My Wordz of Whizzdom

My Poet friend Teju Chosen was having the second running of her new open mic event Wordz N Whizzdom and I came to show support. As the performer world is so small, I knew many of the other acts there which was nice.

Certain familiar faces of the night added greatly to the activities as I hadn't seen one particular female Poet, who admittedly hadn't been on the scene in ages, for the longest time. At first we didn't recognise each other but then I recognised her voice (obviously, as Poets) and realised that she performed at a couple of my events some years ago. It's amazing how these happenstances have been reoccurring all year! After picturing me with my long hair (before shaving it all off drastically but unapologetically in 2019), my face began to trigger her memory and it was all love. Thank goodness as I needed someone who was willing to take pictures of me on stage, which I hardly ever get to do lol.

The cheeky Host who goes by the character name President Obonjo, was just that, funny and facetious. We had our friendly banter as an audience member (me) to Comedian, which people seemed to enjoy, him more so. 

Interestingly, I performed my rarely heard poem Lead the Way, which although is about anyone who had the ability, the doubt, the opportunity or the force of circumstances to make them have to 'step up' and become a leader for whatever reason (based on my past experiences of being in that reoccurring position), on this occasion I dedicated this poem to brave grassroots activists, freedom fighters and African Presidents in recent years who I have admired the progressive, bold, revolutionary actions of. 

As it is still Black History Month (BHM), which many people seem to be forgetting or overlooking to my dismay, it was important to me to inform and elevate the audience with the notoriety that inspired my vocal dedication. Such as current revolutionary (regarding his assertiveness of freedom fighting) of Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Traoré. Traoré's comparable 'ahead of his time' predecessor Thomas Sankara. Rwanda's 'rise from the ashes and get things done' Paul Kagame. Ethiopia's pioneering, economy accelerating female President Sahle-Work Zewde. Along with the recently assassinated (a valid conspiracy according to the events at the time) John Magufuli of Tanzania, to spotlight a few.

 

Incase ("in case" used to be and still is in my opinion, ONE WORD), you may find some dirt on either of the above names mentioned be it true or false, past or in the future, just know that I am referring to their GOOD actions and the effective changes they have brought to the native citizens of their countries in order to actively enhance their livelihoods. My praise is comes from both research and first-hand experience  (e.g. from my temporary living in Rwanda). I have to make that disclaimer, as I hate when I praise someone who I discover to be seemingly admirable and then they let me down with a scandal or some contradictory disgrace, that is not only devastating depending how high a regard I held them in, but it's embarrassing to all that endorsed them. 

I learned a long time ago not to put any human onto too high of a pedestal however, I am also referencing my deep regret in quoting and praising certain influential people in a printed interview of mine from 2014 (which I'm sure I've mentioned before), that left me feeling utterly disgraced when some of those idiots shamed the world and their fans (including me) with their foul/criminal behaviour....alas.

Back to the main point; the dedication introduction of my poem left quite the impression on charismatic non-Politician President Obonjo, him saying so made for an artistic connection.

 

Another memorable moment of the night but my biggest highlight, was the Black History quiz. I loved that they had this, because firstly it brings out the child in me (class quizzes, competitions, prizes and what not), secondly because they brought it back to BLACK HISTORY and not just entertainment. That pleased me a great deal. As a history buff and proud afro-centric individual, I knew that I'd know most of the answers but it was fun to indulge in and watch even if I wasn't to participate. We had about five questions from the Host, where we had to write down our confirmed multiple choice answers on a piece of paper. 

In my opinion these were easy questions but I would think that as an avid reader and researcher. The general public on the other hand may not feel this way. When the Host asked who got 5/5 and I raised my hand, he had the nerve to not believe me and demanded to see my answer sheet!! Which I showed with no hesitation however, if I'd have known that it was going to be looked at then I would have written more legibly, since apparently I write like a Doctor as the stereotype of bad handwriting goes. Who cares, I WON! 

There were various little prizes given throughout the night including a keyboard vacuum, debated to be a dildo (by the Host of course) but none of my dildo's nor any on sex shop shelves (yes women do buy these things, actually it's big business for both genders truth be told) look like that funny shaped thing. A useful tool nonetheless LOL. 

My prize was newly purchased African art (a picture of a village woman's silhouette). What I loved about winning this is the irony of previously, desperately wishing that I could have purchased and transported much of the brilliant art I saw all over Rwanda. Also, that I won a prize based on merit, of history about my people. That feels good, BIG UP me! And BIG UP to the organisers for putting the games and prizes together!

 

Additionally coincidental was the repeat sighting of fellow Poet, Bruce Cadogan and Comedian Mr. Blair, who I both first met at the same event in 2014! We haven't aged much and everyone is still nice, still talented and doing what they love!

More pictures of the night can be found on my Instagram page. All these pictures were taken by Lady Rhymes, Teju Chosen and myself.

Keep learning, keep enjoying, be inspired.

Love Lauren

Return to The Dial Up @ Pumphouse Theatre

[ARCHIVED BLOG POST] 

It has been five years since I last performed at The Dial Up hosted by Alex Williams, which I simply cannot believe. At the time it was to promote my play, which went wonderfully well (both the play and the entire promotion tour actually) and made for a nice performance memory that included book sales afterwards!

It was nice to be invited to return to the show and share the stage with passionate Poets, and to share the room with poetry lovers. However, this time it was much different from past Dial Up events, as it returned to Watford (was at West Hampstead last time) but taking place at a noticeably larger venue. This one being held at Pumphouse Theatre as a subsidiary of Watford Theatre. As some of you know, I just LOVE theatre full stop, therefore the setting was just right for me.

The size of the audience which is usually made for a cosy setting at a café, bar or small music venue, was not in alignment with the theatre seating plan. However, the magnitude of joy, contentment, audience appreciation and participation, talent and enthusiasm to share art from those on stage, more than made up for the sparse filled seats. Everyone was having fun and happy to be there with one another. I noticed that I was one of the few people who was not a local- a local that was fully embedded into their community no less. As they all seemed to know each other extremely well. As the night went on, more people flowed in and mini interactions between performances were happening, there was a strong feeling of an infectious warm hug to a degree or so I felt.

There were alot ("a lot" as the new so called standard of US English that I won't give in to), of elders in the room, who prided themselves on being members of the community and witnessing or participating to the history shared on the night. This edition of The Dial Up was dedicated to Black History Month (BHM). What pleased me a great deal was since much of the attendees were older, they kept bringing BHM back to the topic in question. Therefore, they were not just performing for entertainment with their presence but to add enlightenment with acknowledgement of history or Black culture in general.

Particularly with Black performers from the Windrush generation and second generation, their wisdom and experience was key to the enhancement of this BHM edition, in my strong opinion. It also meant alot to me when White (British) performers went on stage to respectfully give their perspectives and knowledge about a few things in regard to Black History. There was one man who informed the audience about the history of Rock 'n' Roll music, in regard to famous Artists (Elvis, Rolling Stones, The Beatles etc) who got more successful from copying songs from under-rated Black Artists like Buddy Walters, The Isley Brothers and Little Richard or Chuck Berry I think, due to racism. Knowing some of this myself, I was glad that he informed us further by quoting certain songs to prove his point.

The Musician reiterated this to us before doing a rendition of a Rock 'n' Roll song. I was so happy for the added information he gave because he mentioned some names that I was unaware of and had to write them down to look them up later. It prompted me to watch the new Elvis biopic that I was avoiding (due to already knowing how the story will go, as with most high profile celebrity biopics), since he mentioned that the film referred to much of that music history also.

Someone read a poem written by European (presumably renowned) Poet called Black Woman, which I am sure shocked many people in the room as well as myself. It was a positive, intriguing poem, debatably of critical analysis but welcomed nevertheless (by me anyway). There was a choir in their full attire, who sang like they meant it. Again the community love and respect, among the people within the choir on stage was obvious which captivated me more. There were quite a few Musicians with guitars and more Singers on the night than I expected. This was certainly a variety show.

As I posted on Instagram, it was a pleasure to debut my exceptionally informative and long poem Black History of Late, that I was still writing while I was in the audience which drew plenty of unwanted attention. But alas, by the time I got on stage, everyone knew that it was me who was the performer post-poning her appearance due to real-time creativity! As it still wasn't edited or shortened to my satisfaction, as it felt like it was a 1000 pages long, I did what I do best and freestyled- and very well might I add. The good thing about freestyling and waffling as I tend to do, is that it gives the opportunity for extra info, side notes, comic relief or necessary improv. It went down well. 

As a matter of fact, with the majority of the audience being older than me, and I have always been told that I "have an old soul or have been here before," I knew that the content of my poem would connect with them greatly. Referring to the recent passing of Black historic icons such as Tina Turner, Sidney Poitier, Cecily Tyson, John Magafuli, Harry Belafonte and Roy Hackett for example, had many of them cheering. Whereas when such names are mentioned to the youth, most of it goes over their head which is as annoying as a Comedian doing stand-up to an audience who just doesn't get the joke. It was the perfect poem to the perfect audience.

Afterwards I was overwhelmingly flooded with praise for the amount of knowledge and research given to my poem, gratitude and thankfulness for acknowledging certain people and events that some felt often goes ignored, joy from what they saw and heard, all said by very sweet and friendly audience members. As usual my writing sparked conversation and minor debate. Therefore, some people came up to tell me what they thought about certain events that I mentioned or to ask about key mentioned events and individuals (modern day figures) that they were unaware of. 

A lady even shared some information with me about an older West Indian woman who she knows personally, who dedicated her life to the NHS and other health and community causes in London. Apparently this amazing woman does not get the national respect that she deserves despite having received some recognition due to all her hard work and participated growth of the NHS. This was being brought to my attention as an indirect reference to my stanza about how West Indian labourer's were called on by the British government to help rebuild their economy thus they notably took on helpful essential roles as Nurses, Bus Drivers, Social Workers and other Key Workers which consequently propelled those British sectors/workforces at the time. Thus that stanza resonated with the English woman, who knew the West Indian woman that she was informing me about.

I was keen to learn more about the honourable woman in question. Moments like these, not just networking but really conversing, sharing opinions, knowledge and ideas really are invaluable. The lady went on to express how much certain points from my poem touched her and so on. An Irishman (very much a Londoner) who performed also, came up to me to express his sentiments on racism and the history of Britain. It turns out we were from the same borough but of different generations. As firm and fair as he felt about my poem and the overall discussion, he still highly complimented my poetry.

I just could not stop blushing from all this feedback, so much so that I had to have a moment to myself. The fact that I was so worried about the verbal delivery being affected by all my last second editing and additions, when neither of which deterred the poem from being received as intended, is just such a victorious feeling. It was less about the poem being liked and more about the people (particularly the Black elders of the Windrush generation in the room) being respected, feeling honoured and the Windrush Scandal vs the Windrush 75th Anniversary factors being given justice through my writing. It was important to me and emotive to many.

I really wanted to record all of the glorious things that people were saying to me and have them say their kind words and beautiful feedback on camera but I knew that they (most) would not have wanted that. I understand that not everything has to be recorded and uploaded as per activity of today's generation however, not only would it have been useful to me professionally but in any case I would have wanted to have their sweet words on record as a keepsake for my own personal memories. I'm more than thankful to have lived these moments regardless. I try to 'be in the moment,' and be as present as possible when good things are happening.

 [Click on the images to enlarge]

The show ended with a joyous rendition of Lean in Me by the host himself and a powerful Singer who goes by the name Funky Mama. That moment of such an uplifting song, with everyone including myself singing along, was SO SWEET. Almost a tearjerker I'd say. Watch clips via the link. The night concluded like church, just as I thought it would, not just because of all the choir robes among us lol, but because of this tight community of people all talking, mingling, walking slowly and discussing all that they had just witnessed as well as general catch-ups of their personal lives no doubt. Everyone was so sweet and friendly. I met plenty of nice people who I genuinely complimented for their performance, as well as a really nice lady who wore the best outfit of the night- that I want to buy myself (an African print trouser suit). 

Apparently The Dial Up concluded the Watford Fringe festival, a Fringe that I only just discovered last month. It was really a great time had and kicked off Black History Month for me perfectly and I look forward to doing more "info-taining" throughout the rest of the month.

Love Lauren

Instagram: @LKreelDeevah

Twitter: @LK_ReelDeevah

Magic of Musicals [Archived]

Those who know me well know that I love theatre. It was a big part of my childhood, I went to numerous theatre productions between musicals, dramas, small plays and pantomimes as a child (many thanks to my primary schools, after school clubs and my family) and have always loved watching musicals (classics, contemporary and animated). Always wished I was a part of them, as I always wanted to write, direct, produce or dance and sing in musicals whether it be on screen or on stage, ever since when I was a pre-teen. I don't necessarily feel that way today, although it would still be amazing. 

Naturally, I excelled in Drama at secondary school, passed my dance exams (from Saturday classes) and before that I had the privilege of going to a stage school for a brief period of time after many years of dreaming for that to happen. If I have not mentioned that last part already on my blog, that expensive stint was actually at a prestigious stage school in London that will remain unnamed for the time being considering that my time there didn't necessarily feel so prestigious.

