Scawdi / History Detectives Part 2

Got a real blasting from director of SCAWDI re. my earlier comments. And yet I feel no regret about my comments.

I was accused of having "an underlying vitriol in the tone of writing"
I was accused of being "scornful" of the work that SCAWDI do.

However, my ONLY criticism (and this is a point I made to the organisation a year ago) is with the repeated claim to be THE FIRST to bring such histories to light.

In making such a claim I feel that SCAWDI do an injustice to those who, for decades, have been bringing local black history to light. Evidence of this work can be found in the archives of local history collections, in published works, and on the internet.

I was accused of feeling "sour grapes" merely for seeking factual accuracy.

Over the last 20 years I have read most of the material produced on the early black presence and I have attended many events related to this field - including events and material produced by Scawdi - and so I know what exists and how far back it goes.

For SCAWDI to repeatedly claim to be THE FIRST to bring such histories to light is an inaccurate assertion. I feel that 'History Detectives' do themselves a disservice by promoting such an inaccuracy.

If they are serious about wanting to "push back the barriers that continue to exclude groups", surely a good starting point would be to NOT exclude the groups of the past that have been involved in the SAME goal - bringing to light what had been hidden/overlooked.

I was accused trying to "shoot [SCAWDI] down" just because I feel it's important recognise the work of the past which is ignored when each new group comes along and claims to be "the first" to be doing this kind of work.

The result is that each new group repeats what has already been done and the move forward that could have occured, if the past work had been acknowledged, fails to take place.

But I remain hopeful.