As a UK-based, international festival of contemporary Arab culture, Shubbak stands in solidarity with everyone fighting against institutionalised racism and anti-Blackness across the world. We recognise that we operate in a country which has a long history of systemic racism against Black communities and we acknowledge that we receive public funding and are in a position of influence.
Our mission champions freedom of expression and we have been active in promoting cultural expression from marginalised communities, including presenting many Arab queer artists from minority backgrounds within Arab societies. Nonetheless, we pledge to interrogate our curatorial processes and institutional structures further to ensure our programme and how we work stands up as anti-rascist. We will champion diversity in our relationships with artists, funders, partners and influencers. We strongly encourage our community of artists, audiences and partners to listen, read, speak up and donate to the many organisations that support this cause, in order to create a different reality for Black people.
We welcome that some organisations in our sector have collated wide-ranging reading material, including some by MENA (Middle East and North Africa) writers on Black identities within the context of the Arab world. We are sharing this and a range of additional material with you so that we can all be better equipped to fight racism.
Black Lives Matter
- Arabs for Black Power: A Reading List for Non-Black Arab Allies. Compiled by Dardishi.
- New Reader has collated a reading list of Black revolutionary text.
- Members of the team have read and recommend the following books: The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla; Natives - Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala; Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge; Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch.
- Black Lives Matter UK (BLMUK) is a coalition of Black activists and organisations across the UK. This is a link to their fundraising page.
- Here is a list of how to support Black lives in the UK.
- Migrant Community Center: providing safer spaces for migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.
This list is not exhaustive. If there is material you would like to see added please email us.