Yomi Adegoke & Elizabeth Uviebinené, Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible
Yomi Adegoke is a journalist who writes about race, feminism, popular culture and how they intersect, as well as class and politics. Elizabeth Uviebinené is an award-winning marketing manager from London. Yomi and Elizabeth met in their first year at University and started writing Slay in Your Lane together when they were just 22 and 23. When embarking upon their careers in London they became frustrated with the lack of narratives and resources for young Black British women to help navigate the challenges they will inevitably face in the world of work. And so, they created it themselves.
Yomi (left) and Elizabeth (right) Photo from the southbankcentre.com
In the introduction Elizabeth describes why she wanted to create Slay in Your Lane;
‘We need a movement that amplifies the voices and increases the visibility of Black women who have been made thoroughly invisible by the mainstream. That’s what Slay In Your Lane hope to be; we hope to offer confidence and inspiration, but also, most importantly, support to other black women who are in the process of building their own foundation and who will, if the world has its way, be constrained by the limitations society tries to place upon us.’
One of the many reasons I love Slay in Your Lane is because it has its very own Yes List within its pages. For the book Yomi and Elizabeth interviewed 39 successful Black British women including; Malorie Blackman, Estelle, Jamelia, Laura Mvulva, Denise Lewis and many more. All of whom offer valuable insights into their careers and success. Not only does Slay In Your Lane draw on all of these women's different experiences it is also very well researched - did you know that ‘more than 92 percent of British professors are white; 0.49 percent of professors are black, and a mere 17 of those are women’? I didn’t until I read this book. The book’s chapters cover; Education, Work, Getting Ahead, Representation, Dating and Health. Each chapter is full of really practical pieces of advice from signposting resources for help with the finance of a new business to dealing with the displacement and loneliness that can come when moving to University.
8 of the 39 women interviewed for The Yes List
Yomi and Elizabeth announced in October that they are writing a second book. ‘Slay In Your Lane Presents: Loud Black Girls, The Anthology’. ‘It will feature 21 emerging and established Black British female writers and they are holding a competition to find the 21st, tell all your friends about it!
instagram.com/elizabethuviebinene/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slay-Your-Lane-Black-Bible/dp/0008235627