Bitterness aside, I still love theatre. It has been my chosen activity for a few birthdays and many dates even, some of which I have reviewed on my food blog. I even went to see a flamenco show while I was in Portugal (Algarve) for my personal writer's block retreat eleven years ago. As a matter of fact, dance stole my heart from day dot regardless of theatre, thus Tango Fire (the Argentinian dance group) is one of my favourite productions of late as Argentine tango one of my favourite styles of dance. I wish I saw the recent Swan Lake ballet rendition from 2022, as well as the seemingly fabulous Northern Ballet's version of The Great Gatsby that ran briefly earlier this year. Ballet Black (a BAME British dance group) is having their sold out show at Watford Theatre this month but hopefully I'll make it to one of their productions in the future.

 

I digress, theatre gives me butterflies and great excitement which is why it meant so much to me to finally produce a play in 2018. I am forever filled with great admiration and respect for all parties involved to make it happen. The entire ensemble that participates from the orchestra, to the costume and wardrobe department, lighting department, set design, of course the Actors, Dancers, Choreographers, Playwrights, Songwriters/Composers, Directors and Producers. It's just all so very amazing to me as theatre requires such dedication, creativity, teamwork, synchronicity, patience and skill to achieve "good theatre."

 

Having heard of Black Wall Street the musical happening in London, via a WhatsApp group page caught my attention immediately, as of course I am aware of the real Black Wall Street (or streets plural- considering the likes of Rosewood, Wilmington, Bronzeville, Oak Bluffs, as well as Tulsa, and a few other smaller ones that went under the radar in America). Thus I wanted to know how this would be portrayed or what side of the story was going to be focused on for their audience. Black History Month is indeed very fitting for this production to take place. So with less than a weeks’ notice and having a very busy schedule between my performances and what have you, I jumped at the chance to see it.

Unfortunately, as the location is clearly made for locals (not so much outsiders it seems), this was incredibly hard for me to find, particularly as I was on foot and not in a car. I really do want the venue management staff to be aware of how dangerous I and no doubt some others in a similar position, found the site to be at night as it was a large complex with different multi-use buildings and a varied car park, with many broken or plainly unavailable street lights. All the above can lead to any amount of accidents or crimes, of which made me very uneasy and upset upon entering the grounds after a very difficult journey to the location. So much so that I felt unsafe and wanted to turn around.

 

Again, this location was made for cars, cars with their headlights to find their way to the parking bays closest to the necessary building within the complex. In any case, there still should be active bulbs within each street lamp and multiple street lamps/lights around the premises to fully illuminate the grounds. Safety is important everywhere, day or night, especially at night. Neglected safety measures do aggravate me and the stone statues of people and animals DID NOT help with my navigation or heightened anxiety in the near pitch black pathways by the way. I had to laugh between cussing to stay calm. The human/animalistic/whimsical silhouettes within the shadows felt very Tim Burton-esque, this would be a great place for a Halloween party.

Because of all this hassle, I was willing to turn around and go home as it had dramatically affected my punctuality and I was missing nearly half of the show. However, as I was on the phone to someone that was keeping me safe and comfortable, more so the ladies at one of the gargoyle protected buildings within the complex were so nice to me when I interrupted their belly dancing lesson to be pointed in the right direction, as they made me feel so welcomed and more assured to just go ahead and enjoy myself as opposed to turning around and having another exhausting hour long journey home on public transport, to consequently waste money on travel expenses and my pre-purchased ticket. If my patience did not exceed my grief then I would not have got to enjoy the splendour that was to come.

[Click on pictures to enlarge]

I was an hour late but tried to enter the theatre auditorium as discreetly as I could, as I hate to blatantly interrupt people or distract them from the stage. Luckily the door was in a dark area but it was still towards the front of the stage where everyone could see that it had opened and just stare at you, which was very embarrassing. However I just caught an intense moment of the production that looked like a prison scene straight out of the 1920's. Portrayed well by the signature black and white striped uniform. This again caught my attention of the efforts from the Costume Designers/Director; the way they were styled to suit each character as well as to suit the era. I was also fascinated by the use of the background projection to set the scene well. A good alternative from using theatre flats.

All of these wonderful little details. Again as a theatre enthusiast and as a Filmmaker of course, it means a great deal to me. I enjoy stage production because I literally enjoy every single creative piece being layered on top of one another. The stage design, sound effects, the costumes, lighting, the acting and most certainly the story being told through well written words if not dance, body language and song. As well as the overall theatre setting of the ascending stalls, circles, VIP boxes (usually expensive with bad angles if you ask me) and classic red velvet stage curtains. With that said, I can say that most of those boxes were ticked here despite Millfield being a small (yet ideal) theatre. The songs were sung very well and had heart. The Actors done what they were meant to do, which was to transport the audience; audibly, visually and emotionally within each act of the story being told. To have us feel like we are in that moment.

 

To have us feel their characters emotions and this play was intentionally emotive. As it would be because it was based on a hard-hitting true story- essentially of the Jim Crow laws that motivated the notorious massacre of a self-sufficient affluent Black area, that had "the audacity" to grow and prosper within their own internal segregated town's economy. The very idea of that reality was an offensive phenomenon to the larger White terrorising population outside of its boarders at the time.

 

From what I was able to catch despite my tardiness, was that this version was told through the angle of what kicked off the violent mob to come to Black Wall Street, Tulsa. After a young Black man apparently provoked a young White woman in an elevator of some public building. However, it was an accidental misunderstanding to which the lady (factually) even confirmed that he did not harm her, however some of the surrounding White people claimed he had laid his hands on her aggressively and ripped her dress (around her arm).

 

This led (another word that has changed the general spelling to US English whereas it used to be a homograph “lead/lead” and “read/read”) angry White people to chase him down, considering that it was virtually illegal to flirt with White women in the name of segregation. The young man was beaten and arrested with whatever unjustly charges. Although I missed a great deal of the dialogue, historically speaking it seemed that when the White men found out about the successful Black town that he had come from along with the protesting Black folk that came to defend him, they decided to burn it down and commit mass murder as punishment basically. Needless to say, the accused crime doesn't have anything to do with the serious crime(s) that followed, and the murderers were not held to any legal accountability. It's so sad that they just seemed to need an excuse to eradicate the town and townsmen that offended them.

 

From my recent research, I learned that much of the Black men who came to defend the young man and protest his arrest (which led to fights and riots), were the ones who ended up getting arrested themselves and some of them either got lynched or immediately put on Death Row. Whereas none of the participating violent White men were arrested. The injustice and arguable compensation owed to the descendants of the 1921 mass murder victim's/home and business loss victims of Tulsa, can be researched more via many news articles, documentaries and YouTube videos.

 

Inevitably, there were many touching and thought-provoking acts (scenes) in the play. Such as when some of the Black towns’ folk found shelter to run and hide with their surviving family members, if not alone and were arguing about how to better defend themselves; run or stay and fight (to run away out of fear and weakness or to stay and fight with dignity, mental strength and pride). Emotional, subliminal, timeless dialogue and themes indeed. Of course, the story is overall about White supremacy and Black oppression on the basis of a key event. Subsequently with the notion of how that reflects in today's society, which is what was largely felt among us in the audience, going by our synonymous reactions. The audience was mainly Black and mature in age. 

