Paula Akpan

Events like the Broadwater Farm riots to the New Cross Fire have left an indelible mark on the lives of those who lived through them.

Contemporary Black history in the UK is underlined by resistance; combating harassment and violence from civilians, white supremacist organisations and institutions like the police alike. Brutality was an everyday reality that needed to be factored into navigating a nation-state that sought to invisibilise and malign Black people, despite once beseeching them t...

During Black History Month - and always, for that matter - it's important that we take time to reflect on the stories of members of the Black community, and celebrate the vast contributions the community has made. In this piece, we hear from three women, a mother and her daughters, to look back on Black British history through the lens of their experiences as a family. From Mauva, who travelled from Jamaica to England in 1957, when she was just three, to Karleen, who remembers the fear of goi...

In the midst of renewed and threatening conversation about overturning Roe v. Wade in the US this year, I thought again about something Angela Davis wrote in her landmark 1981 text Women, Race & Class, about the American Eugenics Society director, Guy Irving Birch: “Birch advocated birth control as a weapon to ‘prevent the American people from being replaced by alien or Negro stock, whether it be by immigration or by overly high birth rates among others in this country.’”
Back in 1981, Davis ...

Rye Lane is the road that paints a picture of my youth. I was born and raised in Peckham and that street is where most of my memories are. It’s where I had my first drink, in a bar opposite the train station that doesn’t exist any more. I still remember watching ‘Coach Carter’ at Peckhamplex. The screen broke but the manager said we wouldn’t get our money back because we’d only paid £2.99 for the tickets.
My mum passed away 11 years ago and Rye Lane brings back memories of my family. She’d ma...

For two women wanting to share their different cultural backgrounds with their child, even choosing a sperm donor can get complicated. Paula Akpan explores the issues around fertility treatment and discovers that resources for lesbian couples are thin on the ground.
Getting to grips with fertility treatment is hard. Not only is the process itself, from consultation to embryo transfer, physically and emotionally gruelling, but it can yield feelings of inadequacy and frustration. In addition, t...

I’ve lived in Dalston for six years. I remember thinking that I was an adult because I’d finished university so therefore needed to live in London. I had two requirements for the location – I needed to be able to easily buy plantain and get products for my hair. My best friend and I found a flat just off Ridley Road Market with a Pak’s hair shop on the corner. It was a dream come true.
Ridley Road Market is one of my favourite places in London. If I’ve had a stressful day, I just walk down th...

Anti-Blackness shapes everyday life as we know it and the various establishments that form our worlds, from arts and culture to employment and work to health and safety. While education is often positioned as a noble and neutral bastion for facilitating growth, development and learning, the pervasive nature of erasing Black history and contributions continues to thrive.
In 2014, a new National Curriculum was launched with the aim to ‘provide pupils with an introduction to the essential knowle...

What Exactly Is Shadow Banning?
The last few months have seen social media become a bigger part of many of our lives. During lockdown, platforms like Instagram have enabled us to stay connected, spread news, and mobilise communities, as we’ve seen play out with both COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests. Social media is a space for alternative narratives, w...

When it comes to talking about sexual health within Black communities, responsibility (and blame) for the way we engage with the topics is often laid at our door.

While cultural and religious differences can contribute to aversions to particular procedures and medical interventions, they contribute to the framing of a narrative where Black people choose not to engage with a benevolent healthcare system looking to offer care.

Right now, the UK podcast scene is buzzing with the voices of Black British women. Whether you’re after conversations on money, interrogations of race, or debriefs on pop culture, there’s a podcast for everyone. One such podcast has seen a meteoric rise over the last two years.
Hosted by freelance creative and journalist Victoria Sanusi and marketer Jas Brathwaite, Black Gals Livin’ is an ode to Black women and duality, bringing together conversations on the likes of Love Island and Insecure ...

The word to describe Tanya Compas is ‘exuberant’. I’m sat with the youth worker on a bench in Peckham Rye Park’s Japanese garden, halfway between her place and mine. It’s the height of one of this summer’s sporadic heatwaves and the combination of the bright rays and her infectious energy is dazzling. It’s no wonder the 28-year-old has built a loyal following of thousands on Twitter and Instagram. When she talks about her work, you can’t help but feel invigorated.
Right now, Compas is overjoy...

In the midst of the global uprising against police brutality, the deaths of activist Oluwatoyin ‘Toyin’ Salau and emergency medical technician Breonna Taylor have evoked a very specific heartache. Vogue examines how long-term change concerning violence against black women is unworkable if men don’t take a stand.

Rianna Walcott has been doing anti-racism work for years. As co-founder of Project Myopia, an initiative that seeks to diversify university curricula, and a black feminist scholar, she has long carried the workload of educating people on racism and anti-blackness in society. But in the last month - since the death of George Floyd and subsequent global Black Lives Matter protests - a time that might seem (from the outside) as a breakthrough for such educators, Walcott has been too drained to e...

Sparked by the recent police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade, Black Lives Matter protests have swept the globe. However, there still remains the staunch belief here that police brutality against Black people is a US issue and that it doesn’t affect the UK – or at least, not as badly. Arguments such as “British police officers aren’t even armed” are hurled at Black organisers in the UK, negating the fact that Black people account for 8 percent of recorded deaths in po...

In South East London, Bromley Little Theatre has staged productions for as long as most locals can remember. The 113-seat theatre, which was once a converted Victorian bakery, is known for its vibrancy – but since March, its rows of red auditorium seats and its stage, which once boasted performances of A Christmas Carol and Goodnight Mr Tom, are empty and gathering dust.

“We have postponed our entire programme of productions probably for the remainder of 2020, at least,” says Keith Jeremiah, ...