On 24 September 1897, Black organisers in London founded the African Association as European empire was violently remaking Africa. Henry Sylvester Williams understood a truth that still matters. Racism and colonial domination crossed borders, so Black resistance had to cross borders too. The Association helped build an early infrastructure for modern Pan African politics. Today thatContinue reading “From the African Association to Reparations 129 Years of Global Black Resistance”
Author Archives: blam UK
This Sickle Cell Awareness Month We Need to Talk About the 3%
September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month. But for people whose health depends on regular transfusions, awareness is not enough. There must be blood available when they need it. Around 10,000 people living with sickle cell are based in London, out of approximately 19,000 across the UK. Yet just 3% of blood donors nationally are fromContinue reading “This Sickle Cell Awareness Month We Need to Talk About the 3%”
A Public Media Lynching? Jason Arday and the Cost to Black Mental Health
Firstly, BLAM UK want to say that we are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic death of Professor Jason Arday, the youngest Black person ever appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge. We send our deepest love and solidarity to his family, friends and everyone grieving this devastating loss. Professor Arday wasContinue reading “A Public Media Lynching? Jason Arday and the Cost to Black Mental Health”
When Black Childhood Is Criminalised: How Daryl McLune’s Case Exposes Adultification, Anti-Black Racism and Human Rights Failures
In a landmark case, 20 year old Daryl McLune has won a race discrimination claim against the Metropolitan Police. McLune was only 16 when he returned home after his mother’s suicide attempt in July 2021 and was immediately treated as a suspect rather than a terrified son. A jury concluded the Met had “discriminated against Daryl McLune…Continue reading “When Black Childhood Is Criminalised: How Daryl McLune’s Case Exposes Adultification, Anti-Black Racism and Human Rights Failures”
Know Your Rights: What Laws & Regulations Protect Us from AI in Policing?
With the recent judgement which finds the Metropolitan Police’s expansive use of live facial recognition to be in accordance with the law, it is essential that Black and other racialised communities remain informed on the laws governing this use, and how this can be used for our protection when errors occur. The police are unableContinue reading “Know Your Rights: What Laws & Regulations Protect Us from AI in Policing?”
Why Black-led spaces make healing safer
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, led by the Mental Health Foundation, and the 2026 theme is Action. That matters. Awareness can name a problem, but action changes conditions. For Black British communities, action cannot stop at telling people to breathe more, journal more, or simply “reach out”. Action has to mean building and protectingContinue reading “Why Black-led spaces make healing safer”
Black Books Under Attack Again in Greater Manchester.
A quiet act of censorship unfolded in a school library in Greater Manchester. A headteacher objected to a single title and within weeks more than one hundred thirty books were pulled off the shelves. It was an unprecedented move in the United Kingdom and it exposed how quickly fear and misinformation can erase voices fromContinue reading “Black Books Under Attack Again in Greater Manchester.”
BLAM UK is Recruiting: Consultant Education Lawyer
BLAM UK is seeking a Consultant Education Lawyer to support our Advocacy Team, particularly within our School Exclusions Project. This role involves providing legal guidance and expertise to help protect the educational and racial justice rights of Black children and young people. The successful candidate will work closely with our advocacy team to ensure thatContinue reading “BLAM UK is Recruiting: Consultant Education Lawyer”
Olive Morris: The Black Feminist Who Built Britain’s Radical Future.
March is Women’s History Month, and the theme this year is “Give to Gain.” For me, the name that immediately comes to mind is Olive Morris. Born in 1952 in Harewood, Jamaica, she moved to south London at nine years old. From a young age she saw Britain’s inequalities and, by her teens, she was already giving toContinue reading “Olive Morris: The Black Feminist Who Built Britain’s Radical Future.”
The N Word on National TV Again at the BAFTAs and What It Says About Britain.
On 22 February 2026, the BBC broadcast the BAFTA Film Awards from the Royal Festival Hall. During the ceremony, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting when an audience member, John Davidson, audibly shouted an anti Black racial slur as part of an involuntary Tourette syndrome tic. It matters to say this with care. Tourette syndrome is real. Involuntary tics are real. Yet harmContinue reading “The N Word on National TV Again at the BAFTAs and What It Says About Britain.”
