Belfast racist violence, calls for Windrush Month, housing scam and Garvey centre saved
Plus: Black teen 'wrongly' arrested after mum's suicide attempt
Hi everyone,
How’s it going?
This week’s newsletter comes as racist violence sweeps across parts of Belfast.
Homes set alight. Windows smashed. Families forced to flee. Black and Asian-owned businesses shuttered. Evening prayers cancelled. Black care workers trapped indoors. Masked mobs chanting “foreigners out”.
One African family, who had lived in their home for more than 20 years, fled after their property was attacked. The Belfast Islamic Centre urged worshippers to stay indoors for their own safety.
This is the reality unfolding in the UK in 2026.
The violence comes against a backdrop of rising hate crime, growing far-right activity and increasingly hostile rhetoric around migrants and ethnic minorities.
Campaigners have warned for years that language once confined to the fringes - which was bad enough - is becoming part of mainstream political debate.
The pogroms follow a knife attack in Belfast on Monday night. The suspect, named as Hadi Alodid, has been remanded in custody after being charged with attempted murder.
As ever, Black Current News will continue documenting not only the stories making headlines, but the wider forces shaping Black life in Britain and beyond.
Here’s what’s gone on this week.
‘This Week In History’: Britain’s first Black MPs won election to Parliament
39 years ago this week, Britain’s first Black MPs were elected
On 11 June 1987, Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant made history as the first Black MPs elected to the UK Parliament.
Their victories marked a watershed moment in British politics, helping to pave the way for greater representation in Westminster and inspiring generations that followed.
A Black teen, 16, came home to find his mother had attempted suicide. Then Met Police arrested him. Now he’s suing the force for racism.
Daryl McLune was handcuffed in front of neighbours and held overnight on suspicion of attempted murder after returning home to find his mother critically injured in 2021. The case was dropped days later when a suicide note was discovered.
Now 20, he is suing the Metropolitan Police Service for racial discrimination and false imprisonment, arguing he was treated as a suspect rather than a child in crisis.
Black dementia patients face poorer access to care. The NHS is now launching a landmark review to investigate why
Black people with dementia face delays in diagnosis, poorer access to treatment and worse outcomes. Now, a landmark NHS-backed review will investigate why.
Researchers will examine barriers including racism, language differences, cultural stigma and underdiagnosis, with findings expected in 2027.
Levi Roots’ daughter makes emotional appeal to missing sister after over a decade apart
Joanne Caesar, daughter of celebrity chef Levi Roots, has made an emotional public appeal for her sister, Sharlene Williams, after losing contact with her more than a decade ago. The appeal comes 12 years after Joanne and Sharlene made headlines when they sold a damaging story about their dad to The Daily Mail. Joanne says the fallout from the interview led to passa, severely straining family relationships and marking the beginning of a painful period of estrangement. She is now appealing for her sister to get in touch, saying she simply wants to know that she is safe and well.
Black Joy Bulletin
Marcus Garvey Centre in Nottingham saved as community campaign secures reopening
British-Jamaican Jhané Gibson is 2026 MasterChef UK winner
Ghanaian women defy odds to get Cambridge degrees
‘Visual impairment means I’m rejected for jobs - I took matters into my own hands and now help NHS’
What else we’re reading
‘One day is not enough’: calls for a National Windrush Month gain momentum
N-word and swastikas sprayed across West London leisure centre development
Manhunt launched for prisoner who escaped from van in Woolwich, South London
Sierra Leone’s First Lady evicted from London council flat as it emerges that her primary residence is a presidential palace
Rosalind Bushell: London man missing since 1998 as sister issues heartfelt appeal
NHS patients with non-urgent conditions could be told to leave A&E and come back later
Kemi Badenoch says police should stop and search more Black boys
More than 20 renters paid deposits for the same flat in an alleged scam that highlights the growing cost of rental fraud in Britain
Lammy jury trial reforms could damage trust among Black communities, MPs warn
‘We were totally traumatised’: Black care workers trapped as racist mob targeted Belfast homes
Lenny Henry says racism in UK ‘still at large’ as he tours standup comeback
Idris Elba says audiences would never accept a Black actor playing James Bond: ‘That’s not what they like in their culture’
Black girls targeted by racism and sexism online, research warns
Northern Ireland race relations framework ‘not fit for purpose’, warns Amnesty International
Scrap legal equality duty for public services, says Badenoch
Top African referee Omar Artan refused access to US and will miss World Cup
Tributes pour in after death of Talay Riley, 35-year-old British songwriter behind hits for Chip, Dua Lipa and Britney Spears
Thank you!
Black Current News recently surpassed 10,000 Instagram followers, with our work generating more than 2 million views.
We were also mentioned in The Observer this week, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper.
For a small independent outlet only 8 months old, that’s encouraging. Thank you for reading, sharing our work and helping us grow.
We’re just getting started 🥳.
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