It's time to celebrate the stories and successes of women who have for too long been overlooked and unheard
2020 has been a turbulent year, to say the least. But for black people across the world, it’s also been a pivotal one punctured by countless stories of police brutality, injustice and inequality.
Just last week came the news that the white police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year old black women who was shot eight times in her own home, were cleared of all charges. Previously there was the death of Ahmaud Arbery, and the brutal murder of George Floyd, his last moments caught on camera, igniting global protests.
In the UK, the scale and impact of institutionalised racism has also been laid bare. 1 in 4 black men were stopped and searched in London during lockdown, and despite making up just 14% of the British population, people of colour represent a third of all Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital.
What the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests across the world have signalled is a need for all of us to stand together to ignite systematic change, educate ourselves about Black history and culture, acknowledge racism and, most of all, take a stand against it. Its also time to confront difficult conversations around white privilege and unconscious bias and move forward.
At Marie Claire, we’re determined for this show of solidarity to transcend beyond social media and into real, tangible movement for change. That's why we’re celebrating Black History Month by shining a spotlight on some of our favourite strong female voices and their positive and inspiring stories of success.
Join us this month as we celebrate some of our women - from theatre director Ola Ince and high-flying entrepreneur Patricia Bright, to STEM pioneer Otegha Uwagba and human rights defender Shakelia Jackson, who is paving the way for social change within her community.
Because its time to stop, listen and learn.
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Is This England? For people of colour, ‘Belonging’ and ‘Britishness’ are so often conditional“The attitudes and rhetoric that spurred these riots and attacks are not new,” argues Emma Slade Edmondson
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Why it's time we changed the narrative around black successIn the wake of England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka being targeted with racial abuse, we need to rewrite the narrative around black success and failure says Charlotte Greene, co-founder of Black Owned eXcellence network, The B.O.X.
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Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu: 'We can’t talk about the dehumanisation of Black women without talking about colourism'In the wake of the Candice Braithwaite and Rochelle Humes controversy, we hear from activist, attorney and author of This is Why I Resist, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu – who says we must not pit Black women against each other, but instead hold our TV Networks to account.
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After the Candice Brathwaite TV show storm: 'Are we finally ready to talk about colourism?'Ateh Jewel, Marie Claire's beauty columnist, talks about the Candice Brathwaite and Rochelle Humes docu debacle and why colourism - the preferential treatment of lighter-skinned individuals compared with darker-skinned Black people - must finally be acknowledged and action taken
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'Why do we still have a problem with race?' asks anti-racism activist Layla F SaadHow do you become a better anti-racist ally in 2020? For starters, recognise that if you're white and privileged, you're probably helping uphold an oppressive system. On Black History Month, we're shining a spotlight on what Layla. F Saad, author of Me and White Supremacy, has to say about shutting down racism
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Hunger strikers demand justice for Breonna TaylorBlack Lives Matter protests are still reverberating and now protesters in the US are on hunger strike seeking justice for Breonna Taylor, a woman killed at home by police in March. Marie Claire's Dami Abajingin asks why the killing of black women is rarely centre stage in narratives about police brutality and why #SayHerName matters
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Dear White Mumfluencers, we need to talk about being an anti-racism allyMy name is Zeena Moolla. Like you, I'm a part of your world, albeit my Word To The Mothers occupies a far less frequented space. I apologise for the unsolicited nature of this address, but I felt we needed to talk...
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'Black people need everyone, regardless of colour, to do better'Following George Floyd's killing, Hanna Davis, a 28-year-old TV producer, says she's lived her life seeing black people treated with less value than white people
