Speak Out

Title: Speak Out	Dates: 1977-83
Periodicity: sporadic	Price: Issue 1 was 15p. The last issue of Speak Out in December 1983 was 30p.
Circulation: –	Place of Publication: London, UK

Description

Speak Out was the newsletter of the Brixton Black Women’s Group, a Black socialist feminist organisation which was formed in 1973 (initially called the Black Women’s Group). While it was firmly rooted in Black women’s activism in Brixton, South London, it was also part of a wider network of women’s groups with national and international connections. Speak Out articulated a number of seminal statements on black feminism that included critiques of white feminism and the sexism of the Black Panther Party. The BBWG combined a critique of capitalism with the history of European colonialism and the continuing exploitation of former colonies.

As the editorial collective stated in Issue 4 of Speak Out: ‘It is […] impossible for us to consider the oppression of women separately from the international oppression by imperialism of our countries of origin and from our experience, even here in Britain, of racism, which moulds the life of our whole community’ (Issue 4, 1982).

There was a strong emphasis on social class as well as race and gender as a determining factor in black women’s oppression. The following unpublished statement written in 1982 from the BBWG summarises its aims and objectives:

‘The Black Women’s Movement is an important part of the movement for liberation and change in the world. In this movement, women are coming forward to take part in the struggle for personal and political emancipation. WE AIM TO:

1. Fight against racism and sexism at all levels – social, political, institutional and individual.

2. To fight against racism and sexism in immigration policy, the legal system and the media.

3. To mobilise, organise and campaign around issues which affect us as Black women, specifically.

4. To support all those who are also engaged in the fight against international capital.

5. To hold and participate in meetings and demonstrations; to distribute literature, etc., in order to implement the aims of the Black Women’s Group’ (Miller).

Speak Out‘s Mission Statement

We in the Black Women’s Group see whatever activities we participate in as being part of the general struggle of black and working-class people against a worldwide system of exploitation. As women, our task must be to take up those issues that face us at work and in the community, making clear that the struggles in which we participate are linked with the general fight against international capital’.
Editorial, Speak Out, issue 1

Issue 4 describes black feminism in relation to ‘an understanding of our oppression based on sex, race and class, and of the recognition of our struggle being part and parcel of the greater black struggle for liberation of all our people from all forms of oppression […]’.

Key Campaigns

Key campaigns included:

the fight to ban the use of the contraceptive injection Depo-Provera
campaigns against increasingly restrictive immigration laws
the Stop and Search laws used by police to detain ‘suspects’
the labelling of black children as ‘educationally subnormal’ and their subsequent exclusion from mainstream education

Magazine Aesthetic

The newsletter consisted of a simple layout featuring two typewritten columns per page. Articles were anonymised in most instances, reinforcing a collective voice that spoke on behalf of the group. Bold graphic symbols broke up the uniformity of the page, creating white space and adding ornamentation between articles and in the headers and footers. These symbols included an encircled clenched fist, African masks and interlocking arms signifying solidarity.

The front cover of issue 1 features a four panel cartoon that represents the history of exploitation and oppression of black women as well as their struggle to ‘build a new socialist society’.

Speak Out, cover of issue 1 — Cover of issue 1 of *Speak Out*

The front cover of issue 2 published in 1979 features a British passport with ‘NO ENTRY’ stamped across its centre.

Speak Out, cover of issue 4 — Cover of issue 4 of *Speak Out*

Historical Contexts

Speak Out emerged from the political activism of women in the Black Liberation Front, the British Black Panther Party and the Black Unity and Freedom Party as well as the experience of black women who had been active in anti-colonial movements in former colonies including Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad.

Some women also had connections to women’s liberation groups. The predominant feeling for black women was that they had to organise separately from black men and white women so that they could ‘meet and organise around their specific oppression’ (Issue 1).

The 1970s saw the rise of the National Front, a political party that supported a repatriation policy for black migrants to their or their parents’ home countries. By 1976, the National Front had become the fourth largest party in Britain. See entry for FOWAAD for further contextual information.

Editors

The newsletter was produced by a collective though Amina Mama describes being taught by Pat Adams (a graphic designer) how to do paste-ups and cuts. Amina was largely responsible for pulling the newsletter together (Miller).

Printers, typesetters, publishers and distributors

The newsletter was distributed at various locations including Brixton market and various meetings of activist groups in and around London. Some members of the collective stood outside tube stations and sold the paper giving them an opportunity to get ‘involved in discussions with people’ (Miller).

Business model

Costs of the newsletter were covered by sales. There were some subscribers to Speak Out.

Connections to other feminist magazines

Issue 3.8 (1971) of Shrew included an interview with Gerlin Bean (one of the founding members of BBWG. Red Rag 13 (1978) featured an article by the BBWG describing Black women’s experiences of racism: ‘We came here for better opportunities – What in reality did we find? On arrival, Black families were faced with appalling housing conditions, we were unwelcomed by racist landlords and those landlords who did rent to us were to exploit us with overly high rent and inadequate facilities […] In employment, we were to fill the worst-paid jobs with long and unsociable hours and poor working conditions […] In the sphere of education, children came into schools that were not prepared for their arrival. Consequently, there were language and cultural barriers that contributed to the alienation of West Indian children. Teachers reflected the racism of the society, and many children, regardless of the difficulties they were experiencing, were labelled educationally subnormal (pp. 16-17). Trouble and Strife (Summer 1990) features an interview with Gail Lewis, Melba Wilson and Olive Gallimore about the BBWG.