 

We largely felt the pain of what our people go through, have been through and are still going through worldwide. May not be to the severity of a whole town being burned down (although something similar happened in a historically Black town of Colombia not too long ago), but evidently there is still oppression. The present day still presents socially, economically and racially bias issues with the police, unjust legal systems that affects us negatively and so on. Therefore there were different scenes, words and lines within the script that were more emotive with the Black audience members, just because.

All of this within the story plus society today, led to an inevitable Q&A afterwards. Which of course came with many opinions and questions from the audience to the cast and Playwright/Director. It turns out that the Playwright/Director of this was one of the co-creators of the Black Heroes Hall of Fame British musical in the 90's, which was a big hit that took place in the UK and beyond. Some of the young Actors in this current musical were also chosen from a Drama school, handpicked by the Director. Which was a nice fun-fact to know during the Q&A as I can only imagine how exciting this experience and opportunity must have been for the aspiring Thespians.

 

Much of the questions turned conversational and quickly went to discussions about the current state of racism and anti-Blackness within England (much of the cast were British and Caribbean but portraying Americans for their roles). All of the above was insightful yet expected and unsurprising for me to hear. However, as I am always one to thrive off knowledge and subsequently loves to share knowledge, I refused to remain quiet and passive when the mood of the predominantly Black audience seemed to be falling increasingly pessimistic and doubtful in regard to Black progression and the thought of us having (to maintain is a whole ‘nother debate) another Black Wall Street in today's date, with knowing that history often gets repeated (they keep getting destroyed- burned down, gentrified or taken away in one way or another). It is important to me to give my people, specifically young people and cynical people who may not know any better, HOPE in such regard. 

Therefore, I raised my hand to give my little contribution of awareness to the conversation which ended up being way more impactful than I had in mind. I gladly informed much of the audience about thriving Black economies that I have seen in recent years between Africa, the Caribbean and America that have done well and are presently doing very well in regards to Black ownership of businesses, land, homes and schools. These are indeed real places, with real populations of Black residents- with a status quo obviously, protection, isolation vs integration, as well as the ones (towns/cities/countries) in development as we speak. I know this due to my recent travels, conversations and extended research. 

 

Everyone is entitled to go and research for themselves and to physically explore themselves to find out more- RESPECTFULLY SO. What people are not entitled to do, to my face anyway, is to deny the facts of these happenings. Black people have lost alot (I still prefer to write it as the original and familiar UK English “alot” as opposed to the new US English of "a lot") but continue to build alot as well as fight for alot. Thus between the time we still achieve ALOT which I have seen all of my nearly 40yrs of living.

The pleasure and joy within the audience from my proven examples of modern day "Black Wall Streets," was infectious after hearing the positive insights I had to share, especially when I quoted some facts and places. The happy grunts of people who concurred in agreement with some of my mentions, was equally joyful. Followed by the side conversations and approaches that I got after the Q&A had finished and we all left the auditorium, in crowds of what felt like a church gathering (when they all take forever to leave the building as everyone is held up in ongoing conversation and repeated Goodbye’s), made for a very pleasant evening. I was taken aback by the amount of people that came up to me to say that they were thankful for what I had to say or the information I gave. 

It was quite humbling as I could tell that some of them just needed to hear that glitter of hope, as opposed to being brought down with the regular news of police brutality, corporate or academic mistreatment, high unemployment rates, crime, lack of development, complaints of struggle and topical set-backs that get far more mentions and airtime. Constant gentrification of Black areas or neo-colonialism of Black countries, all of which are naturally draining and can encourage self-hatred which I have NO TIME FOR. I wanted at least some people in the room to feel PROUD and not so frustrated or embarrassed of the shame and sorrow that is often brought to Black communities internationally due to systemic racism and historic issues, regardless of conflicting opinions. 

 

When I saw the change in the face of a particular young person a few rows away from me, transform from disappointment at what was just said before me in regard to our things always being destroyed or taken, to then going to an immediate smile when I spoke of Black middle class areas and Black owned hotels in certain countries that I had just visited, their smile melted my heart and affirmed my need to add to the conversation. 

 

All in all it was a good night out and worth the transport trouble, for the most part. It was a good play. There was great energy from the cast and audience. The Q&A was encouragingly interactive and the cast and crew were gracious with that, as well as with the many pictures we were all excited to take with them in their costumes! 

 

I will forever be grateful for the lovely women who were sitting near the door that I entered from but stayed standing still because I did not want to distract the audience, and I could not see a damn thing to assure my safety if I was to attempt to walk to my seat! I actually have brilliant eyesight (ask my Optician), but for the life of me all the rows of seats next to the door were pitch black just ready for a lawsuit hazard! Thus I kept myself still, waiting for the lights to brighten. The women sitting nearby noticed this and three of them held my arms to guide me to my seat, up a few hidden steps, safely. That was so sweet! I haven't experienced that level of kindness from a group of strangers (who also didn't know each other by the way) in ages, I nearly fell over anyway just out of shock! 

Two other nice moments were when; a woman sitting behind me believed that she recognised me as a performer and when I confirmed that I was a Poet/Spoken Word Artist, she said that she has definitely seen me perform before but could not remember where. It was my voice that triggered her memory as well as my "beautiful" baby cheeks if I do say so myself ;-)

 

Secondly, someone came up to me after the Q&A, while I was speaking with some other audience members in the foyer and said “Miss, you have such a strong presence about you. From the moment you spoke you didn’t need the microphone. You just have such an aura and commanding presence. Thank-you for what you shared.” I was so taken by that. What a night!

 

Check out more footage on my Instagram page @LkReelDeevah.

 

 

Love Lauren

 

Free Minds for Like Minds [Archived]

[This blog post was archived in November. Some of the following images are blurry but still cute. Multiple photographers. Click on the images to enlarge.]

There is a monthly poetry night at The Dalston Lounge (Dalston Kingland, London) called Free Mind and this is the second time that I've come down. When I performed a few months ago I had a great time and met interesting people with some very interesting occupations, which is one of the many things I love about mingling and networking. Such as when you meet people from various walks of life who can teach you something, I love that.

Last time I recall debuting a new poem at the time but unsure of which one, along with performing readings of two of my old personal favourite throwback poems for the sake of nostalgia. Those poems being My Testimony and Memorise My Lines. Felt good to revive those and to express certain sentiments that some audience members could relate to.

This time being Black History Month (BHM), I really wanted to debut another topical poem however, the poem is so damn long and unedited (as is much of my new writing in recent years), that I simply could not be asked to cram it into my 5-10mins set that would have felt rushed. I expressed this with the audience about being saddened to not have what I was originally going to perform, be ready or polished enough to share. More so that my energy wasn't there to at least give an extract of it despite their encouragement- much to their disappointment (their disappointment from initial excitement of potentially hearing my new material, which felt sweet in its own way). 

