Black Radical Women Panel

This panel will consider Black womanhood and radical organising nationally and/or globally. Each scholar will present a short paper followed by Q&A.

Tionne Parris ’Dear Ama…’ – Restoring The Legacies of 20th Century Black Radical Women
Tionne Alliyah Parris (she/her) is a 3rd year PhD History student at the University of Hertfordshire. She specialises in 20th-century African American history, with an emphasis on left-wing radical protests. Her PhD research focuses on Black Radical Women (namely Communists and fellow travellers) of the mid-20th Century and the intergenerational impact of their activism on the emergence of the Black Power Movement.
Alongside her studies, Parris is also a coordinator at the Young Historians Project, and a member of the History Matters collective – both of which aim to elevate the study of Black British history amongst young people and the broader public. She is also the editor of a forthcoming book with Professor Gerald Horne, titled I Dare Say: A Gerald Horne Reader.

A.S. Francis Each one, teach one: the East London Black Women’s Organisation
A.S. Francis (she/they) is a PhD student researching women’s involvements in Britain’s Black radical organisations during the 1960s-1980s, and the development of a Black women’s movement. In addition to this PhD research, Francis is in the process of writing a book celebrating the longstanding and far-reaching activism of Gerlin Bean, which will be published in October 2023 as part of LW’s Radical Black Women series. Francis is also a consultant to the Young Historians Project, member of the History Matters collective and co-founder of the History Matters Journal.

Paula Akpan ’I was amazed; they were all black women and they were all lesbians’: Interrogating Black lesbian collective identity in Britain, 1978-1996
Paula Akpan (she/her) is a journalist and historian. With an MA in Black British History, both her historical practice and journalism focus on Blackness, queerness, social politics and our relationship with technology. She regularly writes for a variety of publications including Vogue, Teen Vogue, The Independent, VICE, i-D, Bustle, Time Out London and more. She is currently writing her first book, WHEN WE RULED (2024), tracing the lives and legacies of 12 African queens and war leaders who contributed to the shaping of the continent.

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Part of the Race and Resistance Programme events.