feature: british writer heather agyepong interviews former uk-based black panther and black feminism activist beverley bryan

On the representation front, Bryan shrugged off the mainstream exclusion of black folx by highlighting the fact that we don’t need other people to tell our stories for us. “I don’t think it’s about anybody being overlooked, you overlook it, you have to write it yourself.[…]you can’t sit and whine about your experiences [being]overlooked, you have to write it and you have to tell it and nobody can tell it as well as you can,” Bryan told Agyepong over Skype.

The notion of self-love, self-confidence, and self-belief permeated the conversation. One of the main takeaways being the necessity of looking inward for validation and self-acceptance. “You have to love yourself, have a strong sense of self and you can do anything, you don’t need anybody as a crutch to do it, just love yourself.”

Read Agyepong’s full interview with Bryan over at The Debrief.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor