The zine exploring what it means to be British

It’s been a year since journalist Kieran Yates debuted British Values, a zine that tackles Britain’s anti-immigrant rhetoric with our now Prime Minister, Theresa May, wearing a hijab on its cover. It filled a gap in a time that felt like tensions couldn’t have been higher or more intolerant to those born outside “Great” Britain’s borders.

“To make something physical was important to me because, like us, it’s difficult to ignore… Print may be dead but our experiences are very much alive”, wrote Yates in her first editor’s letter. Fast forward just nine months after that and we had already hit peak bleak. Brexit became a reality and since, hate crimes have already risen dramatically, the pound has plummeted in value and we have no clear plan about what to do and how to do it. We’ve made a huge mistake and, well, we’re too British to admit it.

For issue 2, Yates tells us, she’s focused on, “how South Asian women have been instrumental in unionising workers in this country”, including fan favourites that featured in issue 1, such as “School Lunchboxes”, as well as interviews with Riz Ahmed about post 9/11 brown identity and Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo. Yates also promises, “the most terrifying fan fiction of a Theresa-May-Day future”. Below we discuss how things have so dramatically changed since we last spoke and how British Values is tackling it all.

“It feels like a good moment to power back and remind the public why this country would not bang without us” – Kieran Yates

You worked with Riz Ahmed, Clara Amfo, Rude Kid, on this issue, to name a few. What do they bring to issue 2?

Kieran Yates: I've been fans of all of them for ages and I think when you do projects like this you pull all your friends who you like and respect together to help because that's what’s in your arsenal. I first heard Clara when she was on Kiss Fm, was a big fan, and even then knew that she was exactly the kind of voice that I wanted to hear on national radio. She's great and it's just wild that in 2016 her timeline still features white men slagging off her afro so we talk about that a little amongst other things like tokenism and pirate radio and BLM. I've also known Riz for years, Four Lions is my favourite film of all time and the kind of work he's doing just by being visible on a global scale is inspiring to someone who grew up not too far away from where he did. I've respected Speech Debelle since her Mercury win, and have been really locked into her activism so that felt like a natural fit. And I love grime, always liked Rude Kid, think he's on of the most exciting producers and trust his ear so had to have him select for the mag, really.

A lot has happened politically since issue 1 – how has British Values manifested this?

Kieran Yates: Obviously, the cover pretty much sums how I feel about the situation and it's discussed inside in features, but to be honest, things were getting bad last year and yes, they're getting worse but it's not as if things were necessarily great towards immigrants, pre 2016. So British Values could probably have been made at many times throughout British political history, with Enoch Powell drowning in a river of blood on the cover in ’68 or whatever. 

Now it just feels more timely because we have so much media through which to process just how our communities are demonised – but it also feels like a good moment to power back and remind the public why this country would not bang without us.

Do you feel like having Theresa May on the cover of issue 1 was accidentally prophetic?

Kieran Yates: Christ, don't blame me for that mess, that was all Steve from Stoke-on-Trent.

A lot of the features in the zine – artwork that plays on Pokemon with the slogan "Immigrants, gotta catch em' all" and “Snog, Marry, Deport”, are just some – obviously take a satirical take on a very serious issue, why is humour so important when trying to make sense of something like immigration or racism?

Kieran Yates: I think we just use what we know and I guess I make jokes to push through emotional stuff sometimes. Also, satire and jokes and side-eyeing are part of British Asian culture. I learned quickly that there are certain jokes the white community can’t ever really find funny because the punchline means wading through gasps of horror or sympathy, or lengthy explanations whenever you make a quip about skin lightening, arranged marriage or hate crimes. Learning the comedic levels of rooms is part of the immigrant experience.

To you, what do British values mean today?

Kieran Yates: I guess it means growing up in a country where you are always simultaneously an insider and outsider. British values to me, are about proving allegiance if you're non-white, but really, I guess it's about being satirical and funny and cold and grey and just on the precipice of misanthropy and reclaiming parts of your identity you’re supposed to feel ashamed about. 

What do we hope we learn / take away / feel from issue 2?

Kieran Yates: To me, it's all about platforming history, experiences, achievements. When you don't see things like the Grunwick dispute, or celebrate lunch boxes or it might be easier for people to ask what we've ever done for this country, or whatever people say. This is just about taking a breath and really seeing the world for what it is.

British Values issue 2 is out now and you can but it here