Black British birdwatcher David Lindo (featured on BBC Country Tracks, broadcast 18th Dec 2011).

Black British birdwatcher David Lindo (featured on BBC Country Tracks, broadcast 18th Dec 2011).

BBC Radio 4 - Making History: The Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868

The programme made refs to early black sportsmen in England pre 1900s.

Notably black South Africans in 1899
The Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868 (see wikipedia article for pics!)

Mention was also made of John Walker - Lincoln City &
Arthur Wharton

BBC Midlands Today - Errol Codner

Errol Codner featured on BBC Midlands Today on Monday 24th October 2011 re. his job as animal warden at Sutton Park, W.Mids

BBC Midlands Today - Stoke On Trent

BBC Reel History Project features a film by Ray Johnson on the early black settlers to North Staffordshire, which even now has an African-Caribbean population of less than 0.3 per cent.

The film features Lorna Salmon, Cornelius Stone etc.

Michaelle Jean, 1st black woman, appointed GG of Canada

Michaelle Jean, 1st black woman, appointed GG of Canada,
featured in BBC Radio 3’s Outlook programme October 2011

‘Mixed Britannia’ pt 2: 1940-1965, BBC 2 documentary

Good to see and hear Earl Cameron (and many others) featured in ‘Mixed Britannia’ pt 2: 1940-1965, a BBC 2 documentary series which aired in October 2011, part of the BBC’s Mixed Race Britain season, Presented by George Alagiah. Part 1: 1910-39; Part 3: 1965-2011; Part 4: yet to be announced

Confession by James Berry

I had a condition, she said.
I was born in England, you see.
Till last week, I was seventeen
years old. I've never seen
a Caribbean island, where my parents
came from. But I was born to know
black people had nothing. Black people
couldn't run their own countries,
couldn't take part in running the world.
Black people couldn't even run
a good two-people relationship.
They couldn't feed themselves, couldn't
make money, couldn't pass exams
and couldn't keep the law. And
black people couldn't get awards
on television. I asked my mother
why black people never achieved,
never explored, always got charity.
My mother said black people were cursed.
I knew.
I knew that.
I knew black people were cursed.
And I was one.
All the time I knew I was cursed.
Then going through a book on art
one night, a painting showed me
other people in struggle.
It showed me a different people like that.
Ragged, barefoot, hungry looking
they were in struggle.
I looked up.
The people needed: other people needed.
Or needed to remember their struggle.
Or even just to know
their need of struggle.
No. Not cursed.
Black people were not cursed.

Sterling Betancourt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b015d486/ Lovely 2 c & hear Trinidadian steelpan musician Sterling Betancourt in 2011 BBC docuTV re.1951 Festival of Britian.

Nola Ishmael OBE Barbados born nurse

Nola Ishmael OBE Barbados born nurse, who reached very senior positions. She
came to the UK aged 20. “It’s easy to walk on water when you know where the
stepping stones are.” See her Youtube video. In Sept 2011 she featured on Melvyn
Bragg’s documentary series ‘Reel History of Britain’ episode 11: The Birth of
the NHS.
--

Caribbean links of the Montagu family at Boughton House

Britain’s Hidden Heritage: BBC 1, Sunday 28th August 2011 focussed on Boughton House without any ref to the slavery links of the Montagu family

There is just a glimpse of a black servant in a shot of ancestral portraits at
Boughton. No mention is made of this black presence though.

In a portrait of Lady Mary Churchill, Duchess of Montagu painted in the 1720s, attributed to Enoch Seeman, is a black servant called Charles (identified in the family cash books as 'ye Black of her Grace').

Thanks to Jan Marsh (NPG) for key details.

The Grahams family of Norton Conyers, Charlotte Bronte & Slave Plantations in the Caribbean

The Grahams family of Norton Conyers, Charlotte Bronte & Slave Plantations in the Caribbean

Britain’s Hidden Heritage: BBC 1, Sunday 28th Aug 2011: Clare Balding’s clip revealed that in May 1839 Charlotte Bronte took the temporary post of governess to the Sidgwick family at Stonegappe, Lothersdale, near Skipton. By 19 June 1839 she had left the Sidgwicks' employment. It was during her time with the Sidgwicks’, however, that Bronte had had the chance to visit Norton Conyers, a grand stately home belonging to the Graham family. It is said that this house was the inspiration for Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’. What the programme did not comment on was the links to slave ownership.
If the Mrs Rochester character is a creole from the Caribbean this would be in keeping with the Graham name because members of the Graham family owned several slave plantations, in Jamaica alone. The thing to do now is to establish what links these slave-owning Grahams, in the Caribbean, had to those based at Norton Conyers.

International Day of Slavery Remembrance 2011

Tues 23rd Aug 2011 was International Day of Slavery Remembrance, but you wouldn't have known it - not from the BBC anyway.

BBC Points West seemed to be the only BBC news broadcaster that made mention of it. And even then the mention was more a promotion of the new museum exhibition in Bristol than a focus on the day as such.

I didn't hear it mentioned on any of the BBC Radio 4 news programmes, not even on the Today Programme (6am to 9am).

Was it mentioned? Did I just miss it?

BBC Radio Voices from the Old Bailey - series 2 episode 4

Overview of trial of John Hogan, 1768

Hogan, described as a 'mulatto', was tried for the murder of a white female servant.

see BBC iplayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01380pf/

See original http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/images.jsp?doc=178601110003

Black people in Art 1400s to present - website review

Black people in Art 1400s to present.
See www.wikigallery.org/wiki/Subject_1086/Black-Art/page-1
121 paintings and counting. A brilliant collection. I can't wait to see it grow!

A Marrakesh Girl - Philip Alexius De Laszlo
The Slave Market at Cairo 1841 - William James Muller
Fire walking festival India from LInde Francaise - (after) Midy, Emmanuel Adolphe
Port Jackson New Holland Ceremony before an Aboriginal Marriage - (after) Leroy, Sebastien (Denis Sebastien)
Bust portrait of a Negro - Theodore Gericault
Ce qui sert a vos plaisirs est mouille de nos larmes - Jean-Michel Moreau
Tregears Black Jokes - Othello, engraved by Hunt, c.1834 - (after) Summers, W.
Tregears Black Jokes - The Route, engraved by Hunt c.1834 - (after) Summers, W.
Pierre Toussaint 1778-1853 1825 - Anthony Meucci
Negress in Costume - William Glackens
Marabout from Saint Louis Senegal - (after) Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, Jacques
Portrait Of A Blackamoor, Head And Shoulders 2 - French School
Negro Coach Boy - John Mellor
The Nigger Sam Band - Charles Hunt
The Black Boy - William Jones
The Marchand Mission travelling from the Congo to the Nile from Le Petit Journal 28th May 1899 - Henri Meyer
The Nubian Slave - Georgio Marcelli
Black Slaves Seated Outside their House in Martinique - Le Masurier
Juliet Noel Mrs Pierre Toussaint 1825 - Anthony Meucci
Cour-Rou-Bari-Gal, a native of New Holland, plate 18 from Voyage of Discovery to Australian Lands, engraved by B. Roger, pub. 1800-04 - (after) Petit, N.
Corroboree around a camp fire from his Drawings of the natives and scenery of Van Diemens Land 1830 - Joseph Lycett
Negro Dance - Pedro Figari
Head of a Negro - Theodore Gericault
The King of Congos Favourite Slave, engraved by J. Laroque, c.1770 - (after) Sauveur, J.G.
Portrait of a Young Arab - Frederick Goodall
Bezou - Alexander Evgenevich Iacovleff
A Native Corroboree at Night - Eric Gill
Black Dick turnd Taylor 2 - James Gillray
T.1550 Y-Erran-Gou-La-Ga, a native of New Holland, plate 19 from Voyage of Discovery to Australian Lands, engraved by B. Roger, pub. 1807 - (after) Petit, N.
Ascent of the Great Pyramid - Rudolf Carl Huber
Black Dick turnd Taylor - James Gillray
Study of a Negro Boy - William Etty
Indians on a Plantation, engraved by Victor Adam 1801-66 c.1835 - (after) Rugendas, Johann Moritz
Portrait of an Aborigine, c.1895 - Thomas William Roberts
Seated Moroccan, 1936 - Glyn Warren Philpot
Study of a Negro - Glyn Warren Philpot
Portrait of a Moor holding a flag at a window - Bartholomaus Maton
Slave Merchant in Goree Island Senegal - (after) Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, Jacques
A Young Archer - Govert Teunisz. Flinck
An Arab in Meditation - Carl Ludwig Ferdinand Kerstan
A Young Negro Woman - Theodore Gericault
Port Jackson New Holland Aboriginal Family - (after) Leroy, Sebastien (Denis Sebastien)
Until dinner began to come in across the yard slaves carry a prepared meal from a cookhouse to a plantation mansion - Edward Windsor Kemble
Disembarkation, engraved by Deroi and Leon Jean Baptiste Sabatier fl.1827-87 pub. by Engelmann, c.1835 - (after) Rugendas, Johann Moritz
Corrobori - Samuel Thomas Gill
Puzzled which to Choose Or the King of Tombuctoo offering one of his daughters in marriage to Capt Anticipated result of a African Mission - (after) Judel, Capt. E.
Contest with spears shields and clubs from his Drawings of the natives and scenery of Van Diemens Land 1830 - Joseph Lycett
Black Dancer - Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Joseph Napoleon Sebastien Sarda Garriga 1808-77 with the Emancipation Decree on La Reunion - Alphonse Garreau
Port Jackson New Holland - (after) Marchais, Pierre Antoine
Inhabitants of Grand-Bassam illustration from Le Tour du Monde 1868 - Adrien Emmanuel Marie
An African Fairy - Claud Lovat Fraser
Portrait of a Moorish woman - (after) Paolo Veronese (Caliari)
Queen and her Suite - Carlos Juliao
Victims for Sacrifice - (after) Norris, Robert
La Belle Espagnole or La Doublure de Madame Tallien 1773-1835 - James Gillray
How the white man trades in the Congo State bringing in rubber and hostages - Frederic de Haenen
Portrait of a Young Man - Bernard III Lens
Convention of Freedmen Discussing their Political Rights Georgia - John Karst
The Fabrication of Palm Oil at Whydah - Edouard Auguste Nousveaux
High class woman from St Louis Island Senegal - (after) Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, Jacques
Wine Carriers - Joaquim Candido Guillobel
Dancers in Haiti - Pedro Figari
T.1548 Ouriaga from Van Diemans Land, plate 9 from Voyage of Discovery to Australian Lands, engraved by B. Roger, 1807 - (after) Petit, N.
Johnny Enjoying the Sports of the Field - William Elmes
Negresses of Soudan - Captain George Francis Lyon
Public Procession of the Kings Women - (after) Norris, Robert
The King of Dahomeys Levee 2 - (after) Norris, Robert
The entertainer - Charles Green
Naba-Leba, Queen of the Island of Solor, near Timor, plate 25 from Voyage of Discovery to Australian Lands, engraved by B. Roger, pub. 1800-04 - (after) Petit, N.
A Berber of Southern Tunis - Harry Hamilton Johnston
Attack on Store Dray plate from The Australian Sketchbook - Samuel Thomas Gill
Negresses of Soudan 2 - Captain George Francis Lyon
Cotton making Dutch Antilles East Indies - Paolo Fumagalli
T.1551 Norou-Gal-Derri Ready for Combat, native from New South Wales, New Holland, plate 20 from Voyage of Discovery to Australian Lands, engraved by B. Roger, pub. 1807 - (after) Petit, N.
Museum of the day: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Halt at the Spring - François Boucher
Mrs Edmund Morton Pleydell - Thomas Gainsborough
Uncle Dominic - Paul Cezanne
The Ponte Vecchio Florence - Bernardo Bellotto (Canaletto)
The Hero Who Loves Another Mans Wife, from Basohli, in the Punjab Hills, c.1660-70 - (attr. to) The Basohli Master
Le Conventionnel (The Conventional One) (or A Soldier) - Thomas Couture
Mrs Joseph Mann (Bethia Torrey) 1753 - John Singleton Copley
Krishna Loosens His Beloveds Belt, from Basohli, in the Punjab Hills, c.1660-70 - (attr. to) The Basohli Master
Anne Lady de la Pole - George Romney
The Queen and her Suite - Carlos Juliao
C.C.C. Ashantee Chiefs and King Coffe Kollally Son 1874 - M.B. Mealy
Bachist a Howazeen Bedawee and Mabzookh his little Son - Carl Haag
Port Jackson, New Holland Natives from the River Nepean Region, from Voyage Autour du Monde sur les Corvettes de LUranie 1817-20 engraved by Forget, published 1825 - (after) Pellion, Alphonse
The Rattan Torture Laos - (after) Gauchards, J.
Three Aborigines fighting Queensland - Richard Daintree
Portrait of a Blackamoor - (after) Jean-Alexis Grimou
Aboriginal Group Near Geelong - Eugene von Guerard
Portrait of a Man of New Zealand illustration from Journey Round the World to the South Pole - Charles Howard Hodges
Barbers - (after) Gold, Charles Emilius
A North African Fruit Vendor - Giuseppe Signorini
The King of Dahomeys Levee - (after) Norris, Robert
A boy and his African grey - Charles Verlat
Custom House Negroes Rio de Janeiro - (after) Henderson, John
Half Length Portrait of an Arab Boy - Frederick Goodall
Portrait of the African fighter Adolf Boutar - George Hendrik Breitner
African Woman 1910 - Felix Edouard Vallotton
Johnny Enamoured with Nymphs Bathing - William Elmes
Palankeens - (after) Gold, Charles Emilius
Native Corroboree - Samuel Thomas Gill
Abura, Chief Of The Ababua Tribe In Bambili, 1925 - Alexander Evgenevich Iacovleff
A Dude Belle - Currier
Head studies of two African men - Jacob Jordaens
Costume Design For A Negress In A Production Of Aladdin - Lev Samoilovich Bakst
Egyptian Girl - Vasily Polenov
Nude With Rose - August Hoffmann Von Vestenhof
A boy from Cairo - Charles Wilda
Negro Woodcutters - (after) Debret, Jean Baptiste
Bezou - Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev
The Year of Release is at Hand - Alfred Corbould
An African Page dressed as a Harlequin - (after) Louis Vigee
Portrait Of A Kashmiri - Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev
Life Around The Cabin - William Aiken Walker
Head of a youth, a study - Venetian School
Portrait Of A Black Page, Head And Shoulders, Wearing A Red Cloak - (after) Dyck, Sir Anthony van
African Village - Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev
Smoking Moor - Antonio Rivas
Poule Au Pot - Rafael Senet y Perez
Buste De Jeune Femme Au Collier Rose - Leopold Carl Muller
A North African man - Leo Malempre
Head Studies - Gyula Tornai
Portrait Of An Arab Man - Aloysius O'kelly
A Young Black - (after) Sir Joshua Reynolds
The Jewelry Maker - Gyula Tornai
An African melon seller - Istvan Pekary
Kadija La Tunisienne Apportant Le Cafe - Hermann Katsch

