Feminism: chat
Why Southall Black Sisters made the difficult decision not to attend the Palace’s domestic violence event
IwantToRetire · 06/12/2022 15:51
... During internal conversations, arguments for accepting the invitation ranged from: it would be a good opportunity to raise awareness of the discriminatory treatment received by migrant women when escaping violence; we need to make a distinction between an event to celebrate the coronation/monarchy versus an event to garner attention for violence against women and girls; increased visibility could lead to increased funding which was important for the services we run. Unspoken, but nonetheless apparent, was the human desire for recognition that such an invitation represented.
The arguments against included perceptions that it was a PR exercise for Camilla and it would make the Palace look good at our expense; there was no invitation to speak, only attend, which meant that we couldn’t even get our message across to the great and good; there was, no mention of funding attached to Camilla’s work on domestic violence (DV) on her official page. ...
Archived from an opinion piece in the "i" newspaper archive.ph/aVKqe
I was curious why this was in the "i" newspaper behind a paywall but not on their web site, but thought I would share as it looks at how women's groups, especially those from BME communities have, to choose between playing the game and sticking to principles / their politics.
But in checking their web site to see if maybe it had been published, I saw they have a statement up in support of Salman Rushdie, but not one in support of Sistah Space, so an now thinking maybe it was a bit odd to prioritise talking about why they didn't go rather than talking about the issue of racism. twitter.com/Sistah_Space/status/1597854380115767296
hmmmmmmm - so maybe there are two different discussions, institutional racism and compromises that women's group should or shouldn't take.
IwantToRetire · 11/12/2022 20:15
I wasn't going to comment again but after an earlier post that was just a pure reproduction of a Daily Express article someone thinks quoting a twitter thread by a man.
FFS - twitter is a cess pit of misinformation and has about as much to do with reality as a group of drunks shouting at each other in the street.
For those of you who dont know, Sistah Space is quite well known, and had a recent stand off with Hackney Council which they won (and everybody was tutting about how pushy they they were instead of accepting the meager handouts the council wanted them to accept). And for instance the stupid w8888r on twitter going on about how unrealistic the upsurge in users was, obviously cant do his research very well. This is exactly what Sistah Space were saying to the Council, please can we stay in our temporaty accommodation because more women have felt able to come to our advice service as it is much safer than the back street you want us to accept.
Its great isn't it when men who know nothing about women's groups then decide because they have never heard of them, they must be irrelevant or a rip off and then set about proving they were right.
By the way, it has always been a well known tactic of funders to start going through the finances of a BME group who they think is getting a bit uppity, and finding fault with the finances.
But they were one of the first groups to get a grant from the huge amount raise by BLM in the UK. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/black-lives-matter-uk-grants-b2196284.html
IwantToRetire · 14/12/2022 00:30
The Charity Commission is examining a series of allegations over the running of Sistah Space, the organisation whose founder was at the centre of the Buckingham Palace race row.
In a statement the watchdog said it was “assessing material” posted on social media questioning the charity’s finances and organisation.
The Greater London Assembly’s finance chief has also been asked to ensure that grants to Sistah Space “have been used as intended”.
uk.yahoo.com/news/palace-race-row-accuser-ngozi-200000184.html
Amazing how quickly unsubstantiated claims by men on twitter against women are taken as fact, but if women tweet about their experiences or anger they are either ignored or humiliated.
BernardBlacksMolluscs · 14/12/2022 11:19
Amazing how quickly unsubstantiated claims by men on twitter against women are taken as fact
sadly I don’t think they are unsubstantiated
I still think what happened at the palace was racist and it was right for LH to resign
and I think the amount of time and effort spent digging into Sistah space was motivated by racism and victim blaming
I knew when this broke that NF would suffer a backlash. I just hadn’t bargained on there being stuff to find
Lilithslove · 14/12/2022 11:19
Sausagenbacon · 14/12/2022 10:19
so, to make this clear, if a charity is run by POC, then they shouldn't be held to the same standards as other charities?
No - to be clear it isn't OK to be racist towards POC who you suspect of being dodgy. It's interesting that these issue are only coming up now - it seems like a transparent attempt to deflect and draw attention away from the racism.
.TinFoilHatty · 14/12/2022 11:35
Re-reading my post.
I mean chain of events that started when Lady Hair Toucher started her interrogation, means that touching the hair and interrogating was a really good thing. It was not. As a parallel issue I am gutted that stuff may be found, as I did not expect this.
IwantToRetire · 14/12/2022 15:33
This just confirms what I said in an early post, the BME organisations have the finances investigated much more thoroughly that other groups.
I dont think Sistah Space wont have made errors. And as a group that was originally primarily funded by Hackney, as the local borough they should have provided the training on what is accepted financial practices. In the past this always happened as it was the local boroughs own good governance to see money they allocated was used properly.
I suspect there are many small groups who have gone from being small all volunteer to being funded who have made mistakes.
But the issue here is that just one male (of course) individual decided through innuendo to smear the group. By contract despite repeated complaints it is only now that Mermaids is being investigate for bad governance, but that is after 4 or 6 years.
And look how many women have complained on twitter about being trolled etc., and nothing is done.
Even if Sistah Space has breached some financial codes, which most people find quite obscure, all this will do is re-inforce the feeling that this is inspired by racism, ie someone, a male, has decided that women in need of support should not get that support because they have started a personal vendetta against a woman. And these women are Black. Anyone with any empathy would have got in touch and pointed out the problems and put forward remedial actions.
So well done racists, scored anothe own. With any luck, the BLM fund will step in and help them put their books in order.
