Speak Out! brings together the writings of the Brixton Black Women’s Group (BWG) for the first time in a landmark collection.

Established in 1973, in response to the lack of interest in women’s issues experienced in male-dominated Black organisations, the Brixton Black Women’s Group’s aim was to create a distinct space where women of African and Asian descent could meet to focus on political, social and cultural issues as they affected Black women. BWG published its own newsletter, Speak Out, which kept alive the debate about the relevance of feminism to Black politics and provided a Black women’s perspective on immigration, housing, health and culture.

The Brixton Black Women’s Group was one of the first Black women’s groups to be established in Britain. Many Black women came to Britain in the ’50s and ’60s, either by invitation from the British government to help staff the National Health Service and London Transport, or forced by the ravages of colonialism. It is against this background that the Brixton Black Women’s Group was born and fought for the liberation of women and Black people world-wide.