DECOLONISING IN THE NEWS

2023

Remembering the Two Pelés: The Pathbreaking Black Athlete and the Global Celebrity (The Wire)

The Parthenon marbles: George Osborne wants to return the statues to Athens, but can he? A legal expert explains (The Conversation)

‘Shot two zebras. Played tennis’: Scarborough museum confronts legacy of colonial past (The Guardian)

How do you say the word ‘sun’ in Cree? It starts with learning respect (The Guardian)

British opera singer creates work to reveal humanity of enslaved ancestors (The Guardian)

Alan Cumming hands back his OBE citing the ‘toxicity of empire’ (The Guardian)

Abortion Is Not a “Choice” Without Racial Justice (Boston Review)

One woman’s forgotten story reveals a dirty truth about Africa’s written histories (The Guardian)

Charting a course to make maths truly universal (Nature)

‘The gift of paradise’: how the Hear Me Out Band give a voice to immigration detainees (The Guardian)

‘My forefathers did something horribly wrong’: British slave owners’ family to apologise and pay reparations (The Guardian)

Prince Harry is wrong: unconscious bias is not different to racism (The Conversation)

Zambia’s copper mines hard-baked racism into the workplace by labelling whites ‘expats’ (The Conversation)

Stella Chiweshe: Zimbabwe’s mbira queen, rebel music star and pioneer (The Conversation)

Copper transformed way the world works before: it’s about to do so again (The Conversation)

A major new exhibition in Nairobi reveals the history of East African art traditions (The Conversation)

Pretty Yende, a South African opera star with a voice that shatters glass ceilings (The Conversation)

Explainer: What is Australia’s Indigenous ‘Voice to Parliament’ campaign?  (Reuters)

How America plans to break China’s grip on African minerals (The Economist)

Samoa PM urges world to save Pacific people from climate crisis obliteration (The Guardian)

Indigenous group says company offering Australian land to Oscar nominees used its name and material without permission (The Guardian)

‘The US army destroyed our lives’: five Iraqis on the war that changed the Middle East (The Guardian)

‘You walked in and your heart sank’: the shocking inside story of Manston detention centre (The Guardian)

Climate colonialism is more than a metaphor (Transforming Society)

A fight in Arizona over sacred land and a mine raises big issues (The Economist)

Four steps to decolonising the mental health sector (Bond)

MORE THAN MONEY THE LOGIC OF SLAVERY REPARATIONS (The Guardian)

Africans in World War 1: artist William Kentridge’s epic theatre production restores forgotten histories (The Conversation)

DNA study opens a window into African civilisations that left a lasting legacy (The Conversation)

My ancestors profited from slavery. Here’s how I am starting to atone for that (The Guardian)

Neville Lawrence says Met police surrendered to son’s killers (The Guardian)

How Black children in England’s schools are made to feel like the way they speak is wrong (The Conversation)

Ghetto Kids: what’s behind the moves of the Ugandan dance troupe that stormed the world (The Conversation)

Māori punk band’s tour of Wales puts spotlight on indigenous languages (The Guardian)

Elite UK schools’ financial links to slavery revealed (The Guardian)

Rana Plaza: ten years after the Bangladesh factory collapse, we are no closer to fixing modern slavery (The Conversation)

How food came to the rescue of the British in India (Scroll.in)

Joshua Reynolds’ Portrait of Omai acquired by National Portrait Gallery (The Guardian)

Without Indigenous History, There Is No U.S. History (Time)

Commonwealth Indigenous leaders demand apology from the king for effects of colonisation (The Guardian)

Cleopatra’s skin colour didn’t matter in ancient Egypt – her strategic role in world history did (The Conversation)

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2022

What are the British monarchy’s historical links to slavery? (The Guardian)

Mapping Teotihuacan’s Past, Present, and Future(EOS)

Legendary Kathak Dancer Birju Maharaj Passes Away(The Wire)

Charles McGee faced adversity at home as much as abroad(The Economist)

What the spider tales of Indians in the Caribbean reveal about our fragility and powers of endurance(Scroll.in)

Abortion Is Not a “Choice” Without Racial Justice(Boston Review)

If I don’t celebrate Australia Day, does that make me unpatriotic?(ABC)

Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Affirmative Action at Harvard and U.N.C.(The New York Times)

BORN STRADDLING LINES OF GENDER AND COLOR, PAULI MURRAY STITCHED TOGETHER A LIFE OF EXTRAORDINARY ACCOMPLISHMENT(Historynet)

Yes, your university perpetuates racism against BAME academics: what can you do?(Times Higher Education)

How Filipino Sailors—and Coconuts—Helped Create Mexico’s National Drink(Sapiens)

Social care: how Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children face discrimination across Europe and the UK(The Conversation)

Untangling Race From Hair(Sapiens)

Thinking of welcoming a Ukrainian refugee into your home? Our research can help you be a good host(The Conversation)

The intersectionality wars(Vox)

Why These Westerners Disavowed Imperialism to Fight for India’s Independence(Time)