Proposed 'Scottish Studies' in Scotland sparks claims of indoctrination

Opposition politicians voiced concerns after the Scottish Government revealed the new subject, which explores the country's history, literature, language and culture, would be compulsory.

Dr Alasdair Allan, the SNP's minister for learning and skills, outlined his vision for the course as a study was published showing 90% of the public support its introduction.

He said the topic, first unveiled in the SNP's 2011 election manifesto, would improve pupils' knowledge of Scotland and would be tested by an exam.

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith insisted Scottish history was already adequately taught in schools and voiced fears about the "pseudo-nationalist undertones" of the subject.

"If this is going to be compulsory the first question is why and the second question is what will it be at the expense of?

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Liam McArthur added, "It is important that Scottish children learn about their cultural, linguistic and historical heritage at school. But there will be a suspicion with this administration that ministers could be tempted to hijack the curriculum for their own political purposes. SNP ministers will need to reassure parents and the wider public that this suspicion is misplaced.

However, Dr Allan rejected the concerns about indoctrination. "The content of Scottish history is not particularly political and will be taught in an impartial way. The idea that presenting facts about Scotland is indoctrination is not taken particularly seriously today."

Handsworth August 2011 incl. Pogus Caesar

Midlands Today Tues 16th Aug 7.19 mins into the programme, until 10.52 (Peter Wilson's report, part 1)

Sam King: BBC 1 'National Treasures'

Pure delight to see and hear from Sam King.
Well done Lenny Henry - impressive feature.
(I could not suppress thoughts of Deakus though!)

I'd no idea that Arthur Torrington could look so casual. Don't think I'd ever seen him before without a shirt and tie!