As I don't like to disappoint and want to always be able to leave my audience with something to enjoy, I still dropped a few gems for them to hear, think and talk about. Thus similarly to last time, I performed another throwback (Innocence), plus a crowd favourite that was on my mind due to recent experiences (Make Delicious) and a Black empowerment poem of mine titled Passionate Beings. All went down well, and made up for the absence of my new sh*t. The original BHM one was too precious to have been half-arsed, so I'm glad that I decisively didn't cheapen it or disrespect the knowledge and honour of it with a rushed performance, just for the sake of sharing. 

My specially selected substitute poems left the audience with the right amount of joy, food for thought, silence and audience interaction that was intended. Luckily for me, a few people recorded parts of my performance and generously shared their recordings with me which can later be seen on my Instagram.

There were much more people at this event than the previous one and it was noticeably more international than before, since a Poet from Los Angeles (another Lauren aka Coldest Wyntor) came with her group and they were lovely. A foreign accent is nothing new on any day around here but theirs added some extra flavour.

A sweet audience member approached me to tell me how much my poems inspired her as a new Poet and how much she enjoyed my performance, despite not being able to hear the BHM one that she was looking forward to. I met some friends of a 'new to the mic' Poet, whom some of which was coming to a poetry event for the first time and were thoroughly enjoying themselves which is always nice to see. I also bumped into another fellow Poet who I recently connected with from her show last month (Teju Chosen). 

Everyone was just beautifully social. There was a perfect mix of shared interests, smiles, hugs, vocal talent, listening ears and respect.

 

Teju, Wyntor and I ended up hanging out at the bar afterwards having a fun engagement of creative minds and opinions. It's always a pleasure to connect with like-minded positive souls. The Owner, Joshua who is the best and sweetest Host, kept the vibes going with his great DJ'ing (like he was reading our minds with his music). 

I think that one of the American ladies was celebrating their birthday (or birthday week). It was just fun, great vibes all round with the perfect temperature of London's delayed heatwave that many of us are grateful for in this autumn season. There was some food eaten, drinks flowing, drinks offered, laughs had, ideas exchanged, pictures taken, memories and contacts made. Nice one!

I sported one of my proudest haircuts as my own barber, which was well complimented. For a change it was photographed by someone other than myself (or at least with my permission lol) to capture it well from a better angle, so here you go. I often forget about my hair patterns until someone points it out to me in curiosity, shock or admiration, thus it was nice for it to be artistically noticed. I'll give you (whoever is reading this blog) a free poetry book if you can guess or near enough guess, what my unique whimsical design is in the comment section! 

More pics can be seen on my Instagram page.

Love Lauren

Our History MATTERS

Black people continue to fight for so much everyday that it is mind boggling. We continue to fight for respect, equality, respectful acknowledgement of our history which includes our presence in ancient times across nations even when it is indigenous to our own people and territory hence EGYPT. Funnily enough, I have seen three documentaries made this month by different people discussing the same subject of their shocking revelation to discover that these Africans were Black (the Kushites, the darker people in the hieroglyphics that overthrow the brown people who were BLACK to begin with). Having to write that sentence is so embarrassing. Today we still have to fight discrimination and disenfranchisement against the law, systematic imprisonment, being murdered by police regularly, the education system, employment exclusion, housing whether it's for home ownership or the economic infrastructure of social housing. The ongoing history of these problems speaks for themselves.

Now among all the above we are fighting for the promotion and general enjoyment of celebrating Black History Month, REALLY! Last year when I found out that Hillingdon and Wandsworth Borough Council among others, are putting an end to Black History Month with their funding and promotion within their boroughs to replace it with 'Diversity Month,' if not just get rid of it all together I was livid. Livid, shocked but cynically unsurprised because again it presents a new fight for us to face with the battle of not having our four week limited duration over-shadowed with Halloween and now numerous awareness campaigns.

What about children who are going to grow up with no reflections of themselves as an example of history makers and will not know better because society has failed them? Do you know how insulting it is to go to libraries or even book stores and see not one small display or poster about a government initiated month dedicated to your people that has contributed so much to the country and has been both robbed of so much? Even more so, by that same country who are now seemingly refusing you?

For example there was undeniable excessive marketing of LBGT Month that actually went on for months before and after, between train stations, banks, supermarkets, general merchandise as well as general advertising and social media, yet no such effort or consideration put into Black History Month. I understand that it was the 50th anniversary of The Stonewall Uprising however, the increasing annual lack of nationwide marketing for BHM in comparison to LGBT Month is disconcerting. Our local councils highly promote Diwali with signage, newsletters, local newspaper headlines that they set aside a budget for and yet WE get slowly erased and replaced as if it is not important. It is insulting, infuriating and highly disrespectful. This is a fine example of why many of us 'woke' folk have to say and demonstrate that "Black Lives Matter."

In 2017 when I found out about the Black British play Black Heroes Musical that took place throughout the 90's, which apparently was a ground-breaking production both audience and impact-wise, I was mainly shocked to learn of its impact on adult Black Britons who were completely unaware of certain Black historic figures until having seen the play, as opposed to me being surprised of its overall success. Hearing some say "Many of us didn't know about all that" was very sad to me. I think that because many people depend on schools to be educated and informed, when they are not informed with something formally they disregard the possibility of it unless having come across it via the news, film or television if not word of mouth.

If BHM is going to be diminished and ignored by the British powers that be who refuse to pay us our dues. Then I will do what I can to balance out that non-sense. My people's accomplishments, battles, genocide, defeats, contributions to the world and what have you shall not be silenced! I have gathered up some key people representing Black excellence and key moments in Black history, for you to acknowledge and admire. Much of the following content is from a poem of mine that is too long to perform, I was even booked for two appearances at the same show last year to spread the poem across my performances, therefore I thought it best to write all this wonderful info in a blog for you all to research further at your own discretion.

Oswald Dixon- Jamaican born RAF serviceman who served in WWII. Dixon became a centenarian earlier this year but passed away last month. His passing led to an online campaign from someone that knew of him who reached out to the public on social media to attend his funeral, considering that he had no known living relatives. The care home that Dixon was staying at prior to his death posted the details of his funeral on Facebook, word of mouth gained momentum and the Manchester based funeral had an overwhelming turn out of around 300 people who came to pay their respects! I have never seen anything like this, my heart was so warmed. It was stunning to see him receive a proper formal army funeral with soldiers on standby, soldiers carrying his coffin and all choreographically aligned. All I saw was uniforms, badges, flags and honour. None of it looked spontaneous, I've no idea where they got the time and money to prepare. Jamaicans were certainly there to represent and the young cadets looked so cute. It got plenty of media coverage thus his legacy was well highlighted and shall now live on.

