Typecast as black and angry
ANGRY, aggressive, scary.
Sadly these are all words commonly used, without merit, to describe black women.
There’s a reason the only black member of the Spice Girls Mel B was called “Scary” Spice.
Black women often have to put up with negative preconceptions, and often feel they have to tone themselves down just to make other people feel more comfortable.
So it doesn’t come as a surprise to hear that not long after the Duchess of Sussex entered royal life there were unflattering whispers about her “management style”.
She was allegedly demanding and direct, and now comes the accusation she was a “bully”.
The details of the alleged bullying are thin – anonymous sources said someone was once left quaking in fear because Meghan didn’t answer the phone when she rang.
He said, she said. At this point it’s all hearsay. What we do know is Meghan joined the Royal Family as a mixed-race American actress.
To make it in Hollywood she’d have had to be ambitious, straight talking and speak up for herself.
She fell in love with Prince Harry and traded in a world in which she was surrounded by a diverse film cast, for life in Britain where I’m sure she was often the only person of colour in the room.
Despite having Harry in her corner, that must have been incredibly lonely. It’s claimed people went out of their way to make Meghan feel comfortable.
What they should have done is surrounded her with a culturally diverse team which would have given her people to relate to and led to fewer misunderstandings. Bullying is unacceptable.
But leaking this just days before the interview with Oprah Winfrey is undoubtedly a smear campaign to damage Meghan’s credibility ahead of the eagerly anticipated show – if not also a form of bullying itself.
The irony is, it will only entice more people to watch.
As bars face months with little or no income and with thousands already closed, it’s time to Save Our Pubs. Regular Nicky Manix-Hall tells why she can’t wait to get back to The Bricklayers Arms, Luton, Beds...
OUR pub is known as The Brickies and mid-week it has a steady flow of regulars catching up or watching sport.
At the weekend it becomes a hive of activity for many generations enjoying each other’s company.
We have celebrated birthdays, engagements, weddings, births, funerals and shared TV sporting victories together. Even Christmas Day
a flurry of people gather at lunchtime to offer season’s greetings.
Landlady Alison Taylor is a pillar of the community and there has been no tougher time to survive than this year.
Yet Alison has kept the pub family together by running the quiz online during lockdown and posting updates on social media. We are counting the days until we can go back.
FALLING infection rates have begun to slow and even increase again in London, according to the biggest national swab testing survey.
Scientists sounded a warning as the Government said it suspected people were starting to flout rules.
Latest data from the REACT study of 163,500 people in England, for February 13 to 23, suggested the R number was up to 0.86, from as low as 0.73 the previous month.
Researchers at Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori believe rates may have started to increase in London and the South East.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was “cause for concern”.
The temporary £20-a-week rise in Universal Credit was extended until September after sustained pressure from campaigners.
It is worth £1,040-a year to more than six million families and costs £6billion annually. But charities said the rise should have been made permanent. End Child Poverty coalition coordinator Judith Cavanagh said while it “offers children in poverty a small lifeline”, she was “disappointed that he [Sunak] has not taken the chance to invest in children and make this permanent”. Trussell Trust chief Emma Revie said: “This does not address the serious hardship families will face when it is removed in September.”
The stamp duty holiday was extended to June 30, saving first-time buyers up to £10,000. From July to September the threshold will be £250,000, returning to £125,000 in October. Rightmove said an extra 300,000 property transactions in England could benefit by the end of June. Home-buyers will be able to access a new 5% deposit mortgage scheme, with the loans guaranteed by the Government.
But the Chancellor was accused of ignoring renters. Alicia Kennedy, of Generation Rent, said that “715,000 households don’t get enough Universal Credit to cover their rent. This Budget has done nothing to help.”