Dan Snow's comments added context re. Sam King's role as one time mayor of Southwark.

Black Bristolian Christian Barnett

After a successful visit over the Easter period, in 2011 Bristolian Christian Barnett secured his place at the New York Mercy College, to study for a an honours degree in Art and Animation, with the added success of being able to play NCAA Division 2 College Basketball. Christian, in his three years at Storm, remained totally focused on his dream. He featured on BBC Points West on 8th August 2011.

Sam King and Arthur Torrington: BBC 1 'National Treasures Live'

Weds 10th August at 7.30pm. 
The programme will be live from Dover Castle in Kent. Dan Snow and Sian Williams are the presenters celebrating all aspects and eras of British history.

In this first episode, Snow and Sian Williams explore the secret tunnels built deep inside the White Cliffs.
They find out what it was really like to be a knight in shining armour.

Guest reporter Lenny Henry will examine the role played by West Indian servicemen and women in WWII.

Sam King is a West Indian serviceman who contributed during WWII.
Arthur Torrington, as part of various Windrush projects, has worked with Sam & many others who contributed.

Hopefully it will be an informative feature.

Noor Inyat Khan - SOE WWII - The One Show Tues 2nd Aug

Good feature on the Asian SOE operative Noor Inyat Khan - SOE WWII
from 18.18 mins to 23.20 mins of the 30 min programme.

Gilt of Cain - Lemm Sissay

Just came across in a speech to the General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church in 1842, given by Alexander McCaine, in which he stated that the institution of slavery was "ordained by God Himself."

It put me in mind of Lemm Sissay's 'Gilt of Cain' poem which features on the slavery memorial (unveiled 4th Sept 2008 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu).
The 10-ft high granite sugar cane columns & slave auction block were sculpted by Michael Visocch and sited at Fen Crt, Fenchurch Ave, London EC3 (nr Lloyds Bank of London (LAMDA)) on land part-owned by Church of St Mary Woolnoth, where abolitionist & former slave trader Rev John Newton – author of Amazing Grace – preached & held campaign mtgs.

Apparently Ken Martindale (British Black Heritage) led the campaign for the memorial.

I love the ‘Gilt'/ guilt associations
And now I love the McCaine/ Cain/ cane associations

It just gets richer every time.

I guess that Lemn Sissay was on my mind anyway because he 'Why I don't hate white people' was broadcast on Radio 3 again, the other day, as a fill in after some live Russian concert.

It's the 2nd time that I've heard this piece by Sissay and I'm even less sure of it now. True there are some telling lines, but mostly I heard anger and confusion.
Nothing wrong with anger and confusion I guess, except that it is unsettling. And perhaps issues re. 'race' will always be unsettling, and yet...

Oh well. Perhaps on 3rd hearing I might have a different response.

Cec Thompson - BBC Radio 4 Last Word

Cec Thompson - BBC Radio 4 Last Word
Lovely to hear the voice of Cec Thompson, Black Britiish Rugby player, (1926-2011) in clips included in Matthew Bannister's weekly obit programme.

RIP Cec Thompson (1926-2011) 2nd Black Rugby Player for GB

From orphanages, poor education and racism, Thompson went on to achieve sporting success, educational succees and entrepreneurial success. He died on 19 July 2011, aged 85

His autobiography: 'Born on the Wrong Side', was published in 1995

He was born Theodore Cecil Thompson, 12 July 1926, in Birtley, Co Durham
His mother was a miner's daughter and his Trinidadian father, who had a job in Leeds putting gold leaf on the walls of the town hall, died before Cec was born. The family then relocated to Yorkshire, and the four children were sent to orphanages – Cec initially in Wiltshire, then Cheshire and the north-east

Education: he was bullied regularly, often in a racist fashion, leaving him bereft of confidence and social skills. "By the time I left school at 14, I was utterly desensitised and virtually unemployable." After four years' labouring in Leeds, he served in the navy from 1944 to 1947, then returned to Leeds as a lorry driver's mate at the Yorkshire Copper Works.

His lack of a formal education had once left him unable to sign autographs, but he later joined music and operatic societies, and an art club, passed his English O-level after taking night classes in Workington while coaching Barrow, then enrolled at Huddersfield Technical College in 1962. He qualified to teach Economics after studying at Leeds University, from 1965, at the age of 39. There he helped establish the first student rugby league club – the sport having previously been deemed unsuitable for academic institutions. After graduation he took a diploma of education and secured a job at Dinnington high school in South Yorkshire. Five years later he moved to Chesterfield grammar to become head of economics and in charge of rugby for 17 years. He received an honorary degree from Leeds University in 1994.

Key details: Cec Thompson became one of the first black Rugby League players in the UK. He played his first game of rugby in a works tournament in Bramley. He took up rugby league in the 1940s when working near Hunslet in Leeds. Thompson progressed rapidly through the professional ranks, despite breaking his leg late in his first season, to such an extent that Eddie Waring, then a newspaper journalist, wrote: "If Cec Thompson is not chosen for the Great Britain squad, the selectors must be racists."

In 1951 he went on to play for Great Britain and Ireland and was transferred to Workington Town in Cumbria after which he was manager of Barrow. He was one of the founders of student rugby league in the UK.
A few black players had already earned representative honours in rugby league – George Bennett for Wales and the Cumberbatch brothers Val and Jimmy for England before WWII, and Roy Francis for GB after it. But Thompson's colour remained sufficiently noteworthy for the Daily Herald to headline its report of his debut, in a 21-15 victory over New Zealand at the Odsal stadium, Bradford: "Hunslet's Darkie one of Britain's heroes."
He also played in the second Test at Swinton, the first rugby league international to be televised, but the remaining highlights of his career came at club level with Workington Town, after he moved to the Cumbrian coast with his first wife, Barbara, in 1953.
He had impressed Gus Risman, the great Welsh player who was then coaching Workington, and the pair remained sufficiently close for Thompson to give the address at Risman's funeral in 1994.
In 1958 he played in both the Challenge Cup final at Wembley and the Championship final at Odsal, but Workington lost on each occasion and on the second, Thompson suffered a knee injury that hampered the remaining two years of his career.
He then had a mostly unhappy spell as the coach of Barrow, again following Francis as the second black coach in professional rugby league, but by this stage he had already turned an active mind to the next phase of his life.
He had launched a window-cleaning business in and around Workington, and also felt sufficiently confident with reading and writing – developed on coach trips to away games with Hunslet, when he would learn new words from the Reader's Digest – to make a tentative move into journalism. Meanwhile, his Cumbrian cleaning firm, TC Thompson, grew to employ 620 staff at its peak.
After retirement, Thompson retired to the Lake District with his second wife, Anne, who he married in 1964, and their son, Mark.

An impressive life, by any standard, but giving his starting point in life Thompson is a real inspiration.

I'd like to think that he kept in touch with his siblings, who the social services had so cruelly separated.

BBC Radio Scotland: Jane Cummings - an Anglo-Indian in 1810 Edinburgh

Louise Welsh related the story of Jane Cumming (b. 1795/6), an unhappy illegitimate Anglo-Indian school girl, daughter of George Cumming, eldest son of Lady Helen Cumming Gordon, of Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. George Cumming was working for the East India Company at Patna in India. His early death caused Lady Helen to send for Jane from India with the intention of educating her for some respectable trade. However, in 1810, in Edinburgh, Jane accused her schoolmistresses, Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods, of having a lesbian affair in the presence of their pupils. The accuser's influential grandmother removed Jane from the school & advised her friends to likewise remove their daughters from the school. Within days the school was deserted and the two women had lost their livelihood. Pirie and Woods sued and eventually won, both in court and on appeal, but given the damage done to their lives, their victory was considered hollow. Lillian Hellman based her 1934 play, ‘The Children’s Hour’ on the events. A Hollywood film was made in 1961. The Scotch Verdict: Miss Pirie and Miss Woods V. Dame Cumming Gordon (1983), by Lillian Faderman, recounts the historical incident.

I'm impressed by ... Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham

Chuka Umunna, young black MP for Streatham, featured on BBC 2 Newsnight Tues 26th July 2011.

Good-looking, well-spoken, knowledgeable, confident, convincing...

Well done that man!

I'm impressed by ... BBC West Midland's Jamaican Connections Pt 3

Today the focus was on Mykaell Riley of Steel Pulse, a Birmingham Reggae group from the 1970s. He featured on BBC West Midlands Today on 22nd July 2011.

I'm impressed by ... BBC West Midland's Jamaican Connections Pt 2

Today the focus was on Wade Lyn of Cleone Foods – aka the Jamaican Patty company. He featured on BBC West Midlands Today on 20th July 2011.

I'm still looking forward to the day when the Island Grill fastfood chain, found all over Jamaica, makes a presence in the UK!

I'm impressed by ... BBC West Midland's Jamaican Connections by Satnam Rana

It's always good to see the old Windrush footage from 1948.
I'd no idea that Joe Aldred could sing!
Shame the whole focus was on the Aldred clan though. Hope the next feature has a wider focus.

I'm impressed by ... Orlando Clark

Orlando Clark, urban beekeeper, featured on BBC Countryfile in Sept 2009, repeated in Country Tracks, July 2011.
He keeps his bees in various locations around the city of London, from Brixton to King's Cross.

Early Black Presences: A Talk to the Kenilworth History Group

Having come across the group at a history fair in September I'd asked them if they'd ever come across material relating to black presences in the area. They said no but suggested that I came to tell them what I knew of such presences.
I was booked to talk to the group in July.

July seemed such a long way away in September but it soon came round. And what material had I got in place?

Prior to the talk I'd always archived material geographically. As I prepared for the talk it occured to me that thematic links were preferable to geographical ones because they allowed for more illustrative parallels.

I began to resort the information under the new headings but - because of my teaching commitments - couldn't devote the required amount of time to it. Consequently I would have to arrive at the venue with incomplete information. The headings were in place but the images had not been fully installed. Should I cancel?

I decided not to cancel. I could talk over the blanks and, after all, I did have enough material to cover 45 mins. But it would be a largely unknown group. Would they be interested?

I arrived. I set up. Everyone seemed friendly enough. The atmosphere was welcoming. And lo and behold I did recognise several faces from the world of teaching and from the Coventry History group to which I belong. A friend and her partner had also come along for moral support (and an interest in black British history!).

I delivered the talk and responded to questions. They were good questions. The material had been listened to and studied. There was interest. I received some very constructive feedback.

I dashed home excited about getting the rest of the material completed and incorporating the feedback.

I can't wait till my next presentation.

I'm impressed by ... Olivia Grange

Jamaican Minister of Sport, Olivia Grange, came to Birmingham in July 2011 to build links. She was featured on BBC Midlands Today, 12th July 2011.

I'm impressed by ... http://accolcoventry.org

http://accolcoventry.org is an excellent website.

Informative
Well-presented

A real gem!

I'm impressed by ... Trevor Massiah

A black man in the countryside!
A black man who enjoys climbing!

Trevor Massiah featured on the BBC programme ‘Coast’ series 6 programme 5: Wales – Border to Border) aired Sunday 10th July 2011.

I was so intrigued I just had to google him.

