June 17th, 2022

BUSINESS • The Cornrow - The Cornrow is 'an affordable, vibrant home & lifestyle edit that puts the modern black aesthetic on the front row'. Founded by @cottagenoir's Kemi and her sister Lara as a love letter to their dual African and Caribbean heritage, you’ll find beautiful and unique pieces for your living space. You can shop directly via the website. https://www.thecornrow.com/ • Established 25 Atelier - is a British homeware and fashion accessories boutique which is inspired by, and proudly reflects, its Afro-Caribbean heritage. A great site for contemporary homeware, you can shop tote bags, cushions, lampshades and more. https://estd25atelier.com/ • House of Cato - is an online houseplant business run by Haula and Daniel, a London based couple of Ugandan and British heritage. They aim to promote a connection with nature within urban homes. You can buy a range of houseplants, vases, pots and stands. https://www.houseofkato.com/ • Black Girls Knit Club - The East London-based Black Girl Knit Club was launched in early 2019 by friends Sicgmone Kludje & Vea Koranteng to empower Black women through craft; an industry which lacks diversity. Aside from hosting workshops, on BGKC's online shop you can buy prints, tutorials (e-books) and wax print yarn. https://www.blackgirlknitclub.com/shop Barbeline •Barbeline Lusandu is a textiles designer and founder of her eponymous interiors label, Barbeline, selling fabrics, tableware, cushions, wallpaper, prints, chairs and more. All products – which are ecologically produced using 100 per cent biodegradable inks and recycled fabric where possible – are created in her East London studio. https://www.barbeline.com/ Kirzart -Artist Kirsty Latoya is a 24-year-old artist from South London who specialises in digital illustration and traditional art in the form of drawing. Her online shop sells a selection of products including tote bags, prints, phone cases and greeting cards. She is currently accepting illustration commissions and is open for collaborations with brands and other artists. http://www.kirzart.com/ Tribal Twist Clothing -A ‘tribally modernised’ clothing brand by Joy Kamau with the aim of reinventing ‘traditional clothing’ by creating beautifully finished garments to fit in with day to day life. Clothing, bags, shoes and accessories can be purchased via the online shop. https://www.tribaltwist.com/ EVENTS • Dear Black People (Excellence Theatre 5 - 6th July ) - Excellence Theatre is a multi-disciplinary Theatre company, which champions and amplifies Black British Artists.This two-day scratch festival provides Black British Playwrights with the opportunity to tell unique, innovative and fearless stories; offering insight into their experiences. Excellence Theatre is creating a driving force within their artists, empowering them to produce work that is strong, courageous and unapologetically black. https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/dear-black-people-20#overview •Radiate Windrush Festival (25 and 26 June) - “Celebrating its 5th year, Radiate Windrush Festival returns to a new location in the heart of multi-cultural South London. 2 days of entertainment & activities with food from across the Caribbean & the World! Celebrating real community, real vibes & culture this event is not to be missed, it's for all the family. Represent where you come from with your flags, whistles, horns, family & especially your good energy in a brand new location for 2022. From old to young it is a great environment from Granny to right through to Baby so bring your picnic blankets & foldable chairs to chill with us, there's always loads to see, do & great people to meet. Join us on Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 June 2022 for a vibrant weekend of performances, activities & community life at this family festival created to highlight Caribbean & Creole culture across Britain. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/radiate-windrush-festival-2022-tickets-291563824247?aff=ebdssbdestsearch •Taste of the Caribbean ) - The UK's biggest food festival dedicated to Caribbean food returns bigger and better for another amazing family day of food, drink, shopping and music. We have a brand new site located in a popular London park, with 30,000 square metres of parkland event space that can easily accommodate up to 8000 people with social distancing. This will be an unforgettable outdoor experience where you can purchase delicious cuisines from different islands of the Caribbean. Bring your picnic blankets and foldable chairs, spend the day with us, dance to reggae, the music of Motown, R&B classics, 80s, 90s and drink lots of rum punch. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/taste-of-the-caribbean-food-drink-festival-live-music-tickets-219186220887?aff=ebdssbdestsearch • A Night of a Thousand Graces with AFWL- We honour Grace Jones’ iconic looks with a day of high-end fashion, curated in partnership with Africa Fashion Week London and Creative Resilience International. Featuring show-stopping looks and catwalk wonders, this event also invites you to take to the floor and Rock the Runway, if you dare to dazzle the guest judges. •AngelFoundationUKJA. EXPO 2022 in partnership with Victoria Mutual & Grace Foods UK (Saturday, July 2nd) - In celebration of Jamaica 60 years of independence, the Angel foundation in partnership with Grace foods Uk and VM Group, presents it 2022 Expo. An exhibition and market showcasing businesses in various fields including art and culture, homeware, fashion and beauty, health and wellbeing, dentistry, crafts, food and more. We'll also have a live DJ plus some amazing giveaways on the day and a live show beginning at 3pm •V&A Africa FAshion - Spanning iconic mid-20th century to contemporary creatives through photographs, textiles, music, and the visual arts, Africa Fashion will explore the vitality and global impact of a fashion scene as dynamic and varied as the continent itself at this exhibit in Victoria and Albert •Taste of the Caribbean:Food & Drink Festival + Live Music (Saturday 2nd July, Croydon Road Recreation Ground) - An unforgettable outdoor street food experience with food from different islands of the Caribbean, live music, funfair rides and rum punch. The UK's biggest food festival dedicated to Caribbean food returns bigger and better for another amazing family day of food, drink, shopping and music. We have a brand new site located in a popular London park, with 30,000 square metres of parkland event space that can easily accommodate up to 8000 people with social distancing. This will be an unforgettable outdoor experience where you can purchase delicious cuisines from different islands of the Caribbean. Bring your picnic blankets and foldable chairs, spend the day with us, dance to reggae, the music of Motown, R&B classics, 80s, 90s and drink lots of rum punch. https://happeningnext.com/event/taste-of-the-caribbean-food-andamp-drink-festival-live-music-eid4sntn8v3ld1 B(Y8 Northumberland Ave, London WC2N 5BY BOOKS • What the Fireflies Knew: A Novel(Kai Harris) -In the vein of Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones and Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, a coming-of-age novel told by almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB), as she and her sister try to make sense of their new life with their estranged grandfather in the wake of their father's death and their mother's disappearance.https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Fireflies-Knew-Kai-Harris/dp/059318534X • Moon Witch, Spider King: Dark Star Trilogy 2 (Marlon James) - Booker Prize-winner Marlon James once again draws on a rich tradition of African mythology and fantasy to imagine a mythic world, a lost child, a 177-year-old witch and a mystery with many answers . . .https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moon-Witch-Spider-King-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B09G6B1TDG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JOTWVUIO8U3Y&keywords=moon+witch+spider+king&qid=1655324147&s=books&sprefix=moon+witch%2Cstripbooks%2C66&sr=1-1

• When We Were Birds ( Ayanna Lloyd Banwo) - Darwin is a down-on-his-luck gravedigger, newly arrived in the Trinidadian city of Port Angeles to seek his fortune, young and beautiful and lost. Estranged from his mother and the Rastafari faith she taught him, he is convinced that the father he never met may be waiting for him somewhere amid these bustling streets. Meanwhile in an old house on a hill, where the city meets the rainforest, Yejide's mother is dying. And she is leaving behind a legacy that now passes to Yejide: the power to talk to the dead. The women of Yejide's family are human but also not - descended from corbeau, the black birds that fly east at sunset, taking with them the souls of the dead. https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Birds-Ayanna-Lloyd-Banwo-ebook/dp/B094MGTN3M/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655324289&sr=1-1

• We Lie Here A Thriller by Rachel Howzell Hall- A woman’s trip home reveals frightening truths in a twisty novel of murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author of And Now She’s Gone and These Toxic Things. TV writer Yara Gibson’s hometown of Palmdale, California, isn’t her first choice for a vacation. But she’s back to host her parents’ twentieth-anniversary party and find the perfect family mementos for the celebration. Everything is going to plan until Yara receives a disturbing text: I have information that will change your life. The message is from Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara’s mother. But they’ve been estranged for years—drama best ignored and forgotten. But Yara can’t forget Felicia, who keeps texting, insisting that Yara talk to her “before it’s too late.” But the next day is already too late for Felicia, whose body is found floating in Lake Palmdale. Before she died, Felicia left Yara a key to a remote lakeside cabin. In the basement are files related to a mysterious tragedy, unsolved since 1998. What secrets was Felicia hiding? How much of what Yara knows about her family has been true? The deeper Yara digs for answers, the more she fears that Felicia was right. Uncovering the truth about what happened at the cabin all those years ago will change Yara’s life—or end it. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lie-Here-Rachel-Howzell-Hall-ebook/dp/B098343Q3J/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655418463&sr=1-2 PODCASTS • The Sound of Accra Podcast - The Sound of The Accra Podcast features entrepreneurs or creatives from a Ghanaian background or interest, in a series of powerful episodes. It serves as a platform for promoting Ghanaian excellence on a global scale, to an international audience who are intrigued by the professional Ghanaian community and culture. Our mission ultimately is for listeners to be inspired by stories and insights from top-quality guests, who can leave listeners with meaningful takeaways. Hosted by Adrian Daniel ... https://player.fm/series/the-sound-of-accra-podcast •1000 Voices- Welcome to 1000 Voices! The podcast series on a mission to interview 1000 inspirational black Britons. 1000 Voices was founded to amplify the voices of the numerous examples of the inspirational black Britons changing their communities and the industries that they operate in. If you’re looking for a regular dose of inspiration, you’re in the right place. If you’re looking to educate yourself on the black British experience, you’re in the right place. https://player.fm/series/1000-voices RADIO • If You Don't Know Grenfell 5 years On - IIt’s five years since the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London killed 72 people. And to mark the anniversary the local community has released a single called West Side Story. Two of the artists featured on it, AC and G2 Slime, drop in to chat to De-Graft about a friend one of them lost and how the community is recovering. The single’s producer, Toddla T, also stops by to explain why he got involved. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0017zlq

FILM/TV •Blood and Water (Netflix) -Blood and Water is a South African teenage-focused crime Drama television series. Set in Cape Town, South Africa, it tells the story of Puleng, a high schooler whose sister Phume was kidnapped as part of a human trafficking network Following her birth. Puleng will later discover she has a sister after being invited to a party. She also transfers to a prestigious elite school to further investigate the mystery of her sister. • Blood Sisters (Netflix)- Bound by a dangerous secret, friends Sarah and Kemi are forced to go on the run after a wealthy groom disappears during his engagement party. Truth be Told Love Life series 2 (BBC Iplayer) - `The second series of the popular show follows African-American new divorcee Marcus, played by William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), and how he navigates getting back into the New York dating scene https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09wmgsm/love-life-series-2-7-suzanne-hayward-and-leon-hines. WHAT AM I PAYING ATTENTION TO? • Germany will return jewels to Namibia - More than 20 looted objects from Namibia — including jewellery, tools, fashion and dolls — are being sent back to the country. The loan is the latest move by Germany to address its colonial past (made for Minds) https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-museum-returns-artifacts-to-namibia/a-61955022 •How Strive Masiyiwas became Britain's first black billionaire - The mobile phone tycoon grew up in the townships around Harare and came to the UK at the age of 12 after his parents saved the cash to send him to boarding school. https://inews.co.uk/news/rich-list-2022-strive-masiyiwa-becomes-britains-first-black-billionaire-2bn-fortune-mobile-phone-1644469 WHAT I AM PERSONALLY RECOMMENDING? 1. Fish, Wings and Tings, Brixton - A Brixton staple since 2012, this spot does ‘nouvelle Caribbean cuisine’. The menu celebrates a mix of island food, from jerk chicken with rice and peas to roti with prawns, string beans, pumpkin, chickpeas and potato kuchela chutney (which I love). They also make their own hot sauce and drinks. I recommend trying the homemade ginger beer, and rum that tastes just like a Dark ’n’ Stormy but stronger! https://www.instagram.com/fishwingstings/?hl=en 2. Boyz in the Hood - Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects. Featuring the coolest black dad ever Furious Styles! 3. The Bluest Eye - Pecola Breedlove longs for blond hair and blue eyes, so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the marigolds in her garden will not bloom, and her wish will not come true. Pecola's life is about to change in other painful and devastating ways. A powerful interrogation of what it means to conform to an idea of beauty, The Bluest Eye asks vital questions about race, class and gender and remains one of Toni Morrison's most unforgettable works.