Dr. Rose Hudson-Wilkin moved to the UK from Jamaica as a child, became a Reverend and this year I read about her becoming the first Black woman appointed as Bishop by the Church of England. Like I said in my tweet at the time; it is hard enough for women to climb the ranks in the clergy let alone a Black woman among White men, along with her being foreign to the country in question. From seeing the not-so-old news clip of the Pope being asked about gay rights during his world tour, where he responded swiftly by saying that one day there may be a gay Pope but not a woman- and we are talking about the Catholic church here. I was left gobsmacked as were the Reporters present. I thought that his influence as well as other similar minds in the clergy would have made it impossible for women to climb the ranks. This is just an unexpected pleasant surprise with all that was against her but then again most of our accomplishments are, good for her.


I have read some pretty inspiring stories in my day but the ones that come from young people, as in under 16yrs old are very inspiring to me such as the 14yr old I read in either Essence or Ebony magazine in the early 2000's, who was making and selling burgers that got so popular that a big company bought his business from him making him a child millionaire. It was from that child entrepreneur turned Public Speaker, who I learned the mindset of not dismissing possibilities of achieving big goals despite age and economic demographic with the motto "Why not me?" If I remembered his name I'll send him a Thank-you tweet for that. Anyway, the young person who has inspired me of late is William Kamkwamba, who wanted to learn how to provide renewable energy and at age 14 through reading library books he taught himself how to build a windmill. That windmill powered his house and since then he has built at least two more to power his village in Malawi, Africa. The film based on his diligence The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor is a fine example of what should be in the national TV guide this month.

Gladys West- Learning about this woman this year elated me a great deal. Similar to the female Mathematicians and Engineers featured in the hit film Hidden Figures, West has finally been acknowledged as one of the key inventors of the GPS system. Too many decades later by December 2018 was she inducted into the Air Force Space and Missiles Hall of Fame! I am pretty sure that the inexcusable delay to her recognition, wide exposure, praise and accolade is being corrected mainly due to the success of that 2016 film and all the enquiries of the women's input that followed after. I found out that it was through West studying for her PhD in her later age where attention of her career to the press initially peaked. The GPS much like the internet is a part of our everyday technology driven lives. This is huge news!

Dr. Patricia Bath is an Optometrist who became the first Black female in America to secure a medical patent. Bath developed the Laserphaco Probe in 1986 as a tool to treat Cataracts and restore sight with less pain. That is the year that I was born as I will continue to boast, as it is the year that many other significant things happened however, that invention is highly impressive and indeed miraculous to people who have lost their sight.


Phillis Wheatley- An African slave kidnapped and brought to America and Europe who became educated to read and write English. Wheatley became one of the first Black women to publish a book of poetry by 1773. A plaque of her and her literary achievements has been unveiled by Black History Walks earlier this year in London. As a Poet myself, you can imagine my sense of pride when I first learned of her.

When you hear the of The Civil Rights Movement, the masses immediately think of the American South in the 1950's and the march on Washington, as if that is the root of Civil Rights protests for the liberation of Black people but this is not the case. It got the most media attention and may have had the biggest impact but was certainly not the beginning. Civil Rights Activists across the world existed beforehand such as Dr. Harold Moody, who came to England from Jamaica in 1904 to study medicine. Despite the racism he experienced he became a qualified Physician and British Civil Rights Activist who founded The League of Coloured Peoples in 1931 at the YMCA. In honour of this leader of the British Civil Rights Movement, a special ceremony for the unveiling of his plaque at that very same YMCA in Central London, took place earlier this year in association with Black History Walks. There was actually a plaque made in his honour in 1995 however, I cannot find any further details to confirm where although I have seen images to prove that it exists.


Diahann Carroll- The first African American Actress to play the lead in a prime time television series Julia, that did not portray a negative stereotype. In 1997 Carroll also became the first Black celebrity to launch a signature fashion line. With that said she kind of reminds me of when Josephine Baker launched her hair gel and tanning cream (for White women who idolized her) in France in the 1920's. Carroll was long recognised as a Hollywood icon praised for her work between the stage, film and TV, perhaps her most familiar role was playing a villain in the glamorous 80's soap Dynasty. Sadly, she died from Cancer this month.

John Singleton was a film student from Los Angeles, turned youngest Oscar 'Best Director' nominee in the history of the awards at only 23yrs old. Singleton is known for his classic Black 90's films including his Oscar nominated and Un Certain Regard nominated film Boyz N the Hood that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. Singleton passed away in April this year. Singleton was one of my idols who I even listed as such in my university application for the Film and TV course, it went against me at the time but I don't regret my honesty. My favourite film of his was Higher Learning as I thought it was wonderfully written and my ratings shot up for him when I discovered that it was him who directed one of my favourite music videos of all time Remember The Time by Michael Jackson. As an aspiring Filmmaker who really looked up to his early work, I was devastated by his loss.

Simone Biles- Since the last Olympics I recall hearing this girl's name replace Gabby Douglas's at being the new Gymnast 'it girl' to look out for as she had just beaten a record at that time. I recall years ago her being described as "the most decorated female Gymnast" to date, therefore I have no idea why the news has been claiming it as such in recent months as if it is sudden news!? However, I will say that her name has been as dominating as Serena Williams (in any year especially since 2013) along with Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff who have been making regular recent headlines in women's sports this year. The now 6 time title holder is making history not only for all of her gold medals for team USA but for new moves and sequences that have been named after her at her tender age! At least 2 moves are now called 'The Simone Biles' and she apparently is the first female to achieve a 'triple double.'

Continuing on with athletes, Dina Asher-Smith (pictured left), Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (pictured centre) really made me their cheerleader this year. As a matter of fact you may have noticed that my list is full of Black Girl Magic and this is because of current media attention grabbing events the past year and the 'sheroes' that are responsible for it. It's glorious. These three Athletes are representing my countries of Team GB and JA wonderfully. Bias aside, they are good at what they do and I would not praise them otherwise.

Asher-Smith has been in sports news throughout the year for becoming the fastest woman in Britain or other but it was actually from her surprising front cover on Elle magazine that caught my attention. All three Athletes caused a great stir at the World Championships in Doha last month where they all won big. Fraser-Pryce stood out for not only winning gold to become the world's fastest woman but apparently being the oldest woman and first mother to do so at the time. There was in fact at least four other female Athletes who were returning to the track after maternity leave, times are changing people! And BIG UP to the double-barrel name crew including myself who often gets difficulty with it whenever I have to make a booking.


Nester Earnest Green aka Uncle Nearest, is the slave who has only till now been fully recognised as the slave who helped teach Jack Daniels how to make his famous whiskey. Uncle Nearest is also known as the 'Godfather of Tennessee Whiskey.' As overdue as it is, the good thing about the timing is what is being made of this relatively new information today. A lady named Fawn Weaver is extending his legacy by creating a whiskey in his honour called Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and opening a distillery of where she is the CEO and Master Distiller. More admirably, Weaver took the initiative to interview over 100 of his relatives to keep her venture true to its name and founded the non-for-profit organisation Nearest Green Foundation. The foundation provides full tuition scholarships and books for the descendants of his family.

