About

Black Lives Matter

Africa in Motion stands in solidarity with the fight for racial equality, denounces forms of overt and covert racist violence enacted upon Black people, and supports anti-racist actions on all levels. 

We greatly value the African and Black filmmakers, our colleagues, and artists who make the festival what it is. We stand with them during this time and beyond, and endeavour to act as a platform to showcase and represent Black filmmakers, artists, curators and storytellers. We want the festival to act as a space to question power and privilege, interrupting the dominance of white led representations, to call out racism, and act as a safe space for People of Colour.  

We acknowledge that there is white privilege within our organisation and recognise that when we see injustice, we need to take action – that is our responsibility, and we encourage our white audiences to do the same. This can include educating your friends or family about the deep seated legacy of racism in the UK and our complicity in this as white people; donating to charities that support racial equity and justice; watching and sharing films about Black and African stories to disrupt the dominance of white imagery; listen to podcasts; protest; sign petitions. Don’t just take one action now as a response to the current wave of movement, think how you can incorporate this into your lives going forward. We all need to do better! 

We have made a contribution to Black Lives Matter in the UK and US in support of this fight, and have compiled a list of organisations you can donate to below, and also a list of films, reading resources, and people to follow on social media who can provide you with further information about this. 

Resources:

Films: 

  • Wax Print: 1 Fabric, 4 Continents, 200 Years of History. Aiwan Obinyan, 1h37m. Coming soon 

On Netflix: 

  • Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu, South Africa 
  • Black Earth Rising
  • 12 Years a Slave 
  • 13th

Donate: 

Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

Resourcing Racial Justice: http://www.resourcingracialjustice.org

Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org

Runnymede: https://www.runnymedetrust.org

Southall Black Sisters: https://southallblacksisters.org.uk/about/

Reading: 

  • Akala (2018) Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire. London: Two Roads Books.
  • bell hooks (2015) Race and Representation.London: Routledge
  • Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie & Suzanne Scafe (2018) Heart of the Race: Black Women's Lives in Britain. London: Verso Books.
  • David Olusoga (2016) Black and British: A Forgotten History. London: Pan Books 
  • Kehinde Andrews (2018) Back to Black, Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21stCentury. London: Zed Books.
  • Robin Diangelo (2018) White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. London: Penguin.

Resources from social media: 

BBC Social, ‘Glasgow's Slave Trade Past Is All Around Us’ https://www.facebook.com/bbcthesocial/videos/981850208901630

BBC Social, ‘I’m not a Racist But…’: https://www.facebook.com/bbcthesocial/videos/3104966039582728/

Posts and information on Instagram: 

@Das.Penman 

@nowhitesaviours  

@galdemzine

@thegreatunlearn

@munroebergdorf

@ukblackpride