A year has passed since the murder of George Floyd united the world in protest, vigils and demonstrations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. However, despite crowds flooding city streets, organisations vehemently committing to change and a global social media blackout pushing this long-running movement to the front of the cultural conversation, pro-black activism is still met with hostility in many places.

To explore how much has actually changed, how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go, we’ve gathered a panel of experts including writer-activist Joshua Virasami, psychologist and author Guilaine Kinouani, and academic and activist Kehinde Andrews to dissect and analyse this generation-defining grassroots movement.

About The Speakers

Guilaine Kinouani

Guilaine is the Founder of Race Reflections, a social enterprise dedicated to tackling inequality, injustice and oppression. Guilaine’s first book, Living While Black: The essential guide to overcoming Racial Trauma, is a powerful exposé of the lived experience of various manifestations of racism.

Joshua Virasami

Joshua Virasami is an activist, artist and writer. He is a member of Black Lives Matter, Wretched of the Earth Collective and London Renters Union and has recently published How to Change It with #Merky Books.

Kehinde Andrews

Kehinde Andrews is Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University. His latest book is The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule World published by Penguin Allen Lane in 2021. He also wrote Black to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century and Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement  and is editor of the Blackness in Britain book series with Bloomsbury. Kehinde has written opinions pieces for outlets including the Guardian, Independent, Washington Post and CNN.  He is founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity; and editor-in-chief of Make it Plain.

About The Chair

Nadine Batchelor-Hunt

Nadine Batchelor-Hunt is a journalist and broadcaster, and is also the former president of the Cambridge University Student Union’s Black and Minority Ethnic Campaign.