Unsung Stories of Black Women’s Activism in the UK: Spirits of Resistance and Resilience

This book is a long-overdue contribution to the history of Black feminist activism in the UK. It provides unique insights into both historical and contemporary issues that impact Black women, their families and their communities, including immigration, education, policing, domestic violence and poverty. It fills a void in sociological and feminist literature by centring the voices, lived experiences and perspectives of women of the African and Caribbean Diaspora in the UK. Through the use of research, archival materials, narrative interviews, photographs, poems and reflective conversations, the authors explore the social issues which inspired these women's action for change. In drawing on personal and professional testimonies grounded in over two decades of community activism and scholarly analysis, the authors weave together the story of the Abasindi Cooperative, a woman’s organisation famed for its progressive and far-reaching social justice programmes. In so doing the authors reveal narratives of political struggle that have their resonance in present-day society. This book is an acknowledgment and celebration of the sociopolitical activism and achievements of Black women in the UK and represents the hope, solidarity and triumph possible when women organise collectively to tackle social and racial injustice.