I learned of many fascinating, pioneering people this year that have accomplished fantastic things and I was happy to learn of two Afro-Latinos from similar locations who broke ground in two completely different fields. Noëlle Santos launched the only independent bookshop in the Bronx, New York (The Lit. Bar) since the last bookshop (a famous chain) closed down in 2016. If it wasn't for Twitter I would not have caught any of the Emmy Awards this year but I am glad I did as I watched the beautiful clip of when Jharrell Jerome won Outstanding Lead Actor for his role in the emotive Netflix drama When They See Us. Jerome became the first Afro-Latino nominated let alone to win, in this category at The Emmy's.

I still have yet to watch that series much like when I took forever to finally watch all of Roots, as I do not need to be reminded of the mistreatment and harsh realities for many of my people. It is a reoccurring story, therefore nothing new and incredibly sad. I don't need that. A simple news story of the facts will do and I actually read all the news articles about the infamous court case of which the series was based on and oh my..... so sad. I am very surprised that it was recognised by The Emmy's and nominated especially for an online streaming limited series, Netflix broke that barrier a while ago but it is still rare. Seeing this new young Actor be overwhelmed with shock, gratitude and graciousness knowing that he did his role justice in respect of the living man who he was playing, and to see all of the factual figures in the audience stand up with their fists held high.....oh my.....I was flooded with butterflies, tears and empathy.


Black women never get enough love when it comes to mainstream media, general ideals and judgement of beauty. Recent times have been particularly embarrassing as exposed on social media, YouTube and blogs when it comes to the ever-growing bizarre rejection from our own men- I don't even want to go there right now. One of the few things that I appreciated in the early 2000's when adults, politicians and parents were understandably complaining about the 'sexploitation' of women in Hip Hop videos, was that at least it praised the beauty of Black women in all our tones, natural curves, dress sense and hair styles- SWAG. Now you can't even find Black women in Hip Hop OR R'n'B videos!

Today's Black models have to have predecessor Black models campaign for them to be booked on catwalks of fashion shows because they are even rarer to find now than ten years prior. However I will say that Victoria's Secret fashion show pleasantly surprised me when I saw about 5-6 Black models last year despite E! Entertainment cutting them out of their video footage. To see these three beautiful unpredictable young women all be crowned as Beauty Queens the same year of the same country was astounding. Watching the videos of when they won, screamed and cried, made me cry with them just like the men at The Emmy's or like Jesse Jackson when Obama won the presidency. Needless to say Beauty Pageants are not of the same level of importance in my world but beauty standards unfortunately matter a great deal in our everyday lives, it effects how we are treated as people and as individuals. This historic event means the world to many of us. Representation and the respect given with it, is important, period. These Queens are history in the making.


Tyler Perry is a Playwright, Actor, Producer and Director. This month he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame although he has fought the Hollywood system over the course of his string of hits. Years ago Perry became the first Black Filmmaker to own his own studio Tyler Perry Studios (under his production company TPS) however, in 2019 Perry purchased 330 acres of land to build a brand new prolific studio that rivals to stature of Paramount and Warner Bros. The epic grand opening gained headlines left, right and centre for its history making of being solely owned by a Black man as well as its magnitude. The studios include sound stages named after Black Hollywood icons, a theatre for his plays as at his previous studios, a backlot of international destinations, replica of The White House and a location for displaced trafficked females, victims of domestic abuse and LGBTQ youth. Kudos.


Ursula Burns first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Burn's career is one I would recommend looking up as her ascension is amazing. Since she stepped down from Xerox in 2017, although she is still on a few other corporate executive boards including Obama's STEM programme, her 'successor' Mary Winston became the second Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In May 2019 Winston became the Interium CEO of Bed, Bath and Beyond.

As it is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month I am pleased to include these ladies; Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green (pictured) discovered a ground-breaking laser treatment for Breast Cancer (and for Naval Cancer by the way) that causes virtually no pain. Sierra Leone born medical student studying in Nigeria, Sandra Musujusu, also developed a new alternative treatment for Breast Cancer. The student's research has developed bio-degradable polymer material to fight Triple-negative Breast Cancer which as I learned when I was fundraising in 2011, is an aggressive form that typically affects Black women and does not respond well to traditional Cancer treatment.

During my research of general breast health I was overjoyed to come across a company called Cherry Blossom Intimates. This health and inclusion conscious company was founded by two women; Dr. Regina Hampton the Founder of The Breast Center at The Doctors Community Hospital and Jasmine Jones former Miss District of Columbia USA and Vice President of the Young Professional Council of Breast Care for Washington. These two women have had their own experiences of loved ones with the disease, who consequently had difficulty with the aftermath of the dramatic changes of their bodies and the need for certain underwear (to feel womanly). The business serves a great service of building esteem for women who have survived Breast Cancer or had mastectomies. Cherry Blossom Intimates is very impressive as is the actual boutique that I saw from their website. Brilliant minds doing brilliant things where it is much needed.


The sight of Black female Judges or any Black person in a position of power and high professional role is of no shock to me, depending on the hierarchy of the role among their counterparts that is. Although the matter of where, does also make all the difference. In saying that, coming across the random Twitter news of 19 Black female Judges that were all elected into judgeship last year in the state of TEXAS, blew me away. The South will always have the stigma of its Jim Crow existence and events so to see or even hear of this was like, wow! A woman of any colour reaching any position of power is hard, so I can only imagine their struggle and strength to maintain it being women of colour, in an industry that often works against them and as residents of their controversial state...wow. I am proud, impressed and gobsmacked that so many of them made it and at the same time. THIS IS HISTORY PEOPLE.

Being a foodie by education, career, hobby and habit, I was keen to learn of these Black Inventors who created very useful kitchen utensils that we use in everyday life and certainly revolutionised the cooking industry as we know it today. Frederick M. Jones (pictured) is known for his development of refrigeration equipment, most of which was used in trucks to transport food and blood during WWII. In 1944 he was the first African America to be elected into the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers. In 1991 he also became the first to be awarded the National Medal of Technology. A self-taught Engineer with over 60 patents to his name! J.W Reed, was the inventor of the rolling pin made with handles and a metal rod inside by 1864. Alexander P. Ashbourne invented the biscuit cutter in 1875. George W. Carver created peanut butter in 1896. John Thomas White invented the lemon squeezer in 1893. Ice Cream makers can thank Alfred L. Cralle for inventing the convenient scoop in 1897.