These Revered Cranes Escaped Extinction. Can They Survive Without Humans?(The New York Times)

THE CASE FOR REPARATIONS(The Atlantic)

The History Behind the First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice Nominee(Time)

Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed as the first black woman to sit on US Supreme Court(Sky News)

‘I am only the UK’s sixth black female QC’(BBC)

Home Office staff threaten mutiny over ‘shameful’ Rwanda asylum deal(Guardian)

Book Review: Mixing Mediums to Bring Syria to the World(The Wire)

Palestinians clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem holy site, 57 injured(Reuters)

Florida Republicans pass congressional map after sit-in protest by Black lawmakers(Reuters)

The Major Findings of Harvard’s Report on Its Ties to Slavery(The New York Times)

‘I got fed up with my students ending up in prison or dead’: the teacher fighting to end school exclusions(Guardian)

It’s Been 50 Years. I Am Not ‘Napalm Girl’ Anymore.(The New York Times)

The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America(The New York Times)

The story behind the Chelsea Flower Show garden seeking to highlight racial injustice(House&Garden)

From the 18th floor to cloud nine: high-rise gardener gets Chelsea flower show spot(Guardian)

Occupation, discrimination driving Israel-Palestine conflict, recurring violence(UN News)

From Dhaka to Freetown, climate migration puts cities on alert(Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

OPINION: Climate finance must foster a just transition in developing countries(Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

‘I see this money as not mine’: the people giving away fortunes from slavery and fossil fuels(Guardian)

“What to do about cows?”: Toxic gastro-nationalism in India(ABC)

Black farming projects look to recoup historical U.S. land losses(Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

The Surprisingly Progressive Promises of General Order No.3, Which Ended Slavery in Texas(Time)

Juneteenth’s Vision of Freedom Expresses American Values Better Than the Fourth of July’s(Time)

Grenada: Confronting my family’s slave-owning past(BBC)

How Hindutva hijacked India’s child protection body (Scroll.in)

How Patrice Lumumba’s assassination drove student activism, shaping the Congo’s future(The Conversation)

Saving Historic Songs, and a Jewish Culture in Morocco(The New York Times)

Matariki: ‘historic’ moment as New Zealand celebrates first Indigenous public holiday(Guardian)

Peru’s indigenous communities fear rising violence from drug traffickers(Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

Roe v Wade ruling disproportionately hurts Black women, experts say(Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

Research has long shown institutional misogyny and racism within the UK’s fire services (The Conversation)

How Can Societies Decolonize Conservation? (Sapiens)

Haiti faces famine – but its troubles are rooted in a brutal colonial past (The Guardian)

Why Wellcome closed its Medicine Man exhibition – and others should follow suit (The Conversation)

Workers in Thailand who made F&F jeans for Tesco ‘trapped in effective forced labour’ (The Guardian)

Hamza Yassin: Strictly winner being touted as next David Attenborough (The Guardian)

‘Restitution’ of looted African art just continues colonial policies – much more is at stake (The Conversation)

Jeremy Clarkson condemned over Meghan column in the Sun (The Guardian)

Timbuktu manuscripts placed online are only a sliver of West Africa’s ancient archive (The Conversation)

Albert Woodfox found his true self in prison (The Economist)

Confronting Injustice: Racism and the Environmental Emergency (The Runnymede Trust)

Falling Faster amidst a Cost-of-Living Crisis: Poverty, Inequality and Ethnicity in the UK (The Runnymede Trust)

Amar Farooqui: A historian’s indelible legacy and lessons to last a lifetime (Scroll.in)

This article is more than 4 months old ‘Crucial’ Cop15 deal includes target to protect 30% of nature on Earth by 2030 (The Guardian)

Germany returns 21 Benin bronzes to Nigeria – amid frustration at Britain (The Guardian)

Dutch PM apologises for Netherlands’ role in slave trade (The Guardian)

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2021

This Oprah Photo is Quickly Becoming the Latest Example of Digital Blackface (Refinery 29)

City of lost mosques: how Suzhou tells the story of China’s Islamic past (The Conversation)

Remembering the Black abolitionists of slavery in Yorkshire (The Conversation)

The insurrection at the Capitol challenged how US media frames unrest and shapes public opinion (The Conversation)

The long shadow of colonial forestry is a threat to savannas and grasslands (The Conversation)

Tributes paid to Ethiopian refugee farmer who championed integration in Italy (Guardian)

Aid spending in Africa must be African-led – it needs a Black Lives Matter reckoning (Guardian)

White American Christianity Needs to Be Honest About Its History of White Supremacy (Time)

‘Colonialism had never really ended’: my life in the shadow of Cecil Rhodes (Guardian)

Nia Dennis wins plaudits for stunning ‘black excellence’ gymnastics routine(Guardian)

Why the West is morally bound to offer reparations for slavery (The Conversation)

Study reveals depth of BAME health inequality in England (Guardian)

Jacinda Ardern faces Waitangi Day reckoning with Māori as progress stalls (Guardian)

The Real Rosa Parks Story Is Better Than the Fairy Tale(The New York Times)

Situating Women in Tamil Mahabharatas(Economic & Political Daily)

He Wants to Save Classics From Whiteness. Can the Field Survive? (The New York Times)

THE RENAISSANCE IS BLACK (Time)

OPINION: The disproportionate impact of the HIV epidemic is rooted in structural racism and anti-Blackness (Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

“In a racist society, formal education will only ever reproduce racism.” (Cire News)

Canons don’t only belong to dead white Englishmen. We have a Māori canon too(Guardian)

Exclusive: Universities face fines as part of ‘twin assault’ on cancel culture (Telegraph)

Will Macron’s new commission face up to all of France’s colonial atrocities?(Guardian)

This ambitious history of the British Empire touches on everything from the Mahabharata to Marx(Scroll.in)

Teaching Black History Has Become a Flashpoint. Three New Docuseries Refuse to Sugarcoat Their Narratives(Time)

Philip Guston’s daughter on his Klan paintings: ‘They’re about white culpability – including his own’(Guardian)

Lucky Luke, the Comic Book Cowboy, Discovers Race, Belatedly(The New York Times)

The question of race in Biden’s America(The Hindu)

A Conversation with Miranda Kaufmann(Epoch magazine)

The First Black Woman to Coach in Pro Baseball Thanks Her Mom for the Job(The New York Times)

Biden administration pauses transfer of holy Native American land to mining firm(The Guardian)

The Little-Known History Behind the People of Color Who Joined the Royal Family Long Before Meghan(Time)

Politicians should not ‘weaponise’ UK history, says colonialism researcher(Guardian)

The Historical Significance of Deb Haaland Becoming the First Native American Cabinet Secretary(Time)

This Is England: Ash Sarkar’s Alternative Race Report(DDN)

Behind the Enduring Relevance of the Suez Canal Is the Long Shadow of European Colonialism(The Wire)

These 5 Black women made history — and here’s why you should know their stories(Ideas TED)

FACTBOX: How big is the racial inequality gap in the U.S. and Britain?(Thomson Reuters Foundation News)

Significant archives are under threat in Cape Town’s fire. Why they matter so much(The Conversation)

The Death of George Floyd Reignited a Movement. What Happens Now?(New York Times)

UK failure to commemorate black and Asian war dead known ‘for years’(Guardian)

What it means to be English is changing – St George’s Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate this(Independent)

Church to consider removing or altering slavery monuments(Guardian)

Black Americans spend more of the day being kept waiting(The Economist)

Sarah Akigbogun is uncovering the forgotten stories of female architects of color with XXAOC(Archinect)

It was once a KKK stronghold. Last year BLM came to town(The Economist)

2020 

Addressing the histories of slavery and colonialism at the National Trust (National Trust)

‘I was shielded from my history’: the changes young black Britons are calling for (Guardian)

UK museums may have to follow ‘decolonisation‘ checklist (Telegraph) 

Humiliation and Policing the Borders of the University (Discover Society)

Eton College promises to ‘decolonise‘ its curriculum and hire more black teachers after appeal from parents and students (Daily Mail) 

Don’t Call me BAME. We need a new political language (Guardian) 

UK schools have targeted black children for generations – the education system is overdue for a reckoning (Independent)

Only a fifth of UK universities say they are ‘decolonising’ the curriculum (Guardian)

How American Power Dynamics Have Shaped Perceptions of Looting, From the Boston Tea Party to Today (Time)

‘Students want to confront it’: academics on how to decolonise the university (Guardian)

Decade-long study shows why South Africa needs to stop stereotyping young black men (The Conversation)

How one woman’s ‘immortal’ cells changed the world (BBC Reel)

How Profits From Slavery Changed the Landscape of the Scottish Highlands (Smithsonian)

Robert Fisk, veteran British foreign correspondent, dies aged 74(Guardian)

Covid-19 has shone a light on racial disparities in health (The Economist)

Allegations of murder and ‘blooding’ in Brereton report now face many obstacles to prosecution (The Conversation)

Tackling racial harassment in higher education (Universities UK)

Nigeria protests target Shell in UK, Netherlands (Energy Voice)

UK universities perpetuate institutional racism, report says (Guardian)

Removing monuments is the easy part. We must make America a real democracy (Guardian)

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2019 

Decolonise the curriculum for global relevance (Mail & Guardian, South Africa)

Academics: it’s time to get behind decolonising the curriculum (Guardian)

Students want their curriculums decolonised. Are universities listening? (Guardian)

‘Decolonise’ curriculum movement is spreading to schools, UK’s first black history professor says (Telegraph)

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2017 

Daily Telegraph Admits ‘Decolonise’ Cambridge Curriculum Story Was Wrong As Student Lola Olufemi Condemns Newspaper (Huffington Post) 

Are Soas students right to ‘decolonise’ their minds from western philosophers? (Guardian) 

What did Cedric Robinson mean by Racial Capitalism? (Boston Review)

“My Family’s Slave” (The Atlantic)