Loud Black Girls: 20 Black Women Writers Ask: What's Next?

by Yomi Adegoke, Elizabeth Uviebinené

Overview

An important and timely anthology of black British writing, edited and curated by the authors of the highly acclaimed, ground-breaking Slay In Your Lane. Slay in Your Lane Presents: Loud Black Girls features essays from the diverse voices of twenty established and emerging black British writers.

‘I so enjoyed stepping inside the minds of these younger women who have so much to say, so much to express, so much to challenge’ Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize winning author of Girl, Woman, Other

Being a loud black girl isn't about the volume of your voice; and using your voice doesn't always mean speaking the loudest or dominating the room. Most of the time it’s simply existing as your authentic self in a world that is constantly trying to tell you to minimise who you are.
 
Now that we’ve learnt how to Slay in our Lanes, what’s next?
Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, authors of the acclaimed Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, invite the next generation of black women in Britain – authors, journalists, actors, activists and artists – to explore what it means to them to exist in these turbulent times.

From assessing the cultural impact of Marvel's Black Panther, to celebrating activism in local communities. From asking how we can secure the bag while staying true to our principles, or how we can teach our daughters to own their voices, to reclaiming our culinary heritage, the essays in Loud Black Girls offer funny touching and ultimately insightful perspectives on the question of ‘What’s Next?’

Foreword by Bernardine Evaristo

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780008342630
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishers
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	736 KB

About the Author

Yomi Adegoke is a mutli award-winning journalist and author. She writes about race, feminism, popular culture and how they intersect, as well as class and politics. She has worked at ITN, Channel 4 News and The Pool as a senior writer and freelanced for Vogue, the Guardian and the Independent amongst others. In 2018 she was listed as one of most influential people in London by the Evening Standard. She was awarded journalist of the year by the Woman In Africa awards, named a Marie Claire Future Shaper and was awarded the Groucho Maverick

Elizabeth Uviebinené is an award-winning Marketing Manager from London. A natural in creative storytelling and idea generation, with a passion for brands, Elizabeth creates marketing campaigns that are culturally progressive and commercially impactful. In 2018, Elizabeth was recognised by The Dots as a woman redefining the creative industry, and awarded a Rising Star in the PR, Communications and Marketing industry by WeAreTheCity.

Yomi Adegoke is a multi award-winning journalist and author. She is a columnist at the Guardian and British Vogue and the former host of the Women's Fiction Prize podcast. In 2018, she co-wrote the Sunday Times bestselling book Slay In Your Lane and was named one of the most influential people in London by the Evening Standard. She has been awarded the Groucho Maverick and Marie Claire Future Shaper awards and named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. The List is her debut novel.

Elizabeth Uviebinené is an award-winning Marketing Manager from London. A natural in creative storytelling and idea generation, with a passion for brands, Elizabeth creates marketing campaigns that are culturally progressive and commercially impactful. In 2018, Elizabeth was recognised by The Dots as a women redefining the creative industry, and awarded a Rising Star in the PR, Communications and Marketing industry by WeAreTheCity.

Table of Contents

Foreword Bernardine Evaristo 1

Introduction Elizabeth Uviebinené 5

Introduction Yomi Adegoke 9

Finding Myself In Britain Abiola Oni 13

To Be Seen and Heard, That's Where Power Is … Candice Brathwaite 21

How I Learned to be a Shy Loud Black Girl Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff 31

The 'Shuri' Effect: The Age of #Blackexcellence, the Falsehood of Black Mediocrity and the Absence of the Black Middle Elisabeth Fapuro 41

Programmed: Transferred Representations and Interchangeable States Eunice Olumide 55

Why It's Time to Get Your Finance in Formation Fiona Rutherford 67

Respect On Our Name: From Othered To Iconic and Beyond Jendella Benson 77

Eating Britain's Racism Kuba Shand-Baptiste 91

I Love Us For Real: A call for a radical reconfiguration of black love from a black trans woman's perspective Kuchenga 105

We Were Made For These Times Nao 117

The Quandary of Securing the Bag Paula Akpan 123

The Meghan Markle Effect Made Mixed Race Identity a Hot Topic, But Are We Any Further Forward? Phoebe Parke 135

As Loud as Lagos Traffic Princess Peace 149

A Crocus Ruminates: Thirty Thoughts on Turning Thirty Selina Thompson 161

What Happens Nest? Sheila Atim 175

'Who built it and with what wood?': A Black Feminist 10-point (ish) Programme for Transformation Siana Bangura 187

A Poem for Babygirl Sophia Thakur 203

Building Peace: The Case for Centring Healing in our Approach to Address Violence Temi Mwale 211

2020 and Beyond - The Black Woman V2.0 Toni-Blaze Ibekwe 225

Homecoming Yemisi Adegoke 233

Contributors' biographies 245

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Loud Black Girls:

‘Full of gems … Read it to understand the fears, obsessions and cherished beliefs of a generation of writers who are determined to be heard’ Observer

‘A refreshingly honest, thought-provoking, and galvanising set of ideas from some of the smartest cultural thinkers of our generation – I only wish this book had been around a decade ago’ Otegha Uwagba, author of Little Black Book

'Bursting with creative energy, intellectual firepower, cultural awareness, pride and joy. These Loud Black Girls voices are music to my ears' Rachel Edwards, author of Darling

‘It's a fantastic collection of essays by emerging and established Black female writers who put forth insights, with wit and erudition, about a wide range of topics that affect their lives. Like all the best yuletide gifts, it's original, it's thoughtful and it positively sparkles’ Good Housekeeping

‘20 incisive, timely essays by noteworthy Black British women’ Stylist

‘A dynamic anthology of writing on the modern Black female experience’ Refinery 29

‘Absolutely incredible’ Tinea Taylor

‘Insightful, funny, heart warming and a must for your library’ Evening Standard

‘Offering an important perspective on today’s world’ Cosmopolitan

‘Moving and insightful’ Grazia

From the Publisher