Toni Morrison- A fellow Writer and Author, who like some of the icons already mentioned also passed away this year. I had not heard her name in a while other than being mixed in with the news of Maya Angelou's death a couple of years ago but Morrison's name was highly praised during her own death of course. Cheltenham Literary Festival, which supposedly is the first literary festival in the world, had a nice segment dedicated to her in the programme of their recorded events this month.




When I was about 7yrs old I wanted to be an Architect but with Maths and DT not being my strengths at school, I knew that I was not going to persevere with that goal so my creativity took on new ambitions. However, that childhood desire still resonates every time I watch a property show and it really reignited when I found out about the Black Females in Architecture (BFA). It left me enthusiastic for other little girls and university students who carry that ambition but may feel daunted with the 'deceleration' of not being a White male. BFA was recently founded by four Black British women; Selasi Setyfe, Akua Danso, Alisha Fisher and Neba Sere. They were frustrated at the disenfranchisement of the professionals in their industry that marginalised Black female talent, they started this network that offers mentorship and events throughout the year that connect Black women across disciplines of their industry. Today the network has a large following that continues to grow, again I am proud and impressed with all the press that they have been receiving.  It is an overlooked issue that is getting more attention now much like with what Tiffany Brown in light of the 400th registered licensed Black female Architect in America, by forming her 400 Forward programme.


Leslie Irby is the first known Black American woman to receive her pilots licence. After a collusion in 2013 that left her paralyzed and wheelchair bound, Irby did not give up on her ambitions of flying. In fact joined Able Flight that assists people with disabilities in aviation and essentially passed her goals with flying colours, pun intended. This lady and anyone with disabilities who has achieved great things truly astound me, as expressed in a recent post about trying to cater to the blind.


There are other key events in Black history to learn about such as Britain's 1919 Riots, The Haitian Revolution, the South African Bus Boycotts of 1957, Bristol Bus Boycott 1963, Apartheid in South Africa, Genocide of Haitians by the Dominican Republic government (on several occasions but the 1930's in particular), Black Lives Matter in Jerusalem (police and the government vs East-African Jews), Human Trafficking in Liberia RIGHT NOW (a horrid example of modern day slavery), Black Lives Matter (BLM, originally founded in America) the movement in general across USA following the murders of unarmed Black people (primarily Trayvon Martin which was not a police incident but reflected the unjust law system against Black victims). The Windrush Scandal of 2018 the same year of the 70th Anniversary of Windrush.

You may be astonished to know that the Black race became officially incorporated as an option in the Census of Mexico and Peru by 2016-17. History has been made with much needed bills being passed this year such as The Crown Act 2019 in California, following NYC banning hair discrimination in the workplace. Chinese corporate imperialism from 2004 to my knowledge, as I have written before is certainly Black history in the unfortunate making. Beyond Africa it has recently stretched to Guyana, Jamaica and some other predominantly Black countries, as well as Far East Asia. The Take a Knee silent protest famously led by Colin Kaepernick, 'avalanched' across American sports from high school games into controversial press, raising a much needed nation-to-worldwide conversation about the dispute of the national anthem and why booking a high profile performer for the Super Bowl has now become a political issue.

This took me forever to write, literally days spread over a couple of weeks. That is because I wanted to do my people proud, inform as much as I could with readability and attention span in mind. To be honest the topic in question at this heightened time of frustration has become too passionate therefore provoked my perfectionism to overthink and procrastinate. I can't stand when that happens. British television programming has been so disrespectful with their strategic neglect this year that it makes me want to pull every one of the decision maker's hairs out.

Every day for the past few weeks on television of which I have paid great attention, I have searched for such promotion and there is practically nothing. Tonight is the first time all month that I have seen an advert specifically about BHM advertised outside of BET and this was on Channel 4. Channel 4 also had the documentary about the Warrior Women in Africa aka Amazons. Bear in mind that this one-off documentary appeared between their many showings of repeated irrelevant programming as with ITV's channels that disappointingly but frequently only featured Blade (at 11pm).

Weeks ago on BBC1 (the website serves far greater Black history than their television programming) two non-promoted sub-par documentaries were featured around MIDNIGHT as they like to slot us into, again the arranged minimal programmes came with a scheduling insult. Channel 5 (across the franchise) continues to show unrelated documentaries, unnecessary films that they have already shown months and years prior yet they cannot feature a film of Black historic relevance. There are plenty to choose from such as Amistad, Rosewood, Red Tails, Hidden Figures, Belle, 12 Years of Slave, Long Road to Freedom, The Butler, Winnie, Chocolat, Birth of a Nation or Selma to name A FEW.

They could have at least shown a family film with a Black lead such as Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Eddie Murphy or Queen Latifah, as mainstream examples who offer plenty of options. The same goes for Film4 who regularly repeat old comedy and action films however, two days out of this month so far I have seen two unknown, unadvertised Black films listed as their 'Black History Month' specials scheduled for 23:45-02:45. The only films with a Black lead that I have seen in the TV listings was Blade and Get Out that were both repeated by the second week of BHM. They're having a laugh as they know damn well that those should have been saved till the fourth week for the sake of relevance. It is just some negligent, disrespectful bullcrap.

Black History Month might as well not exist where television is concerned, in fact all these 5-20yr old whitewashed films in rotation are highly likely to reappear next month anyway. Throughout October I have seen tons of scheduled documentaries about the British monarchy that again are repetitive and irrelevant to this month, many on the Nazi's and Hitler (as I've seen all year), a documentary about the Kings Cross Fire of which the anniversary is NEXT MONTH and they are suspiciously programming a bunch of documentaries on the Victorians, the Vikings, the Edwardian period and you probably guessed it, Henry VIII. They could have easily shown or commissioned something about the Black Tudors since one of Henry VIII's Trumpeters was a Black man. For goodness sake, we already know that the man couldn't keep a wife as we all learned it in school as children, it's in many books and films for the next generation thus we will continue to hear of him forever. LET US HAVE OUR MONTH! It is SO RUDE.

Any of those valuable time slots could have gone to some informative, entertaining and new content of Black significance. The Executives making all the decisions to acquire and schedule content know exactly what they are doing. Decisions like these in media are not made blindly, there may be coincidences once in a while but no such mistakes. Even Comedy Central, Sony Movies and MTV (the nerve) keep screening the same played out films that most of which do not have any Black characters it is so extremely offensive. They could have even had one film per day with a Black lead if not all Black cast, showing 6-10pm or two Black films in a row on the weekend (within the same hours) to show some respect as they would for the Holocaust anniversary or Halloween. Instead they overtly choose to insult Black audiences with their content and scheduling by putting up their middle finger in this subliminal way.

It is up to us to not just protest and formally complain in order to see changes, but more effectively TO TEACH and LEARN what they won't teach in school or in mainstream media our damn selves. Regardless if it takes 15 pages of getting your point across. "HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PEOPLE" even though we should celebrate it every day.