Diversity Star Ashley Banjo’s documentary ‘Britain in Black and White’ airs tonight on ITV.
After Diversity’s Black Lives Matter performance on ITV last year received 24,500 complaints, Banjo goes on a journey to explore the negative reaction they received.
Ofcom dismissed the complaints, claiming the performance’s “central message was a call for social cohesion and unity.”
Throughout the documentary Banjo will meet with civil rights leaders from modern history and hear first-hand evidence on what it means to take a stand.
He speaks to Historian, David Olusogo, to try and understand the roots of the negative reaction. He told ITV: “I think it gets to the heart of the forms of racism we inherited from the 18th and 19th centuries, what those forms of racism said was black people did have some qualities that black people could be physical, they could be strong, they could be athletic. What you couldn’t do was have, kind of, analytical cognitive intelligence.
“When people say stick to what you know, just be a dancer, what they’re saying is I’m comfortable with the structural racism of the society I live in. I’m comfortable with you in this box. I’ll celebrate you in this box. But that’s the limit of who you are because of your skin colour."
One of the most powerful performances in #BGT history! @Diversity_Tweet we are so PROUD of your #VirginMediaBAFTAs win! 👏
— BGT (@BGT) June 7, 2021
Watch the @BAFTA #MustSeeMoment here: https://t.co/T0NMJGErn6 pic.twitter.com/vCp6hgW3zm
Banjo told ITV: “I didn’t set out to become an activist but somehow here I am.
“The first time I saw the George Floyd video, I was in bed, doing my sort of like morning Instagram scroll. I just sat there just gobsmacked at what I was seeing. I just saw my dad. We were consistently pulled over in our area as a family, you know, at least once every two weeks. It just sparked something in me. It just ignited something. It was at that moment, I was like, whatever happens, I'm going to speak up about this.”
Where can I watch Britain in Black and White?
It airs Tuesday, October 19 on ITV at 9pm.
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