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Cecile Emeke is back with her documentary series - 'Strolling'

If you haven't seen Cecile Emeke's 'Ackee and Saltfish' its not too late, but this lady is going places with her film making, and she's back with a new series exploring the Black/African diaspora, taking a stroll  through different cities, having frank and honest discussions on the issues facing them.

The following is taken from the website:

'Strolling' is a short documentary film series created by Cecile Emeke where we take a stroll with people in various cities and countries around the world, having refreshingly raw and honest conversations about various issues at the forefront of their society. We touch on everything from feminism, sexuality, gender, race and politics to philosophy, art, history, capitalism, war and poverty… and everything else you can think of.

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No Safe Space for Black Girls - The Disturbing rise of 'Misogynoir'

Imagine this... You’re a young Black Girl, the world tells you, you are undesirable, angry, uneducated and promiscuous. You can't find your face anywhere other than tokenism or to fulfil a lazy plotline. You find solace in the world of Manga and Anime, you make friends, socialise and try to forget that the mainstream media would rather you didn’t exist. You decide to Cosplay, where you can be applauded for your skills and creativity and foster a sense of community amongst you. You spend over 70 hours, money and sweat on your costume so that you can showcase it at Comicon. Of course you take a picture to commemorate your moment, and share with your fellow cosplayers, what happens? -  Some idiot turns it into a hateful meme that stereotypes you and feeds into the growing culture of ‘Misogynoir’ - encapsulated and perpetuated by sites like ‘Black Men Vent’ that do nothing to dispel the racism, and infact encourage and applaud the degradation of Black women.

In the slideshow on the right - Apparently this is the man that created the meme? He doesn’t know those girls, but felt it was his right to slander them, using the tired stereotype of the ghetto woman, while ignoring the social, economic and patriarchal systems that help to keep people ignorant and stuck. What’s even more hateful, is that these are young women who are being targeted, possibly still in their teens and this is what they face from members of their own community. 

I sincerely hope that they are not affected by this experience and continue to Cosplay, demonstrating the diversity, creativity and skills of Black Girls and Women, while ignoring those that would perpetuate the Misogynoir of Black Women.


"Misogynoir is a term referring to misogyny directed towards Black women, where race and gender both play roles in bias. It was coined by queer Black feminist scholar Moya Bailey, who created the term to address misogyny directed toward black women in American visual and popular culture. It also refers to the level of patriarchy and sexism everpresent among Black males and directed toward black women."

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Gambia Bans Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - "For the protection of the girl child"

Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, declared that FGM is now outlawed in Gambia, adding - "The practice is outdated and not a requirement of Islam." He joins a growing list of African leaders to make the practice illegal.

Communication minister Sherrif Bojang confirmed the ban on Facebook this week, posting: “Female genital mutilation has been banned with immediate effect.”

It is not clear yet when this will be written into legislation, and hopefully by publicly denouncing FGM and stating that it's no part of Islam will make people think twice.
President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia