STRONGER ON SUNDAYS:

Conversations with Compassion on Racial and Social Justice in a Music Filled Space

"The Power of Music in Protest"

Stronger on Sundays (S.o.S) is a regularly held session on Zoom which intends to nurture conversations on racial and social justice with compassion in a music-filled setting.

In this session, Melissa James - Stronger on Sundays' creator, host and singer-songwriter - invites her guests to discuss their experiences in relation to the importance and "Power of Music in Protest".

Melissa is joined by:

rehena Harilall - rehena was a child and teenage activist growing up in the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa (SA). Post the first democratic elections there in 1994, she was involved in the Truth and Reconciliation process and various initiatives on the reconstruction and development agenda. A psychologist and coach she lives and works as a management consultant in the UK. She is an engaged Buddhist practitioner, and Order Member of the Order of Interbeing, established by, the friend of Martin Luther King, Zen Master and peacemaker Thich Nhat Hanh. In Aug 2020, she founded Buddhists across Traditions, to unite Buddhist and Mindfulness practitioners in service of racial healing, social equity and justice - using these practices to blossom radically different communities.

Kwaku - is a music industry and history consultant. He is the founder of BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusic.com/Black Music Congress) and the co-ordinator of RE:IMI (Race Equality: In Music Industry). He is the lead presenter on BTWSC's community projects and tutor on BTWSC’s OCN accredited Overview of African History: "From Freedom to Enslavement To Physical Freedom" course. Kwaku is the author of two Heritage Lottery Funded BTWSC books/DVD resources: "Brent Black Music History Project' and NARM (Naming and Role Models) highlighting African British Male Role Models 1907 – 2007"; the 'Look How Far We've Come...? DVD and Race/Racism Primer; and co-editor of "African Voices: Quotations By People Of African Descent". Kwaku co-ordinates the Friends Of Marcus Garvey Bust Collective, TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question), and The African Coalition. He publishes on blackhistorymonth.org.uk.

Together, in line with the session's theme, these S.o.S guests will discuss the importance of music as part of activism and protest.

Music comes from Melissa James.