As an off shoot, this is also an indictment of what is called the Women's Sector which has not been free of racism. But also it lives in its own little closed world, more focused on ingratiating themselves with funders, than with users or supporters. Given that the Women's Resource Centre is based in London and funded to support women's groups within the sector, it reflects badly that they either didn't reach out, or didn't bother to advertise their existence to BME communities.
KatMcBundleFace · 14/12/2022 18:08
Having just read the mind blowing list of allegations against Sistah Space, I'm glad that:
1/ the GLA are looking into it
2/ the charity commission are looking into it
3/ the brilliant charity that is Southall Black Sisters has distanced themselves from what's looking like serious corruption.
👇
unherd.com/thepost/now-ngozi-fulanis-charity-faces-the-spotlight/
Get yourselves a cup of tea and get on the roll ups of that Twitter thread.
It is MIND BLOWING.
There needs to be a serious look at how we allow "charities" to operate in this country. And this isn't about race, its about corruption.
BalooLikeYou · 14/12/2022 22:58
This reply has been deleted
Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.
DeeCeeCherry · 15/12/2022 01:14
This is a vendetta against a Black Woman, led by White women, because she had the audacity to not be submissive enough to one of their own. Disgusting behaviour. There are women at Sistah Space who have suffered domestic violence, will be hounded and their support network cut off, because of you. You are worse than the sexist men you often hypocritically complain about.
You are fine with women being hounded, upset, feeling fear - as long as its a woman/women that don't look like you.
As for MNHQ - I've no doubt they reflect you because any nasty post and thread concerning Black Women is left to stand
I look forward to this country becoming ever more multi-cultural alongside the RF becoming ever more meaningless, a time when your racist, divisive ill-minded chatter will become entirely irrelevant
Happylittlechicken · 15/12/2022 05:34
Sausagenbacon · 14/12/2022 10:19
so, to make this clear, if a charity is run by POC, then they shouldn't be held to the same standards as other charities?
That was mermaids argument. Surely an investigation will be good as they will prove they have nothing to hide and silence all critics.
BernardBlacksMolluscs · 15/12/2022 08:18
This is a vendetta against a Black Woman, led by White women, because she had the audacity to not be submissive enough to one of their own
the charity commission are run exclusively by white women now? I agree with you that racism exists, but this kind of paranoid hyperbole doesn’t help people to understand that at all.
There are women at Sistah Space who have suffered domestic violence
yes. If the allegations are correct, SS was profiteering from them by selling them things that had been bought with donated money, and encouraging them to buy life coaching from NF’s sister
I think that was what shocked me the most. Aiming to make a profit out of women who need help ain’t good
DeeCeeCherry · 15/12/2022 11:48
BernardBlacksMolluscs
No allegations proven.
We know exactly why investigations are being instigated in the 1st place - because Ngozi as a Black Woman who didnt go along with being interrogated by a White Woman - didnt know her place.
On a White man's say so, many White women are aligned in gunning for this woman, and Sistah Space. Im noting Oxfam men, notorious for going to Black countries and exploiting poor Black women and children for depraved sexual gain whilst the women staff see it all and turn a blind eye, didnt cause such outrage. Its White privilege at play.
Im from a place where it got so out of hand that we don't even have these Aid workers around anymore because they are a menace.
As for things bought with donated money (if indeed that is true) I do have to wonder what people think happens with donated money generally anyway. It's obvious out there what aometimes happens.
Im not saying Sistah Space are right, if indeed it is the case; but acceptable only if you're White isn't the way.
If - and again the allegations are unproven - Sistah Space are found to have acted incorrectly then I hope Valerie's Law is remembered (Im sure it is, but conveniently on these posts and threads never mentioned- where a Black woman experiencing violence consistently sought help and was rebuffed as it was deemed 'cultural?!', leading to her being murdered) and the very good works Sistah Space did for Black Women following on from that, is borne in mind. The help that should have been extended yo a DV victim wasn't forthcoming, die to racist stereotyping.
Many Black Women wont go to White led charities because their voices aren't heard, and concerns often dismissed. Its no secret.
The Royal Family acted correctly but those hellbent on ruining a Black woman are relentless. The only reason a line wasn't drawn under this following the royal family already dealing with the matter, is racism and misandry. A good sprinkling of misogyny in there too. This is what happens when we don't bow down to White privilege.
At the moment all I'm seeing is malicious rumours stemming from a Black Woman daring to face down a Black Woman.
We'll see.
IwantToRetire · 15/12/2022 15:20
As an example of how misleading the twitter thread is, the allegation that Sistah Space dont do anything can easily be checked by going to their web site, twitter feed and instagram.
And of course the CC investigates, but not usually on the malicious muck racking of one twitter feed.
But well done by yeat again showing this is all about the deranged ramblings of one person.
BernardBlacksMolluscs · 15/12/2022 16:20
Lilithslove · 15/12/2022 16:06
No.
Do you think that the alleged actions of sistah space have any bearing on whether or not black people should accept racism?
Sausagenbacon · 15/12/2022 11:56
Do you think only Black-run charities are investigated by the charities commission?
I don’t think anyone on this thread has said that? In fact a few people have said the complete opposite
Lilithslove · 15/12/2022 17:54
BernardBlacksMolluscs · 15/12/2022 16:20
I don’t think anyone on this thread has said that? In fact a few people have said the complete opposite
Lilithslove · 15/12/2022 16:06
No.
Do you think that the alleged actions of sistah space have any bearing on whether or not black people should accept racism?
Sausagenbacon · 15/12/2022 11:56
Do you think only Black-run charities are investigated by the charities commission?
I feel like a few people people are using the allegations as a kind of counter argument, almost as if they believe the allegations make the racism less bad.
And to be fair the post I was responding to was asking if people felt the charity commission only looked into black run charities which no one on this thread said.
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