This recording is of a talk that Bertha Yakubu, MBE. gave as part of the Elphinstone Institute Public Lecture Series on 6 March 2023. She described the talk by writing: ‘I am speaking as an African Diaspora woman living outside Africa sharing my experience and that of my kind. As I move around, I feel this weight on my shoulder. I want to get rid of it but it is impossible to put down. Emotionally I am hunched. My soul is restless and my joy is short lived. My soul, why are you cast down? Why are you so disturbed and restless within me? Why can’t I get rid of this unseen weight? Is it only me that feels this way or do other Africans feel this way too? I ask my friends, read and watch local and international events, and to my surprise the feeling is mutual, almost universal. The question is why is this so? As I think about this I see a pattern emerging; it has to do with the burden of proof that is expected from me and my kind. Proof is to show, demonstrate, verify, and provide evidence, or substantiate or corroborate my presence in a space. In this talk, I will explore some of the issues that weigh us down’.

Bertha Yakubu founded African Women Scotland in Aberdeen in 1994, with the objective of providing space for African Women to meet and break the isolation and loneliness they experience. Since then the group has become a voice and face of Africans in Aberdeenshire and Scotland working in partnership with other African groups in the UK. The group continues to do work in the wider community in the areas of immigration, employment, retraining, job placement, business, health, children, community marginalisation, and political participation. The group acts as an advocacy group for many issues and shares information with and supports those in need and distress.