Chardine Taylor-Stone is a British feminist activist, writer and musician. In December 2015 Taylor-Stone founded Stop Rainbow Racism to campaign against the performance of ‘

Blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

’ at LGBTQ+ Venues. The campaign began in response to a performance by Drag queen Charlie Hides at The

Royal Vauxhall Tavern The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a Grade II listed gay entertainment venue in Vauxhall, London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London's oldest surviving gay venue. History The RVT was built between 1860 and 1862 at Spring Gardens, Kennin ...

. Taylor-Stone was the drummer for the band

Big Joanie Big Joanie is a British punk band formed in London in 2013. Its members are Stephanie Phillips (guitar and vocals) and Estella Adeyeri (bass guitar and vocals). Founding drummer Chardine Taylor-Stone left the band in 2023. After a few singles an ...

, started in 2013. On 5 October 2023, the band announced that Taylor-Stone had left, replaced by an interim drummer for their European tour that month.

Early life and education

Taylor-Stone was born in London and is from a working-class background. She was raised in

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

where at age 17 she first became politically active in the

Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts. It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...

. She studied a BA Arts and Humanities and Masters in Laws (LLM) at

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

Career

In 2015 Taylor-Stone organised an intergenerational one-day conference ‘Black British Feminism: Past, Present and Futures’ at the

Black Cultural Archives Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is an archive and heritage centre in Brixton, London, devoted to the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in Britain. Also known as BCA, it was founded in 1981, by educationalist and historian Len G ...

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

with Black feminist and friend of Olive Morris, Liz Obi . In 2016 she co-founded Black Girls Picnic with cultural activist Kayza Rose. In 2017 Taylor-Stone won the British LGBT Award for Contribution to LGBT+ life for the Stop Rainbow Racism campaign. In 2021 she returned the award in protest at the award's sponsorship of MI5 and MI6. Taylor-Stone has written and spoken about Black British Feminism, racism in LGBT Communities, British working-class life,

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture ...

, music and socialism. In 2022

were nominated for Best Alternative Act at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

Awards and recognition

· British LGBT Award for Contribution to LGBT+ life (2017) · The Voice Newspaper's Women Who Rocked the World (2015) · The Most Inspiring British LGBT People Of 2016 · Pride Power List 2018 · Pride Power List 2019

Essays

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor-Stone, Chardine Living people 1985 births Proponents of Black feminism Black British activists Black British LGBTQ people 21st-century Black British people English lesbian musicians Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London People from Kettering Black British rock musicians