In response to the international outcry at George Floyd's death, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder have commissioned this collection of essays to discuss how and why we need to fight for Black lives to matter - not just for Black people but for society as a whole. Statues were toppled, streets renamed and venerable British institutions such as the Bank of England were forced to reckon with their ties to the slave trade. The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer may have taken place thousands of miles away, but his agonising cry – “I can’t breathe” – reverberated in the UK, too. Butler laments the smattering of black and Asian representation in overwhelmingly white institutions such as parliament, arguing that, as a result, minorities can easily be pitted against each other. Our strength does not come from not having any weaknesses, our strength comes from overcoming them" Doreen Lawrence.

So large is the political crisis to which the book is responding that some of the essays only manage to scratch the surface of their subject, while others at times feel repetitive.This week we discuss why Black British Mental Health Matters with the highly acclaimed actor David Harewood and journalist and documentary maker Marverine Cole. The essays are most effective when the authors use their experiences and expertise to address a specific problem.

In fact, it became the catalyst for the largest wave of anti-racist protests in British history, taking place in more than 260 towns and cities last summer. In Olusoga’s chapter, which is an interview conducted by Henry, the historian admits this surprised him. The book comprises essays from 19 prominent black figures, including the historian David Olusoga, the architect David Adjaye, the Labour MP Dawn Butler and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen. A podcast investigating what it means to be Black in Britain today, from exposing the racism to celebrating the joy in every walk of life. Too often there is “one person of colour to argue for a policy that would deny their own parents entry into the UK versus another politician of colour arguing for policies that would benefit other people of colour”.

By rethinking our connected and complex histories and looking again through the lens of contemporary art, tomorrow’s story can be one of repair, hope and freedom. Honestly there is no other podcast out there like this and which manage such delicate and challenging issues in such a human and even funny way. Demonstrators carried handmade placards with the names of black Britons killed by the British police; they demanded justice for members of the Windrush generation threatened with deportation and the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire; they decried the high Covid-19 death rate among communities of colour. Refunds for correctly delivered and undamaged items are available within 30 days of the goods' receipt.

Our guests talk about the reality behind the shocking stats, their own personal mental health experiences and whether living in Britain is bad for our mental health. Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder introduce an essential collection of essays arguing how and why we need to fight for Black lives to matter – not just for Black people, but for British society as a whole. A year later, Black British Lives Matter, edited by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder, takes time to reflect on this extraordinary movement. Home to William Golding, Sylvia Plath, Kazuo Ishiguro, Sally Rooney, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Max Porter, Ingrid Persaud, Anna Burns and Rachel Cusk, among many others, Faber is proud to publish some of the greatest novelists from the early twentieth century to today. Recognising Black British experience within the Black Lives Matter movement, nineteen prominent Black figures explain why Black lives should be celebrated when too often they are undervalued.Her tireless battle to get justice for her son, and force the country to confront the reality of racism, has transformed her into a symbol, but this has also dehumanised her. With classics such as Ted Hughes's The Iron Man and award-winners including Emma Carroll's Letters from the Lighthouse, Faber Children's Books brings you the best in picture books, young reads and classics. But Fitzwilliam’s generosity was only possible because of the wealth his grandfather accumulated in part through the transatlantic slave trade. From Nobel Laureates Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter to theatre greats Tom Stoppard and Alan Bennett to rising stars Polly Stenham and Florian Zeller, Faber Drama presents the very best theatre has to offer.

It is clear, though, that the response to last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests must go beyond just representation. This week we discuss why Black British Food Matters with Zoe Adjonyoh, founder of Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen and award-winning food journalist Melissa Thompson. Estimated to make up 22 percent of the Black British population we explore exactly why Black British disabled people’s lives matter.This is the podcast where we explore why and how Black British lives matter –What it means to be Black and British, our culture, our joy and our pain. Great mix of guests, accessible to all ages as well, only gripe is I’d love to hear even more topics and also get more views from the podcast hosts themselves of what they think of the topics! Sir Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder sit down with prominent Black British figures and explore the simple question: How do we make Black British Lives Matter? Displaying objects and artworks made in West Africa, the Caribbean, South America and Europe, this landmark exhibition also reveals the histories that have been silenced; not just stories of exploitation, but those of resilience and liberation, too. The essays offer a 360-degree portrait of the black British experience, taking in health, the criminal justice system, politics, art, journalism, business and education.