Untold (But No Longer Unheard)

Hello {{ first name | friends}},

I was very excited to see Nova Reid and Afua Hirsch on the same stage. To be honest when I heard that this was happening at the time I'd be in London I just booked the ticket without even checking what it was about. The fact that I was also getting to go with one of my favourite people, the fabulous Yinka Ewuola, was a bonus.

I never got time to look into it fully but I'd been following the final bit of the build up on social. It was about the untold stories from our history - collected an Audible podcast titled Hidden Histories. The stories feature women, often dark skinned, that did great things and that have somehow (not at all mysteriously) been written out of history.

The show opened with a song by Natalie Lindi, whose voice rocked the room. Spontaneous applause broke out. Then came the main act: Afua, as journalist and friend, interviewing Nova about the project.

This was truth telling, raw and honest, about mother wounds, lack of rest, the bittersweet irony of a man's murder being the reason you're in demand, and the pain of the trough at the end of the trend. It was about discovery, self discovery, lessons learned, accountability and finding joy.

This was a circle of aunties, of elders. Those on stage were among their people and their people felt them. You could hear the murmurs of affirmation as Nova described her experiences and as she answered questions.

A poignant theme was about the way colonialist thinking pervades the Black community which is not exempt from misogynoir and colourism of course. As Nova points out we have to be willing to look at that to build community, true community.

This was well worth attending and to see so many of those who share my identity in the crowd was equally affirming. I'll definitely listen to this podcast and I wish for them and all activists that their work be truly valued both for what it gives and what it takes. The stat that the life expectancy of an activist is 45 (!!!), a milestone they'll both soon approach, was shocking.

The evening ended with the response to a question about what advice she'd give to a young woman wanting to make her way in the world.

"Learn to fall in love with herself over and over again"

That response reminded me that, as the post-interval performer said in a powerful spoken word piece, Black women are often silenced unless in one of their assigned menial roles and learning to love ourselves can also be an act of resistance.

From the excerpts I heard, this podcast will be worth your time. If you choose to listen, I'd love to hear how it informs your anti-racism learning and action. If you're not sure what to do, take one new piece of knowledge and share and discuss it with a friend or colleague, then do it again!

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

P.S. Check out the event Linktree for even more.

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I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2025. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).