Hidden Histories (Vol 3)

To continue on from the last two segments of ‘Hidden Histories‘ I shall move on to another area of plausible doubt. The next subject centers around one of the greatest British writers of all time, William Shakespeare.  Throughout Shakespeare’s famous career it is suggested that he did not have any self-portraits painted of himself while he was alive. There exist a version of a dramatically darker skinned image of Shakespeare painted in 1610 before he died. It was only when Shakespeare passed away that a famous self-portrait was commissioned and given the green-light by a close friend of his who believed that the portrait represented the true qualities of Shakespeare. This issue led me to question why a man with so much success and celebrity did not choose to keep any records of what he or his family looked like while he was alive. Read more

2012
04/03
CATEGORY
Art
Culture
Events
Literature
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Hidden Histories (Vol 2)

In this second part of ‘Hidden Histories‘ I will be exploring and exposing elements of Britain’s black culture  from periods before the 1960s commonwealth immigration. It will become evident to you that there is more to Great Britain’s history than meets the eye. Some of the information I have discovered while studying ‘Identity, difference and race’ during my time as a student at the University of East London. I have also come across other materials by accident during my leisure time searching the internet. Read more

2012
04/01
CATEGORY
Art
Culture
Poll
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Avatar-A tale of many narratives

I have just finished watching Avatar and I must say this film was very touching. I feel like I have experienced what it must have felt like for the native Africans during the European Encounter of Africa in the Colonial 16th Century. The war scenes were extremely powerful. The theme of technology vs nature was also very touching. I recommend this film not just for this narrative interpretation but also for the artistic nature of the cinematography. Read more

2012
03/31
CATEGORY
Art
Culture
Film
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Hidden Histories (Vol. 1)

If I was given £1 for each time I was asked ‘Where do you come from?‘ I would be a millionaire. Throughout my lifespan as a black man born in Britain I have constantly been reminded that being black and British are two things which the majority of the planet find hard to conjoin together as one. To be honest it’s not as if there is much commercial evidence of a black presence in Britain across the world in the mass media. You only have to analyse the British media which is exported around the globe and you may have a problem trying to identify a black person yet alone any type of Black British sub-cultures which may exist on a national level in Britain.

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2012
03/31
CATEGORY
Culture
Poll
Video
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Racist Police In Great Britain

Just after the British police battled to save their public image with the re-trial and jailing of two members of the gang of racist thugs who stabbed Stephen Lawrence to death in 1993 and got away with it for nearly 20 years; negative relations between the police and the black British public seem to have declined yet again. The 1997 Stephen Lawrence Inquiry conducted by Sir William Macpherson titled, ‘The Inquiry Into The Matters Arising From The Death Of Stephen Lawrence’ found that the Metropolitan Police was ‘institutionally racist’ Read more

2012
03/31
CATEGORY
Culture
Law
News
Video
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Racial Cliches Challenged From A Black British Perspective

After posting my last blog post I have been inundated with responses on Facebook and Twitter. One response in particular from  a family member accused me of ‘baiting’ the ‘race’ issue! This did not sit well with me because as far as I was concerned my blog was written in response to Dhaliwal’s article in the Evening Standard. Read more

2012
03/30
CATEGORY
Culture
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