This article @Al Jazeera contains references to racialised language that some readers may find distressing.
I'm surprised the Tory press haven't used this as a front page blurb to incite their loyal following over their breakfast kippers n' kidneys...as a Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed the charge and said Hussain had been informed by post. Hussain said she has not received any written correspondence.
“Being a woman of colour and a Muslim coupled with my deep criticism of our government aiding and abetting a genocide against the Palestinian people, these factors combined have made me the perfect scapegoat for far-right ideologies.” She says. “I was under the belief, and still am, that I have full ownership of that word, as each culture has their own language used to hold to account people of ethnic origins who use their positions of power to push white supremacy ideals, narratives and policies.”
Until the recent fallout, many seemed unaware that the use of “coconut” is considered a hate crime. Not all public uses of the word have led to prosecution. “There is an entire history of terms such as ‘coconut’ used as a means of politically critiquing those who internalise the narratives of white supremacy in undermining communities they traditionally hail from,” said Asim Qureshi, research director at CAGE, a UK-based campaign group. “South African satirist Lesego Tlhabi created the character of Coconut Kelz as a white woman trapped inside a Black woman’s body specifically to critique a specific institutionalised racism that has become normalised.”
If that's going to be her defence; good luck in court.
I'm surprised the Tory press haven't used this as a front page blurb to incite their loyal following over their breakfast kippers n' kidneys...as a Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed the charge and said Hussain had been informed by post. Hussain said she has not received any written correspondence.
“Being a woman of colour and a Muslim coupled with my deep criticism of our government aiding and abetting a genocide against the Palestinian people, these factors combined have made me the perfect scapegoat for far-right ideologies.” She says. “I was under the belief, and still am, that I have full ownership of that word, as each culture has their own language used to hold to account people of ethnic origins who use their positions of power to push white supremacy ideals, narratives and policies.”
Until the recent fallout, many seemed unaware that the use of “coconut” is considered a hate crime. Not all public uses of the word have led to prosecution. “There is an entire history of terms such as ‘coconut’ used as a means of politically critiquing those who internalise the narratives of white supremacy in undermining communities they traditionally hail from,” said Asim Qureshi, research director at CAGE, a UK-based campaign group. “South African satirist Lesego Tlhabi created the character of Coconut Kelz as a white woman trapped inside a Black woman’s body specifically to critique a specific institutionalised racism that has become normalised.”
If that's going to be her defence; good luck in court.
