In recent years, and especially since the murder of George Floyd in 2020, American discourse seems to increasingly drive global conversations and shape political alignments. How relevant are American arguments to the British context? And do we lose anything locally - in politics, culture, and society - when we import American themes?

Join Persuasion and the Equiano Project for a conversation on the value and limits of the American cultural frame outside the US.

Featuring panellists Tomiwa Owolade, James Bloodworth and Sonia Sodha, and moderated by Inaya Folarin Iman.

Date and time: Monday 22 January 18:30 - 20:00

Location: The Sekforde, 34 Sekforde St., London EC1R 0HA

Tickets are free, but booking is required. You can get tickets here.

Panel Members:

Tomiwa Owolade is a writer, critic and author of This is Not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter. He has written columns, essays and book reviews for many publications, including the Times, the Spectator, the FT, UnHerd, the Evening Standard and Literary Review and is a contributing writer at the New Statesman. Tomiwa’s interests include identity politics, liberalism, social protest movements, and religion.

James Bloodworth is an English writer and the author of two books, The Myth of Meritocracy and Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain. His work has appeared in the Times, the Guardian, the New York Review of Books, the New Statesman and elsewhere.

Sonia Sodha is Chief Leader Writer and a columnist for the Observer. She is a former head of public services and consumer rights policy at Which?, the Consumers’ Association, where she led their work on public services.

Moderated by Inaya Folarin Iman. Inaya is a journalist, campaigner and the founder and director of the Equiano Project. She has written for The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Times, The Sun, The Spectator, Spiked and several other publications.