On the last day of the week-long performance of Nobel playwright Professor Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman at Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the turnout was remarkable. Not just for the number of people, which isn't usually the case for a Black-led/majority art and culture performance, but for the percentage of Black people present.
The typical scenario is one of me asking where all the Black people were in sparsely filled venues. My experience at Death and the King's Horseman (which was a phenomenal performance, if you were asking or not) was a welcome change of pace that I hope continues and renders the idea behind blackside UK as useless as possible.
blackside was (or is?) supposed to get us outside - for activities and events (regardless of who the target audience is); come outside and... occupy/hold space.
Before I created the blackside UK group on Meetup in September 2021, every time I was in the Peak District or fairs or whatever activity I chose to indulge in over any weekend or evening, I almost always ended up being the only (or one of a few) Black person(s) there.
These days, when I'm hiking around the Peak District, I'm still usually the only Black person I can see around, but even that is starting to change. There are now a thousand and one groups that offer the same or similar opportunities - to explore the outdoors and indoors - across the UK.
That means there's (almost) no need for this extra platform anymore; you can find groups and platforms for activities, podcasts and places (maybe not as easily, but there's Google).
blackside is probably not all useless (yet). You can add activities, events or places or leave public ratings of your experiences. If you're a (Black-owned) business and you want to reach the extra percentage of people who come by here, then feel free to add your business.
I'll still be updating all the experiences with activities (usually hikes/walks) I'm going on, events I'd like to attend, and (Black-owned) places I've visited or would like to visit. If you're Black and you are interested in joining any of the places, sign in and sign up.
I plan to add discussions to the activities and events for people who want to share their thoughts and experiences and after abandoning WordPress and themes, hand-coding all of this is quite challenging.
That's enough rambling (for now). If you have any questions, comments, inquiries or insults(?), email chukwudi@blackside.uk or join an activity or event sometime.
Chukwudi