Teh One Who Knocks
11-05-2018, 12:58 PM
Kate Buck for Metro.co.uk
http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/2060/KihFSk.jpg
A white theatre director is at the centre of a debate about racial identity after he was given a job meant for artists of colour.
Anthony Ekundayo Lennon was one of four people who won a paid traineeship as a ‘theatre practitioner of colour’ last year.
It was funded by a grant worth £406,500 grant from the Arts Council England to ‘deliver a comprehensive programme of talent development for future BAME (British, Asian and Minority Ethnic) leaders.’
He allegedly applied and claimed he was of ‘mixed heritage’, despite being born to white Irish parents.
Mr Lennon reportedly began as a trainee with the black-led theatre company Talawa, applying as a mixed raced individual’.
Critics have said the decision to award Mr Lennon the grant was a ‘kick in the teeth’ for aspiring black actors.
Luke Elliot told the Independent he was ‘fuming’ that that Mr Lennon was ‘taking up the little resources’ awarded to black artists and Paula Akpan, an advocate for black women, said his claims were ‘not how race works at all.’
In an ebook he wrote 10 years ago, which has been unearthed by The Sunday Times, he claimed to be a ‘born-again African’ and has ‘gone through the struggles of a black man’ because his high cheekbones and curly hair caused people to see him as mixed race.
https://imageshack.com/a/img922/2564/6Mq6Ty.jpg
Mr Lennon pictured with actress Michaela Coel at a Talawa event
When he started his career as an actor he identified as black and chose a middle name from an African name book as he felt his name did not ‘fulfill’ him.
He has also previously argued, ‘Everybody on the planet is African. It’s your choice as to whether you accept it.’
But in 1990, at the age of 24, he said: ‘My parents are white and so are their parents, and so are their parents, and so are their parents.’
When he was pressed about his identity by black actors in a documentary he replied: ‘When I’m alone in my bedroom looking in the mirror, thinking about stuff I’ve written down, thinking about my past relationship-wise, pictures on the wall, I think I’m a black man. I’ve not said that to anyone. And I won’t say it outside’.
A spokesperson for Talawa said: ‘As an artist of mixed heritage he is not only eligible for the position, but his experience, work and achievements make him an exceptional person for the role.’
The Arts Council, which provided the grant for Mr Lennon, said: ‘Talawa raised their wish to support Anthony with us. In responding we took into account the law in relation to race and ethnicity.
‘This is a very unusual case and we do not think it undermines the support we provide to black and minority ethnic people within the theatre sector.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Mr Lennon for comment.
http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/2060/KihFSk.jpg
A white theatre director is at the centre of a debate about racial identity after he was given a job meant for artists of colour.
Anthony Ekundayo Lennon was one of four people who won a paid traineeship as a ‘theatre practitioner of colour’ last year.
It was funded by a grant worth £406,500 grant from the Arts Council England to ‘deliver a comprehensive programme of talent development for future BAME (British, Asian and Minority Ethnic) leaders.’
He allegedly applied and claimed he was of ‘mixed heritage’, despite being born to white Irish parents.
Mr Lennon reportedly began as a trainee with the black-led theatre company Talawa, applying as a mixed raced individual’.
Critics have said the decision to award Mr Lennon the grant was a ‘kick in the teeth’ for aspiring black actors.
Luke Elliot told the Independent he was ‘fuming’ that that Mr Lennon was ‘taking up the little resources’ awarded to black artists and Paula Akpan, an advocate for black women, said his claims were ‘not how race works at all.’
In an ebook he wrote 10 years ago, which has been unearthed by The Sunday Times, he claimed to be a ‘born-again African’ and has ‘gone through the struggles of a black man’ because his high cheekbones and curly hair caused people to see him as mixed race.
https://imageshack.com/a/img922/2564/6Mq6Ty.jpg
Mr Lennon pictured with actress Michaela Coel at a Talawa event
When he started his career as an actor he identified as black and chose a middle name from an African name book as he felt his name did not ‘fulfill’ him.
He has also previously argued, ‘Everybody on the planet is African. It’s your choice as to whether you accept it.’
But in 1990, at the age of 24, he said: ‘My parents are white and so are their parents, and so are their parents, and so are their parents.’
When he was pressed about his identity by black actors in a documentary he replied: ‘When I’m alone in my bedroom looking in the mirror, thinking about stuff I’ve written down, thinking about my past relationship-wise, pictures on the wall, I think I’m a black man. I’ve not said that to anyone. And I won’t say it outside’.
A spokesperson for Talawa said: ‘As an artist of mixed heritage he is not only eligible for the position, but his experience, work and achievements make him an exceptional person for the role.’
The Arts Council, which provided the grant for Mr Lennon, said: ‘Talawa raised their wish to support Anthony with us. In responding we took into account the law in relation to race and ethnicity.
‘This is a very unusual case and we do not think it undermines the support we provide to black and minority ethnic people within the theatre sector.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Mr Lennon for comment.