STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
Small Axe: Mangrove (first of four episodes)
BBC 1 Sundays 9pm November 21, 29 and December 6)
STEVE MCQUEEN’S five-film anthology about the vicissitudes of black British life between the 1960s and 80s, represents a momentous event in British film and television history.
It kicked off on November 15 with his film on the infamous Mangrove trial at the Old Bailey.
The Mangrove Nine were black activists put on trial in 1970 for allegedly inciting a riot at a demonstration against the police targeting of the black-owned Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill, west London. This episode centres on Mangrove’s activist owner Frank Crichlow.
For generations black women have shaped Britain’s activism, arts and public life despite exclusion and discrimination. ZITA HOLBOURNE pays tribute to these political trailblazers and cultural icons, whose courage continues to inspire
On the 121st anniversary of communist Claudia Jones’s birth ROGER McKENZIE looks at political events that shaped her, and those she helped shape
MAYER WAKEFIELD recommends a musical ‘love letter’ to black power activists of the 1970s
DENNIS BROE finds much to praise in the new South African Netflix series, but wonders why it feels forced to sell out its heroine