I found that Trevor Massiah is also a fully qualified climbing instructors. Now why didn't the BBC programme make that clear?

See www.rockandsun.com/staff/trevor-massiah.html for more details.

‘Working Lives: Memories of Work & Industry in Nuneaton & Bedworth: A 20th Century Oral History’

Sharifa Khalifa worked at the Courtaulds textile factory when they were based on
Marlborough Rd, Nuneaton, she was in the winding department. She features (with
colour photo) on pg 15 of ‘Working Lives: Memories of Work & Industry in
Nuneaton & Bedworth: A 20th Century Oral History’ by Alison Clague, Marie
Ingoldby, Louise Essex & Lesley Kirkwood for Warwickshire County
Council/Warwickshire Publications (2008). Other Asian voices in the book
included Farida Sheikh (p12, 21 & p56), Zainub Kapadia (p22), both of whom
worked for Abbey Hosiery in Leicestershire (as outworkers). A group photograph
of the Union Wool & Leather Company (p27) features many Asian men & women. Kokab
Jahan Choudury features on pg 55. she was from Kenya (arrived in the UK in
1971). She worked at Abbey Hosiery in Nuneaton.
No references to African-Caribbean workers but still a recommended read.

Liberty’s Exiles: The Loss Of America And The Remaking Of The British Empire By Maya Jasanoff

On November 25, 1783, the last British troops pulled out of New York City, bringing the American Revolution to an end. Patriots celebrated their departure and the confirmation of US independence. But for tens of thousands of American loyalists, the British evacuation spelled worry, not jubilation. What would happen to them in the new United States? Facing grave doubts about their futures, some sixty thousand loyalists - one in forty members of the American population - decided to leave their homes and become refugees elsewhere in the British Empire. They sailed for Britain, for Canada, for Jamaica, and for the Bahamas; some ventured as far as Sierra Leone and India. Wherever they went, the voyage out of America was a fresh beginning, and it carried them into a dynamic if uncertain new world. As they dispersed across the empire, the loyalists also carried things from their former homes, revealing an enduring American influence on the wider British world.
Through archival research and storytelling, historian Maya Jasanoff re-creates the journeys of ordinary individuals in Liberty’s Exiles: The Loss Of America And The Remaking Of The British Empire By Maya Jasanoff (Harperpress)

Do poor black Jamaicans really wish that Jamaica was still shackled by the British?

If they do, perhaps they should consider what Prof George M Wrong stated in 1909: “Britain controls today the destinies of some 350,000,000 alien people, unable as yet to govern themselves, and easy victims to rapine and injustice, unless a strong arm guards them. She is giving them a rule that has its faults, no doubt, but such, I would make bold to affirm, as no conquering state ever before gave to a dependent people.”

Wrong was quoted in the introduction to Niall Ferguson’s 2003 publication ‘Empire’ along with the following 2001 quotation from the Durban Declaration of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance: “…Colonialism has led to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and that Africans and people of African descent, and people of Asian descent and indigenous peoples were victims of colonialism and continue to be victims of its consequences.

I guess, as Bob Marley said, "Time will tell."

Sambo's Grave - BBC Country Tracks - Sunderland Point, Lancashire

Julie Bradbury's August 2010 Countryfile feature on Sambo's Grave - Sunderland Point, Lancashire, was re-shown on BBC Country Tracks - Sunday 3rd July 2011

I'm impressed by ... Don Letts

Don Letts featured on BBC 2's Newsnight, with Jeremy Paxman, on Monday 4th July. The topic of discussion was Englishness vs Britishness.

I'm impressed by ... Paul Antonio

Paul Antonio featured in episode 2 of the BBC documentary series ‘Guilty Pleasures’ in which he demonstrated calligraphy, using a quill, and spoke of the Lindisfarne Gospel (an illuminated Latin manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). The manuscript was produced on Lindisfarne in Northumbria in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and is generally regarded as the finest example of UK religious art, a style that combined Anglo-Saxon and Celtic themes & called Hiberno-Saxon art, or Insular art. The manuscript is complete (though lacking its original cover).

Looking for Langston - a pro-gay film by Julien Isaacs

Opera North and Bridlington had commissioned Beached, a community opera by composer Harvey Brough with a libretto by Lee Hall to be performed in July 2011. However, the company, at the request of the Bridlington primary school whose 300 children were to perform in the opera, asked for the removal of explicit references to a gay character's sexuality from one of the scenes. Hall refused, and the opera was withdrawn.

This whole affair reminded me of the time when, back in 1997? a secondary school in Coventry took a specially selected group of black only students - from year 7 to 9 - to the Warwick Arts Centre to take part in their Harlem Renaissance events. I'd refused to have anything to do with the group because I didn't think it should have been a black only group from a mixed school.

Anyway, unbeknown to the students (and to the teachers leading the group?) the day at Warwick Arts Centre also included showing the children portions of 'Looking for Langston' - a pro-gay film by Julien Isaacs. The film is a 15 and VERY GRAPHIC. I'd watched it when it first came out and I had been shocked by it so I was appalled that the students, aged 11 to 14, without parental consent, had been exposed to this film.

I cynically wondered how things would have played out if it had been a group of white students which had been exposed to such age-inapproproate images. Luckily a year 7 girl, from my tutor group, who had been exposed to all this, just laughed away the whole thing, but was this just face-saving?

It still makes me angry, even all these years later!

BBC London News: George Padmore

Lovely feature re. plaque unveiling for black activist George Padmore (Malcolm Nurse)
Born: 1902/3?
Place of birth: Trinidad
Died: 23rd September 1959, dysentery, UCH, London,
ashes interred: Christianborg Castle, Ghana

The news item featured black actress Nina Baden-Semper (best known for her role in Love Thy Neighbour), who, apparently, was related to George Padmore.

