Welcome to Intelligence Squared. Today we're hearing from journalist author and head of external

consultancies at the Lenny Henry Center for Media Diversity, Marcus Reiter. Marcus is the co-editor

of the recently published book, Black British Lives Matter, and here's Manvina Rana with more.

In the summer of 2020, the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis

America unleashed a furious storm of anger that took hold in America and rapidly spread across the

world. Surely, in 2020, it shouldn't have needed to be said, but three words rang out in protests

all over the world. Black lives matter. Since then, we've seen statues being torn down,

footballers taking the knee, and a reinvigorated commitment from some organisations to talk about

making sure discrimination has no place in modern society, and that black voices are truly heard.

Has the movement changed the world? What difference did it make in Britain?

Black British Lives Matter is a new anthology of essays, collecting the views of prominent Black

Britain's discussing fields ranging from literature to the law. Contributors range from the novelist

Kit Deval to the architect Sir David Adje, the politician Dawn Butler to the campaigner,

Baroness Doreen Lawrence. The collection was co-curated by Sir Lenny Henry, the renowned

comedian writer and campaigner, and Marcus Ryder, who after 25 years in the TV industry,

has recently been appointed Chair of Rada, the UK's leading drama school, and was previously

Chair of the Royal Television Society's Diversity Committee, and head of BBC Scotland

current affairs. Marcus joins us now to tell us about the book, Welcome to Intelligence

Square, Marcus. I wanted to start really by asking you this book, how did it come about,

what was it that prompted you to put it together? What need were you trying to fill?

It came about in the summer of 2020, so I was at home watching the demonstrations and the

global movement that was, you know, absolutely everywhere. You couldn't turn on your radio,

...