Black Current News 'In Focus': Frowsy politician warns of 'Black invasion', top nurse wins case - and more Hurricane Melissa efforts
Your weekly digest of stories affecting Black Britain and beyond from an award-winning news team
Dear readers,
How are you keeping? We love that you’re a part of this community; big up yourselves.
Following our exclusive on the Met Police’s ‘30 Patterns of Harm’ report - which forced the force to finally publish its findings last week - the story has since sparked national debate and been covered widely across mainstream outlets.
It’s also great to see Black Current News’ reporting cited in The Lead UK, a popular political title, and The Fuller Project, showing how our journalism is resonating both nationally and internationally.
Meanwhile, Black Current News subscribers have surged by 502% in the past month, reaching almost half a million people on Instagram. As of now, we’re at #55 on Substack’s global ‘rising in news’ leaderboard!
There was no In Focus newsletter last week as our team was focused on extensive coverage of Hurricane Melissa and its devastating impact on Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
Thank you for your patience and continued support as we prioritised getting those vital stories out.
Every week, In Focus will bring you:
Some of the biggest headlines affecting Black and marginalised communities, which mainstream media often underreport or miss
Good news, highlights and achievements worth celebrating
Let’s go!
Good News
Top Black nurse Evonne Hunt, who was wrongly penalised after calling out racism at an NHS Trust, reinstated and given apology. She bussed case and we love it for her
New magazine launched to “depict a new world that Western narratives have neglected”
Empowering workshop launched to help dads learn how to braid Black hair
Black Current News has been shortlisted for an award!
Urban Synergy is partnering with City of London CEOs to empower 50,000 young people by 2027 through mentoring, workplace visits and other career-focused opportunities
British communities are truly mobilising to help Jamaica through Hurricane Melissa’s aftermath - lots of events are happening this week!
Parents urge Home Office to help daughter left homeless in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa
A British-Jamaican couple are pleading with the Home Office to fast-track a visa for their eight-year-old daughter, who was left homeless in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa.
Racist Tory councillor resigns after warning that ‘young Black males’ are ‘flooding’ the UK
A former Conservative councillor called Pauline Giles has just resigned from the party following backlash after suggesting that Britain cannot sustain the “volume of young Black males” she claimed was “flooding” the country and “jeopardising” safety.
Critics have described her attitude as “frowsy” - a Caribbean term meaning dirty, off-key or just plain low vibrational. Anyway: Giles hasn’t left politics…! She’ll represent constituents as an independent candidate, so it’s best to sleep with one eye open.
Dr Ola Osman becomes youngest Black female assistant professor in the University of Cambridge’s history
Dr Ola joined the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) in September, just a year after completing her PhD.
Just 0.3% of professors at Cambridge are Black. The 29-year-old, who was born in Sudan, hopes her perspective as an Assistant Professor will open doors for others. “Toni Morrison said that the function of freedom is to free someone else,” she says.
Catholic priest admits sending racist messages in neo-Nazi chat - but seems to keep job
Father Mark Rowles, a Catholic priest who posed as a teenager and joined neo-Nazi chatrooms to talk about shooting Black people, has been sentenced to a 12-month community order. Despite his conviction, the 57-year-old appears to have kept his job…!
Police probe suspected arson after baby and three children rescued from fire at asylum seekers’ housing
Two men have been arrested following a fire at a building housing people applying for international protection in Drogheda, County Louth. The blaze broke out on 31 October, with emergency services called to the scene shortly after 8 pm.
What else we’re reading
A Tory MP says Labour might ‘take away the Full English breakfast’ - but I’m more worried about the price of Ackee…gone are the days when you can get 3 tins for £10 and 3 fingers of plantain for £1!
NHS staff bearing brunt as ‘ugly’ racism of 70s and 80s returns, says Health Secretary
Police are being forced to disclose the ethnicity of suspects in response to a rise in far-right speculation on social media, a former senior officer in the Metropolitan police force has warned
DS Derek Ridgewell, a police officer known to have framed at least 13 Londoners, may have set up more than 100 innocent victims
Black women with fibroids are being failed by healthcare professionals
Shellshocked and homeless, Hurricane Melissa survivors wait for aid to arrive
Where we’ve been
Our editor Nadine was invited to attend a reception at No.10 Downing Street last week
Black Current News attended an “emergency” community meeting in Brixton regarding Hurricane Melissa, where veteran campaigner Lee Jasper told us that the UK government should suspend visa restrictions on Jamaican citizens