Constantine Learie feature: The One Show Mon 27th June 2011

Lovely feature on Constantine Learie feature: The One Show Mon 27th June 2011
Cricketer
Broadcaster
Barrister
High Commissioner
1st black British Peer

Good on you BBC!

BBC Hidden Histories: East

BBC Hidden Histories: East

I watched (on BBC iplayer) the programme presented by Meera Syal.
In it she states that art collector Frederick Victor Duleep Singh (1868–1926)
never married. Is this correct?

My notes on him stated that "He and his wife lived at Blo Norton, Norfolk. He also purchased a house on White Hart Street, Thetford, for use as the town's museum."

Can anyone confirm?

BBC OneShow Barbara Dickson Feature 21st June 2011 - old school photo

BBC OneShow Barbara Dickson Feature 21st June 2011 - old school photo

Was I imagining the face of a black female student amid the students in Barbara Dickson's old school photo [of Woodmill High? in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland?] which was shown on BBC 1's The OneShow - 21st June 2011?

It made me wonder how many black students would have been in British secondary schools during the early 1960s

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.

Scawdi / History Detectives on Carl Chinn's History Prog BBCWM

While I was pleased to hear a black ppresence on Carl Chinn's weekly programme, I was disappointed to hear, once again, Scawdi / History Detectives peddaling the view that they are the first to bring to light local black history.

Does this assertion stem from an ignorance of all the work that has been done in the past, or is it a deliberate slight against (or direspect for) this work?

Would it really hurt the self-promotion of Scawdi / History Detectives to acknowledge the LONG presence of historians/archivists who have been toiling to bring local black history to light?

St John's House, Warwick - Warwickshire Regiment

Excellent visit to the museum at St John's House, Warwick - which is also the home of the museum for the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (later The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers).

The lower floor is devoted to a history of St John's House and features a Victorian schoolroom, Victorian fashion and Victorian toys. It brought back my own early school day memories of when my class went there on a school trip, way back in the 1970s. We dressed as Victorian school children in the clothing that the museum provided and we experienced a Victorian school lesson with a very strict teacher! The walls were adorned with photographs going as far back as 1899 which showed images of children from local schools who had visited the schoolroom.

Not much acknowledgement of a Black British presence, despite the colonial involvement dating back to the 1700s. There was also a missed opportunity re. the WWI experiences of the black Caribbean father of black British boxer, Randolph Turpin.

Nevertheless the musuem is well organised, informative, well presented. You need to give yourself at least one and a half hours in the regiment museum alone.

The museum assistant, David Baynham was brilliant!

Muhammed Ali at South Shields Mosque: 1977

A recent episode of BBC's Countrytracks brought the following piece of hisory to my attention: The mosque at Laygate, South Shields, UK including the Yemeni School, was visited by Muhammed Ali in 1977. He had his recent marriage blessed at the Al-Ahzar Mosque, the first purpose-built in the UK. This story is covered in a documentary film, The King of South Shields. Throughout April and early May 2008, the BALTIC Arts Centre in Gateshead chronicled the Yemeni community of South Shields, including interviews with the last remaining survivors of the first Yemeni generation. The exhibition showcased the high-profile 1977 visit by Muhammed Ali. In 2008, South Shields resident and filmmaker Tina Gharavi unveiled plans for a plaque to mark Ali's visit.

All this made me wonder whic, if any UK mosques were visited by Malcolm X and any other key members of the African diaspora eg. Did Martin Luther King ever visit a mosque on US or any other soil?

