Black Ballad's Most Read Stories of 2021

#BBBestOf21

Black Ballad's Most Read Stories of 2021

In 2021, Black Ballad published 267 articles, in the process, putting over £115,000 in the hands of black women freelance writers, interviewers, creators and editors.

But which stories were most read, shared and engaged with by Black Ballad Members and our readers?

Introducing #BBBestOf21 - the 25 best performing articles from Black Ballad in 2021. These stories cover a wide range of topics, from dating and health, to beauty and escaping Britain, plus everything in between.

We are proud to highlight these stories and the amazing writers that worked on them. In 2022 and beyond, we're looking forward to continuing doing what we do best - providing a platform for the stories and people that put black women first.

Get unlimited access to the top 25 stories from 2021, plus 1,000+ more stories, discounts to Black Ballad events & a community that puts black women first with a Black Ballad Membership!

Use code BESTOF21 at checkout before 18th January @ 23:59 & get 60% off any BB membership for the next 12 months!

Best of Black Ballad in: 2020 | 2019

In that moment, I saw that any future children I had would not be safe around his family... it was clear to me I could never marry into a family that would be so enamoured by their ignorance.

"I Was A Thing Of Beauty!" – The Wedding, Weave & Wakeup Call

Escaping Britain

Tomiwa Folorunso

The Black Women Who've Left The UK For The Rest Of Europe

Thursday 22 April 2021 7:00 AM

“In the UK you have all this talk of BAME and being a minority. You’re really not a minority! It’s nice here to be amongst people who look like you do and to escape from the Babylonian nonsense”

Escaping Babylon: The Millennial Black Women Who Left The UK For New Lives In The Caribbean

The Impact of Covid on Black Women

Kelechi Okafor

Lessons, Reflections And Revelations After One Year Of Lockdown

Tuesday 9 March 2021 10:00 AM

Vanessa Ayo

Putting On A Brave Face: The Realities Of Dating Post-Covid

Thursday 11 March 2021 7:00 AM

Tolani McQueen

What I Learned From Losing All My Close Relationships During Lockdown

Wednesday 8 September 2021 10:30 AM

Black in White Spaces

Solape Alatise

Are Private Schools A Place For Young Black Girls?

Friday 7 May 2021 1:00 PM

Oyindamola Osin

The Other Side Of Corporate Hair Discrimination

Wednesday 1 September 2021 7:00 AM

Real or fake hair, European in texture or African in volume, it seems as though black women can never escape toxic stereotypes no matter the hairstyle.

Why Can't I Wear My 30-Inch Wig To Work? The Other Side Of Corporate Hair Discrimination

Black Womanhood in British Society

Jendella Benson

How REAL Is Love Island And Are We Expecting Too Much?

Friday 23 July 2021 7:00 AM

When the stories are covered, the coverage of missing Black women tends to be focused on their problems such as troubled past or an abusive partner. In contrast, missing white women are covered as mothers or daughters. The media depicts Black women and girls as the ‘runaways’, never the missing person

Remembering The Black Women Victims Who Are So Easily Forgotten

Beauty

Ata-owaji Victor

Is Fake Tan The Beauty Secret Black Women Are Missing Out On?

Wednesday 17 March 2021 7:00 AM

Ayekpa Anne-Laetitia

Why Do So Many Black Models Have Buzz Cuts?

Friday 19 March 2021 7:00 AM

Oyindamola Osin

The Other Side Of Corporate Hair Discrimination

Wednesday 1 September 2021 7:00 AM

"Whilst the Black Church fashioned and equipped me in ways that I will forever cherish, it too left me with deep scars and associations. In no arena has this been more pronounced than in my relationship with my own body, sex and sexuality."

Purity Culture, Feminist Theology & The Sex Our Foremothers Never Got To Have

Sex & Spirituality

Rasheeda Page-Muir

Purity Culture, Feminist Theology & The Sex Our Foremothers Never Had

Tuesday 2 February 2021 7:00 AM

Ronke Jane

What The Church Doesn't Teach You About Abstinence

Monday 24 May 2021 11:30 AM

Family Dynamics

Ibianga Evans

Confronting My Childhood And Righting My Parents' Wrongs

Friday 26 February 2021 7:00 AM

Tobi Oredein

Founder's Letter: Living In UK Is The Ghetto - Why Haven't I Moved?

Sunday 26 September 2021 10:52 PM

Health

Isaura Barbé-Brown

I Decided To Freeze My Eggs: Here's What Happened Step-By-Step

Wednesday 20 January 2021 7:00 AM

Stephanie Ozuo

What An ADHD Diagnosis Means For My Concept Of Black Womanhood

Monday 11 January 2021 7:00 AM

Get unlimited access to the top 25 stories from 2021, plus 1,000+ more stories, discounts to Black Ballad events & a community that puts black women first with a Black Ballad Membership!

Use code BESTOF21 at checkout before 18th January @ 23:59 & get 60% off any BB membership for the next 12 months!

The Top 25 List

Harmony Knight

Clueless: What I Learned From Dating (A Lot) Of White Boys

Friday 24 September 2021 9:00 AM

Solape Alatise

Are Private Schools A Place For Young Black Girls?

Friday 7 May 2021 1:00 PM

Pearl Natasha

The Wedding, Weave & Wakeup Call

Thursday 24 June 2021 7:00 AM

Tolani McQueen

What I Learned From Losing All My Close Relationships During Lockdown

Wednesday 8 September 2021 10:30 AM

Keturah Kendrick

Unmarried & Unbothered: Black Women Who Prefer Autonomy Over Marriage

Monday 6 September 2021 10:30 AM

Ata-owaji Victor

Is Fake Tan The Beauty Secret Black Women Are Missing Out On?

Wednesday 17 March 2021 7:00 AM

Stephanie Ozuo

What An ADHD Diagnosis Means For My Concept Of Black Womanhood

Monday 11 January 2021 7:00 AM

Ronke Jane

What The Church Doesn't Teach You About Abstinence

Monday 24 May 2021 11:30 AM

Isaura Barbé-Brown

I Decided To Freeze My Eggs: Here's What Happened Step-By-Step

Wednesday 20 January 2021 7:00 AM

Vanessa Ayo

Putting On A Brave Face: The Realities Of Dating Post-Covid

Thursday 11 March 2021 7:00 AM

Rasheeda Page-Muir

Purity Culture, Feminist Theology & The Sex Our Foremothers Never Had

Tuesday 2 February 2021 7:00 AM

Oyindamola Osin

The Other Side Of Corporate Hair Discrimination

Wednesday 1 September 2021 7:00 AM

Jendella Benson

How REAL Is Love Island And Are We Expecting Too Much?

Friday 23 July 2021 7:00 AM

Kelechi Okafor

Lessons, Reflections And Revelations After One Year Of Lockdown

Tuesday 9 March 2021 10:00 AM

Tali Ramsey

Understanding The Rise Of YouTube's Black Femininity Coaches

Thursday 8 April 2021 7:00 AM

Elisabeth Fapuro

Derrick Jaxn & Internalised Romantic Misogynoir

Friday 26 March 2021 10:30 AM

Tobi Oredein

Founder's Letter: Living In UK Is The Ghetto - Why Haven't I Moved?

Sunday 26 September 2021 10:52 PM

Ayekpa Anne-Laetitia

Why Do So Many Black Models Have Buzz Cuts?

Friday 19 March 2021 7:00 AM

Ibianga Evans

Confronting My Childhood And Righting My Parents' Wrongs

Friday 26 February 2021 7:00 AM

Tomiwa Folorunso

The Black Women Who've Left The UK For The Rest Of Europe

Thursday 22 April 2021 7:00 AM