5 Stories to read on International Romani Day | Huck

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5 Stories to read on International Romani Day

Today, April 8, celebrates Roma people and culture around the world, while challenging the issues and persecution they face. Revisit some of our best features challenging stereotypes and highlighting their stories.

Today, April 8, marks International Romani Day. With discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities remaining troublingly persistent” in the UK and beyond, we stand in solidarity with members against racism and oppression.

To mark the occasion, we revisit five Huck stories that celebrate the beauty and resilience in Romani communities and cultures from the UK to the West Coast of the USA, while highlighting the systematic racism and oppression they face.

HORSING AROUND: A WILD WEEKEND AT APPLEBY FAIR

The Travel Diary — Every year, a tiny town in Cumbria, UK, plays host to the Appleby horse fair – the largest gathering of Travellers in Western Europe. Read here.

A GLIMPSE INSIDE CALIFORNIA’S ROMANI COMMUNITIES

Between 1990 and 2003, Cristina Salvador Klenz spent time documenting a Roma community in the US. Her photos offer a vital insight into their everyday lives and the stigma they face. Read here.

HOW GYPSIES WERE LEFT BEHIND DURING THE PANDEMIC

Forgotten voices — GRT communities are some of the most marginalised groups in the UK. As Covid-19 exacerbated inequalities they face from living conditions to education, many are now at breaking point. Read here.

AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF SOUTH LONDON’S GYPSIES, ROMA AND TRAVELLERS

Capturing community — A project bringing together archival images of GRT people in South London seeks to allow the community to tell their stories on their own terms. Read here.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ANTI-GYPSY RACISM

Forgotten victims — For centuries, Romani people have faced violent oppression – so when will we start talking about the racism they face? Read here.

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Tish Murtha’s searing documentation of broken Britain

Vandalism on a Grand Scale — Capturing youth unemployment and poverty in north-east England during the ’80s, the photographer never lived to see her work published. A new photobook by British Culture Archive brings her eye-opening work to light.

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Ra’ed Khan and the tireless work of Road to Freedom

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‘Baking Street’: Activists rename Tube stations in heatwave protest

‘Heatwave, sponsored by Shell’ — The protest comes as the UK recorded the hottest day in June ever recorded at 36.7C.

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An intimate window into New York’s ’70s lesbian scene

We Others — An exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery combines Donna Gottschalk’s unearthed photographs of LGBTQ+ activists and friends, along with Hélène Gianneccini’s written histories.

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