Welcome to the first Good News instalment. Each month we will bring you some happier and
lighter news in relation to climate change and wild places. We are often shrouded with bleak
stories about the climate crisis, and in turn, this can create a negative space in our heads.
By also including some good news in your lives, we can instead choose to reclaim a sense
of hope and belonging…
The Radical Bookfair hosted by Lighthouse Books has become an annual meeting ground for creative discourses that often live on the margins of our mainstream media, to be thoughtfully considered. This year’s event saw a host of panels and discussions based on the theme ‘Futures Worth Fighting For’ which focused on how to materialize our radical imaginations for a better world.
In the UK, history textbooks often reflect a deep unwillingness to acknowledge the full story of our blood-soaked colonial past. Consequently, very little is said to challenge the racism and injustice which forms the backdrop to our present day…
Amartya Sen recently outlined the structural impacts Britain had on India throughout its longstanding rule, hoping to unpack the illusions of the empire’s legacy through a historical dive into India’s past. As Sen opens with, power is widely agreed to have been established by British forces in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey by defeating Nawab Siraj-ud-Doula’s army and beginning a 200-year rule that ended with Nehru’s famous words in 1947 – ‘At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to light and freedom’. This monumental moment in global history is thought to be the start of a process of decolonisation stretching into the 1980s.
The algorithms that decided both the SQA and A-Level results have further exposed the class divide in our education system. It is past time we re-think private education. British education is a two-tier system. There are those who can afford to pay for the education they deserve, and those who cannot…
In observing the present moment, we cannot deny the relentless ways in which the past reverberates through the present. History lingers in each act of brutality, in the social relationships which lead to these actions. It lingers in statues and institutions and the messages they profess…
Our Society and Community editor Beth discusses LGBTQ+ sex education in schools and representation in children’s literature…
Lena Avery recommends music streams which will get you through this study season: “In celebration of study season, let me take you down the Lo-fi radio rabbit hole. Grab some coffee (or tea) of your choice— it’s a long way down…”
Black people have always been a part of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The struggle for queer liberation has included black people throughout its history, and unfortunately at times their voices have been quieted in favour of white activists (anyone seen the movie about Stonewall?). Luckily, it’s not too late to give thanks to these people that have helped to pave the way for acceptance of queer people, and as such, here are six queer black icons that we should be appreciating more…