Unwritten Lives

"Far above all other hunted whales, his is an unwritten life." Moby Dick

Posts tagged with: Racism Show All

Arsenal is an African club

May 24, 2026 by Sean Henry Jacobs

Arsenal is an African club
Two boys — both ardent Arsenal fans — in the Ethiopian town of Sendafa, September 2007. Photo: Antony Robbins via Flickr

Today, Arsenal is viewed as a open, welcoming, diverse, and above all as representing democracy, antiracism, and forward-looking values. Yet the club spent years (from 2018 until 2025) advertising one of Africa’s most efficient dictatorships through its “Visit Rwanda” sponsorship. Although Arsenal’s sleeve sponsorship agreement with Rwanda has now come to an end, the controversy surrounding the partnership has left unresolved questions

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Poem | To the people of the UK: You have voted. Here is what will happen next

May 11, 2026 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Poem | To the people of the UK: You have voted. Here is what will happen next
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

With heavy losses for the governing Labour party, and huge gains for the rightwing populist party, Reform UK, the results of last week's local elections on 7 May have reverberated through the UK like an earthquake. Here is what will happen next

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Struggle and archive. Albie: A Strange Alchemy

May 10, 2026 by Sean Henry Jacobs

Struggle and archive. Albie: A Strange Alchemy
Anti-apartheid activist, author, and former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Albie Sachs. Photo: The Albie Collection

The South African project remains unfinished. Stories like Sachs’s not only testify to the hard-won gains of the past but also confront us with the urgent, unfinished work still ahead to achieve justice, dignity, and equality for all.

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Jewish Londoners deserve to live without fear – we are taking action to ensure their safety

May 4, 2026 by Sadiq Khan

Jewish Londoners deserve to live without fear – we are taking action to ensure their safety
‘The horrific terror attack in Golders Green was just the latest in a series of antisemitic acts of violence that have targeted Jewish people.’ Photo: The Guardian/Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

During dark times, we must stand by our Jewish neighbours as generations of Londoners have done before us

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Calling for a public apology from UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP

April 22, 2026 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Calling for a public apology from UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP
British Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP. Photo: UK Parliament, House of Commons

On Monday 20 April Shabana Mahmood told “white liberal” hecklers to “f**k right off”. Under no circumstances is this acceptable. With standards in public life in the UK slipping, community cohesion disintegrating, and democratic procedures eroding, Mahmood must be held to account for her abusive language. I have written to my local north London MP, Catherine West, and local councillors, calling for an apology from the home secretary, because everybody has the right to feel safe.

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Don’t look at who voted to call the slave trade ‘the gravest crime’, look at who didn’t

April 13, 2026 by Kenneth Mohammed

Don’t look at who voted to call the slave trade ‘the gravest crime’, look at who didn’t
Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, addresses the UN general assembly in New York ahead of the vote on 25 March. Photograph: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The UK and EU countries who abstained when Ghana’s UN resolution was adopted may soon find it harder to sustain the same old script on reparations

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A new generation of politicians of colour is emerging in France. The backlash speaks volumes

April 9, 2026 by Rokhaya Diallo

A new generation of politicians of colour is emerging in France. The backlash speaks volumes
Bally Bagayoko, who was elected mayor of Saint-Denis in the 2026 French municipal elections. Photo: Ed Alcock/The Guardian

Local elections have led to a surge of racism in a country that still struggles to see itself as anything other than white

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London's historic day of multicultural protest against the far right

March 30, 2026 by Unwritten Lives

London's historic day of multicultural protest against the far right
"Together Against The Far Right" rally. Trafalgar Square. Photo: Unwritten Lives

On 28 March 2026, tens of thousands of people gathered in London to march against the far right.

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Together 28 March London

March 25, 2026 by Together Alliance

Together 28 March London
Fill this space. Trafalgar Square, London. Photo: Together Alliance UK

March TOGETHER against the far right. Central London. Saturday 28 March 2026. 12pm to 6pm. Join us!

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The F-word is back, but it’s never been far away, or deep underground

November 13, 2025 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Demonstration against Trump and Fascism
Photo by Chris Boese on Unsplash

For a snapshot of the authoritarian era to which today’s launch of Unwritten Lives is a response, we don’t have to rewind too far, just to the recent past, to moments that still reside fresh in recent memory.

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Featured Author

Sean Henry Jacobs

Sean Henry Jacobs

Sean Henry Jacobs is the founder of Africa is a Country and Professor of International Affairs at Th …

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