Here's a thought-provoking article."When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." More...

Britain's first ever black studies course will begin in September 2017 at Birmingham University. Kehinde Andrews writing in the Guardian says that the fact that this has never been done before "demonstrates the crisis at the heart of British academia." Out of 18,510 UK University professors only 85 are black. "Any approach rooted in the experience of black populations will quickly realise the serious issues of discrimination and exclusion faced across the globe." Read more...

'Voices of Black People' is a new play by Khareem Jamal telling the stories of David Walker, Harriet Tubman and Joseph Boulogne, three characters in the African Diaspora during the period of slavery and imperial exploitation.
How did the sacrifice of these individuals alter the landscape at the time and change the future, which is now our present?
These stories will inspire young people about the possibilities of achievement, and the realisation that your circumstances do not have to determine your outcome. 
The play is being performed at The Culture Space, Canada Water, Bermondsey, London, from October 6-9 and Lee Testament Church of God on October 22. Further dates to be announced.
For more information or to enquire about bringing the play to your area, download a leaflet.

​Afro Supa® Hero is a new exhibition at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool celebrating the importance of role models and icons. It provides a snapshot of Jon Daniel’s personal journey of self discovery, through his collection of pop cultural heroes and heroines of the African diaspora. Entry is free and the exhibition in running until December 11.

Jon Daniels grew up in South West London in the 1960s and 1970s. Looking back at his childhood he sees himself as a typical British-born, first generation child of West Indian parents – a young boy trying to find his place within a culture he couldn’t always relate to. In his late 20s he began collecting comics, games, action figures and memorabilia featuring positive Black role models of history and fiction, feeling that they most strongly embodied the era of his childhood and his search for identity. 

Who is your hero? Is she strong? Is he kind? Are they brave? A hero can do and be many amazing things, even without super powers. This exhibition highlights the importance of Black heroes and role models within society and their ability to have a positive impact on the lives and aspirations of us all. More...

Congratulations from MJR to the makers of 'Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners' for winning the Specialist Factual award at this year's BAFTAs. This 2-part series, shown last summer on BBC 2, was based on research by University College London on the records of compensation payments made to slave owners by the British Government in 1834, out of a then-record pot of £20million. The slaves got nothing.
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Expect a repeat of the programmes soon - well worth watching for an insight into a legacy issue still visible all around us in what that money bought  (and watch out for an announcement soon from MJR of an event linked to BFSO).

A lot of attention has been rightly focused on the new mayor of London being a Muslim, However, in Bristol, a city whose growth owes so much to the slave trade, Marvin Rees, the working-class son of an English mother and Jamaican father, has made history as the first directly elected city mayor in Europe of African or Caribbean heritage. Read more from this article in the Guardian.

MJR is running a short weekend course entitled: 'Free to Forgive: Justice, Reconciliation and the Legacy of Slavery' in Manchester on June 24-25. It will be hosted by the Moss Lane East Church of God of Prophecy in Moss Side. The course is designed to increase our understanding of how modern society has been affected by the legacy of oppression left by colonial slavery and industrial exploitation, and how as Christians we should handle that knowledge in the light of Christ’s work of redemption on the cross.