BLACK ROYALTY IMAGERY IN ACTIVISM IS NOT REVOLUTIONARY – LET’S LOOK BEYOND

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged African, african anarchism, beyoncé, black is king, black royalty, blackness, BLM, colonialism, communalism, democracy, Egypt, empire, Ethiopia, featured, i e igariwey, kingdom, liberation, nguni bantu, pre-colonial, sam mbah, ubuntu, white supremacy, Zimbabwe.

by Lisa Insansa Woods

A misleading image presents itself within certain areas of Black power discourse. It is the gilded image of the Black royal or the ancient African empire, manifesting within popular culture as a vision to aspire to. The recent release of Beyoncé’s Black Is King brings the subject back to the forefront of the public domain, presenting a glorification of Black royalty in the matrix of the Black liberation struggle.

This idolisation does not fit a revolutionary paradigm, but, rather, strives for “advancement” in line with a white supremacist world. It honours the western concept of civilisation as a system that oppresses others: there would be no monarchy without subjugation, no “great” empire without violence and theft.

REVIEW – THE HAIR WRAP DIARIES

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged African, afro, Alynda Wheat, Antonia Cooper, Barbershp Chronicles, black hair, black women, Bola Agaje, Caribbean, Chris Rock, dialogue, Emmanuella Idris, hair, hairdresser, Head Wrap Diaries, heritage, house, identity, Natalie Cooper, performance, review, roots, Shanelle Clemenson, show, story, theatre, Uchenna dance, Vicki Igbokwe, vogue, Waacking, women, Yolanda Perez-Rosselson.

by Carmina Masoliver

Piles of colourful patterned fabrics line the stage, and three women dressed in black Lycra leotards select a fabric and wrap it around their head. The fabrics are drawn across the stage as the performers’ bodies undulate in a backwards crawl, before the scene is set as a hair salon with the colours swept away in a swirl around a chair.

As the title The Hair Wrap Diaries suggests, during this Uchenna Dance production written by Bola Agaje in partnership with director and choreographer Vicki Igbokwe, we hear different stories from each performer. Yet the show is also interspersed with dance, giving it a strong sense of poetics as the words are broken up and repeated with the movements. The stories themselves are carefully selected, offering a rainbow of different generations of black women, exploring their relationship with hair.Continue Reading

BUT HE’S NOT RACIST

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged African, BAME, berlin, berlin wall, black, BLM, Britain, Business Location Center, colonialism, culture, France, germany, guilt, Isaiah Lopaz, manchester, melting pot, microaggression, personal experience, POC, politics, population, race, racism, report, resist, resistance, shame, slurs, statistics, systematic racism, The Netherlands, uk, UN, white west, whiteness, woc.

by Candice Nembhard

I have been living in Berlin for around two months now and generally the transition from the UK to mainland Europe has been a relatively easy process. If we put rising rent prices, endless German bureaucracy, and the future of Brexit aside, Berlin in some ways is a safe haven for a young black Brit such as myself.

Undoubtedly, my ability to move, live and work in Germany is not possible without an immense amount of privilege. I, unlike many people, do not face the same amount of adversity by simply being here; irrespective of my feelings towards my nationality, having a British passport is a golden ticket I didn’t have to work for. However, even with its numerous working and academic advantages, my citizenship does not defend me against the microaggressions of prejudice and racism that I receive almost on a daily basis.Continue Reading

CULTURE FOR (WHITE) FASHION

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Perspectives and tagged African, Afropunk, appropriation, art, bindi, biro, culture, culture for fashion, design, face paint, fashion, indigenous, Mexican, native american, non-binary, original art, peace, spirit, tattoo, tribal, visual art, white.

by Asia Patel
Continue Reading

African

BLACK ROYALTY IMAGERY IN ACTIVISM IS NOT REVOLUTIONARY – LET’S LOOK BEYOND

by Lisa Insansa Woods

REVIEW – THE HAIR WRAP DIARIES

BUT HE’S NOT RACIST

CULTURE FOR (WHITE) FASHION

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