
Negritude Learn to Debate
The second of our debate programmes, Negritude is new for 2019/2020 and is one of our most ambitious projects to date.
BECOME A FULL MEMBER FOR £5 PER MONTH!
Opal22 Arts and Edutainment memberships will get you exclusive interaction with booked experts, VIP entrance into live events, first refusal of all webinars and free entry into all online conferences and much much more.
More information
The second of our debate programmes, Negritude is new for 2019/2020 and is one of our most ambitious projects to date. In the 1930s and 1940s, the artistic achievements of black writers in Paris propelled black thought, literature, and cultural identity into the forefront of the European intellectual and literary scene. We call this movement Negritude, and its champions used their works as a way to explore the African diaspora’s cultural, economic, social and political values as a whole.
The Opal22 Arts and Edutainment Negritude programme will be a yearly programme designed to get young people interested in debate, literary analysis and interpretation, and the importance of understanding and integrating the views of people from different cultural backgrounds. Participants will have the chance to take part in online conferences with leading experts in the field as well as meet famous authors such as Patrice Lawrence, Catherine Johnson, Alex Wheatle, Bali Rai, Courtia Newland, and others. Leicester’s Central Library will again play host to the debate series.
Alongside this, we will be running an Online Book Club (£5 pm) with books vouchers going out every three months, weekly online workshops, links to Google Classrooms and Meets, and a moderated space for participants to post their feedback and updates.

Join the online book club
How does it work?
The weekly workshops are currently taking place online using Google Classrooms and Google Meets.
What does it include?
- Starter pack
- Free books every 3 months
- Weekly online workshops
- A place for young people to upload feedback
- A chance to take part in online conferences with leading experts in the field as well as meet famous authors
Meet The Authors

Courtia Newland
Courtia Newland is a novelist and playwright, born in 1973 in London to parents of West Indian heritage. After initially working in music, Newland published his first novel, The Scholar, in 1997.

Bali Rai

Alex Wheatle

Catherine Johnson

Patrice Lawrence
Negritude – Leicester Central Library
Live Debate nights. Bringing Black Authors from across the world to life, getting both the young and the older involved in positive conversation relating to prominent, but often under-appreciated authors in this country.
Funded By Arts Council Small Green Shoots