Uppity: The Intellectual Playground

We’re back! Season III of Uppity starts here. Arts, culture and politics – all dripped in unmitigated, unapologetic, uninhibited Blackness at its most unashamedly highbrow.

EYITEMI!

This month, we start with a special opening performance by the BBC Jazz Awards winner Eyitemi.

Then we ease into our first-ever competition:

FLEEING FARAGE!
Reform is leading in the polls. Nigel Farage looks increasingly like Britain’s next Prime Minister. If your Blackdar or Browndar is working, it should be giving a ‘danger sound’. Britain’s ethnic minorities now have one simple question that we must have an answer for: what is your escape route?

Present your best escape route idea live at this month’s Uppity for a chance to win the FLEEING FARAGE prize: a yearlong membership to a racist party of your choice!

THE BIG PAYBACK

How is it that slave-owners were paid compensation from our taxes, yet the enslaved and their families were not? Why should the descendants of former slaveowners still benefit from inherited wealth while the successors of the victims of slavery receive nothing, and may have even paid towards the debt of compensation through their taxes?

All questions will be answered by Sir Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder, who will be entering the Uppity circle to make the £18T case for reparations.

The new book, The Big Payback, will be available for purchase and signing on the night.

The Trial of Political Diversity: Has 'Progress' Fuelled Prejudice?

The rising tide of racism in Britain today is a stark, bewildering counterpoint to the unprecedented racial diversity at the zenith of British politics. For decades, diversity at the top was hailed as the ultimate evidence of societal progress. Yet, this very progress appears to have coincided with the re-mainstreaming of prejudice.

A deeply unsettling truth has emerged: the very figures who represent racial progress are, in many instances, perceived as enabling or tolerating the erosion of anti-racist norms in broader society. This paradoxical reality forces us to confront a fundamental, perplexing question:

What has diversity at the elite end of politics truly benefited more: the forces of institutional racism or the pursuit of genuine anti-racism?

Join us to put this question on trial. This is not a celebration of symbolic milestones, but a rigorous, unsparing examination of their actual impact.

The Verdict is Yours: You are the Jury

We invite you to The Trial of Political Diversity. Our distinguished speakers and panellists are:

Prosecution Team: “Diversity has largely been beneficial to racism”

• Koko Koram, Professor of Law at Loughborough University.

• Antoinette Fernandez, Green Party politician and activist.

• Mish Rahman, Former National Executive Member of the Labour Party from 2020 till 2024 and Vice Chair of the campaign group Momentum. He is a trustee for anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card and an antiracist activist.

Defence Team: “Diversity has been largely beneficial to anti-racism”

• Nels Abbey, writer and founder of Uppity.

• Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, political campaigner, commentator, consultant and public speaker.

• Femi Oluwole, political activist and co-founder of the pro-European Union advocacy group Our Future Our Choice.

The ultimate power rests with you, our jury of experts. All decisions, all conclusions, will be made by you.

Witness the prosecution, hear the defence, and cast your decisive vote. The time for congratulatory consensus is over. Let the trial begin.

See you on the 21st October – we even include snacks in the ticket price!