Have a flick through this week’s top stories, curated by Phoebe Clayton
Top Stories: 8th October
8th October 2021
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock’s lecture
8th October 2021
I think everyone who attended Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock’s talk at WHS on Wednesday can agree that it was extremely informative and inspiring… so let’s delve a bit deeper into the key components and messages of the night. In an interview by The Royal Society, Maggie describes how people often ask her: “You’re a black dyslexic kid from a broken home in London. How come you’re so interested in space?” Maggie’s response to this was, “although dyslexia makes reading and writing quite hard, now I see it as my superpower because dyslexia makes me think of things differently”.
Colourism, and how it created a new cosmetics market
8th October 2021
Colourism can be defined as prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. In regions or cultures where colourism is prevalent, and lighter skin is considered better, many women attempt to lighten their skin using cosmetic products in the form of pills, scrubs, creams and even injections. This demand for lighter skin has created a new cosmetics market in predominantly Asia and Africa which creates cosmetic products to make the wearer appear fairer.
Chimamanda Adichie and the Power of Speech
8th October 2021
Sometimes, it’s all too easy to fall silent. But when the discussion strays into issues of injustice, when we hesitate to voice our concerns for fear of conflict, or we silence the questions we are uncomfortable to hear, we lose sight of what’s most important: the power of speaking up. It is precisely that strength of character and unapologetic commitment to equality that earned Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie worldwide recognition for her championship of feminism and human rights.
A review of Candyman
8th October 2021
Nia DaCosta’s 2021 revival of the classic Candyman manages to unpack police brutality, gentrification, and economic inequality in a mere ninety-one minutes. The story was first introduced to our screens in 1992, when Tony Todd starred as the vengeful man himself, with a hook for a hand and a swarm of deadly bees. Candyman is the violent ghost of Daniel Robitaille; a black artist from the 1800s that was brutally murdered by a mob after having an affair with a white girl. If you say his name five times whilst looking in the mirror, his spirit appears.