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Editor's Letter: There’s More To Blackness Than Black Perfection & Black Pain

Despite the miserable weather, we all know this weekend is a cultural highpoint for the black British community. Many of us will flock to the Notting Hill Carnival to live our best lives. While setting our taste buds alight with the best Caribbean and African dishes, dancing down the W11 streets and admiring the beautiful costumes from talented performers, we will also obviously pay our respects to Grenfell. 

I thought about why so many of us love Notting Hill Carnival. One reason is probably the joy that comes with attending the country’s biggest and best street party. This unadulterated and unapologetic black joy that we all partake in is something that we usually do in the privacy of our homes, or at special occasions such as traditional weddings. But once a year, Notting Hill Carnival presents blackness to the country and the continent on a scale unmatched.