UNIYFPAD: 400 Years of Black British Civil Rights

The black presence in England dates back at least 2000 years to the Roman invasion of Britain. Africans in Rome and subjects of the North African colonies were present at every level of society, as evidenced by the Libyan-born Emperor Septimus Severus who died in York in 211 AD More than a thousand years later…

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Godmother of Rock n Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

UNIYFPAD:Past A rainy day on a disused railway platform outside Manchester is not the sort of place you expect to see one of the most influential performers in rock ‘n’ roll history strutting their stuff. You might not think that the artist in question would be a 49-year-old African-American gospel singer from Arkansas either. This…

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UNIYFPAD can demonstrate the power of arts & culture

The United Nations International Year for People of African Descent (UNIYFPAD) is likely to mean many different things to many different people across the world. Personally, I see it as a chance to reflect, educate and celebrate the positive contribution and influence of people of African descent to societies, while looking at ways to eradicate…

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UNIYFPAD: Reflections on Freedom

The word “freedom” has great meaning to people of African Descent who have spent most of their lives fighting for this one word. In the Oxford dictionary the word means “the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants.” Another meaning is “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.” As an…

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