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Faber is to publish Black British Lives Matter, a collection of essays commissioned by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder.
In the collection, 17 writers explain why Black lives should be celebrated when too often they are undervalued. Drawing from personal experience, the authors span various aspects of society.
They include tech leader Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, architect Sir David Adjaye, historian Professor David Olusoga, Professor Kehinde Andrews, responsible for the first-ever Black Studies degree in Europe, award-winning author Kit de Waal, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Leroy Logan, the policeman whose life was dramatised in Steve McQueen’s "Small Axe" series. All 17 writers explore the unique contributions, perspectives and importance of Black Britons to the United Kingdom and beyond.
An accompanying 20-episode podcast, hosted by Henry and Ryder and produced by Faber, will be launched in spring next year. The book will be published on 18th November.
Editorial director Walter Donohue said: "Faber is proud to be involved with such important work. Lenny and Marcus have curated 17 thought-provoking essays from prominent Black British figures. These dispatches from all areas of life are not only enlightening, but an urgent call for change."
Ryder said: "In the struggle to ensure our lives matter, we must never forget the racism we have endured, especially in the face of people actively trying to deny it. But all too often, pointing out racism is where the discussion ends. For us (Lenny and Marcus), ending the discussion there is not good enough. We do not want our lives to be portrayed as a negative - shaped by the very bigotry and prejudice that try to constrain it."
Black British Lives Matter is an extension of Henry and Ryder’s manifesto for diversity in TV, Access All Areas, urging more diversity and greater representation in the media.