grand achievement

Two Trains Running: a grand achievement

Before Two Trains Running, my only experience of August Wilson was Fences, the Oscar-winning film starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, depicting Black working-class people in the United States. However, Two Trains Running takes us to Pittsburgh 1969, again highlighting the inequalities in America of working-class people. This is a story about Black people. It’s about working-class people,…

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Two Trains Running: a grand achievement

Two Trains Running: a grand achievement

Before Two Trains Running, my only experience of August Wilson was Fences, the Oscar-winning film starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, depicting Black working-class people in the United States. However, Two Trains Running takes us to Pittsburgh 1969, again highlighting the inequalities in America of working-class people. This is a story about Black people. It’s about working-class people,…

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