The first ever collection of writing from the Brixton Black Women’s Group, one of the first and most important black radical organisations of the 1970s
"We came to Britain in search of better opportunities or to get some of the wealth which had been misappropriated from the Caribbean, but what in reality did we find?"
Speak Out brings together the writings of Brixton Black Women's Group for the first time, in a landmark collection. Established in response to the lack of interest in women's issues experienced in male-dominated Black organisations, the Brixton Black Women's Group's aim was to create a distinct space where women of African and Asian descent could meet to focus on political, social and cultural issues as they affected black women.
Brixton Black Women’s Group published its own newsletter, Speak Out, which kept alive the debate about the relevance of feminism to black politics and provided a black women's perspective on immigration, housing, health and culture.
What People Are Saying
"An important testament to the pioneering Black British feminists of the 1970s and '80s who set up groups and centres, and bravely and brilliantly campaigned against discrimination and for social change in the face of extreme opposition. Long ignored and undervalued, their grassroots activism adds unique and essential layers to the recorded histories of the era" Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
"For a new generation of feminist thinkers the relevance of this collection cannot be overstated. Intended for local distribution, the articles are a testament to the continuous theoretical study, fierce discipline, comradeliness and revolutionary love central to resistance against the most violent arms of the state...A balm, an instruction manual a historical object that defies temporality and a response to the forces that seek to depoliticise the history of racialised women's struggle for freedom in Britain." Lola Olufemi, author of Feminism Interrupted and Experiments in Imagining Otherwise
"Militant and original, the Brixton Black Women's Group forged a Marxist analysis entirely their own, driven by the urgency of the triple jeopardy they faced as workers, as women, and as Black people in Britain. The ideas here are alive with the energy, rage, and deep, courageous love that propel political struggle. This is not just a book, it's a whole world" Sita Balani, author of Deadly and Slick
"T'his collection beautifully narrates how Black British feminists played an integral role in resistance to state violence, community health, popular education, internationalism and many other struggles which made Black Power in Britain a movement to be reckoned with" Adam Elliott-Cooper, author of Black Resistance to British Policing
"[This] new collection brings together their rich archive of newsletters and essays on labor, legislation, housing, and reproductive justice...undisputedly worthwhile" Rianna Jade Parker, BOMB