Black British History: BASA entries

007251 2011-04-08 18:48 177 Fwd: London Maze Event 16 April - FREE
007231 2011-04-02 07:53 16 RIP Marable Manning (1950-2011)
007136 2011-02-26 08:15 190 Spike Lee/Who Do You Think You Are
007131 2011-02-24 09:35 22 Who Do You Think You Are? The Griswolds
006979 2011-01-04 13:45 19 Rudy Brown, Justice of the Peace for Britain after 25 years on London transport
006945 2010-12-17 18:25 221 Re: G A Butler, lately attache at the Chinese Embasssy [London]
006927 2010-12-09 07:06 162 Poland welcomes first black member of parliament, 06.12.2010 11:57
006876 2010-11-18 19:54 57 Re: A.B.C. Merriman-Labor
006810 2010-10-29 08:39 147 Ghanaian Peter Bossman becomes First Black Mayor Elected in Eastern Europe
006789 2010-10-21 12:56 139 Fwd: Caryl Phillips visit to Sheffield 25 October 2010
006664 2010-09-24 12:03 61 Black British lives
006659 2010-09-21 09:55 17 Brighton Pavillion hospital WWI - an act of propaganda?
006635 2010-09-07 12:12 50 Re: Watford African Caribbean Supplementary School - Open Day Saturday 11 September 2010
006567 2010-08-12 12:07 97 ‘Saragarhi Day': Sikhs in the service of the British Army
006559 2010-08-11 13:12 42 Re: International Year for People of African Descent
006532 2010-08-04 09:29 63 Black Diaspora and Germany
006529 2010-08-03 19:36 25 Black American GIs in Falmouth & Bristol during WWII
006516 2010-07-30 11:19 41 Re: Research: Knowledge of Italian
006514 2010-07-30 07:44 548 Fwd: Diaspora: FW: Save Islamic Studies at MMU
006511 2010-07-29 10:38 141 Fwd: Call out for Volunteers
006509 2010-07-29 06:20 353 Re: William Cuffay: Britain's Black Revolutionary
006506 2010-07-28 13:42 204 Re: Aunti and uncle.
006499 2010-07-28 01:57 146 Re: Oxford Companion to Black British History (2007) errors?
006498 2010-07-28 08:20 37 Re: 'adopted' relatives
006475 2010-07-25 13:47 83 Re: Dr James S. Risien Russell
006456 2010-07-19 11:18 71 Re: William Cuffay on BBC Radio 4 28 July
006408 2010-07-07 11:44 17 response to anonymous 1860s photograph of a black woman at Smithsonian
06407 2010-07-07 11:36 443 Fwd: Ethnic minority older people project launch - Parliamentary reception
006399 2010-07-02 09:59 43 new technology enables historians to see what Livingstone really said
006386 2010-06-29 18:53 3026 Fwd: Last chance to see Sammy Baloji's Memoire at Dilston Grove, London
006385 2010-06-29 18:44 228 Fwd: Diaspora: Seeking Sources on Jewish Continuity, 'Mixed Marriage', European Jewish Kinship etc.
006379 2010-06-24 22:09 379 Fwd: Indo-Caribbean Literature and Culture Thursday 1 - Friday 2 July, 2010
006372 2010-06-21 07:37 111 Re: recommendation needed - again....
006364 2010-06-19 23:38 82 Black History Tour - Brighton
006352 2010-06-18 17:58 52 Re: African Venus and Sheikh Abdullah
006345 2010-06-18 08:31 22 America's hypocrisy (again!)
006343 2010-06-17 09:57 167 Fwd: LECTURE TONIGHT - Banda Singh Bahadur: Ruler or Rebel? Political Response to Imperial Hegemony
006340 2010-06-16 11:35 89 University of Amsterdam appoints Stephen Small as its first ever professor in the Dutch history of slavery
006320 2010-06-11 18:30 94 Fwd: Chattri Memorial Service, Sunday 13th June 2pm, Brighton
006318 2010-06-10 21:38 22 NPG exhibition: Indian Portraits
006317 2010-06-10 14:22 85 Black Heritage - the V&A's new Black Heritage Programme
006290 2010-05-31 12:46 19 FAO Jan Marsh
006286 2010-05-28 22:28 20 BBC Radio 4: Great Lives - Viv Anderson on Arthur Wharton Friday 28th May 11pm
006284 2010-05-27 21:30 69 Revealing Anne Lister Mon 31st May 10.30pm BBC2
006242 2010-05-06 17:19 20 Black Debutantes UK
006232 2010-04-30 20:10 65 Carl Bernhard Wadström (1746-1799)
006195 2010-04-13 17:25 60 Re: in case you missed this - Domesday image
006193 2010-04-12 15:09 273 Fwd: Diversity group conference
006181 2010-04-07 08:07 62 Re: South African soccer tourists, 1899-1900
006168 2010-04-02 09:32 334 Sam Sharpe and the Quest for Liberation: Context, Theology and Legacy for Today
006139 2010-03-17 16:32 39 Re: Black and Asian people in Wakefield, West Yorkshire
006106 2010-03-01 16:38 35 Re: interesting vintage photo
006062 2010-02-08 07:09 16 Obituary notices: Rex Nettleford
006051 2010-02-03 07:56 16 RIP Rex Nettleford
006028 2010-01-24 13:22 37 Re: [Caar-Listserver] Greetings from Berea College
006020 2010-01-20 23:25 90 Re: Seeking information about an Irish Woman who married a Black American c. 1865
006019 2010-01-20 21:42 73 Re: Seeking information about an Irish Woman who married a Black American c. 1865
005997 2010-01-15 16:21 75 British losses (property, slaves, etc) during the American War of Independence
005942 2009-12-30 12:10 94 FAO: Vincent Carretta re. Ignatius Sancho
005936 2009-12-27 08:15 71 a mixed race "mulatto" rose to become an RN Captain in the West Indies
005932 2009-12-25 19:01 65 did you see...? Ottley's Slave Plantation: St Kitts
005926 2009-12-20 16:31 16 Re: An odd one.
005895 2009-12-16 19:29 45 Black congress USA - thanks for the link Sean
005889 2009-12-16 15:58 18 Tuskegee Airmen WWII black pilots/engineers
005884 2009-12-16 14:34 56 Re: Small Island - How does Pt 2 end?
005875 2009-12-15 18:45 41 adam afriyie on the environment
005861 2009-12-12 22:58 17 a review of The Selling of "Precious" by Ishmael Reed
005860 2009-12-10 20:34 48 Stem cell transplants treat 'incurable' blood disorder: Sickle Cell Anaemia
005844 2009-12-08 22:02 19 History of Scotland - BBC2 8pm - Wedderburn & slavery
005818 2009-12-04 18:06 155 Public lecture – The Life and work of Zora Neale Hurston (Women’s Library, London)
005812 2009-11-30 11:25 63 Senegalese French Army troops blamed for civilian massacres during WWII
005801 2009-11-24 21:42 31 Re: 'Job ben Solomon' 1701-1773
005781 2009-11-21 20:04 45 Not Forgotten: Asian Soldiers in WWI
005778 2009-11-20 08:40 47 www.deepogon.com/pages/slave_voyages
005770 2009-11-19 21:42 69 Re: West Indian Radio programming
005748 2009-11-14 18:31 89 Re: The Crisis
005738 2009-11-13 19:38 119 Re: 1972 Oscars
005687 2009-11-03 18:30 22 Re: Discussin & Exhbit
005602 2009-10-11 20:19 5257 Re: My ENewsletter
005407 2009-08-06 18:58 83 Re: Antigua Names Mountain After Obama On His Birthday
005338 2009-07-07 08:23 14 Re: Rothschilds
005333 2009-07-04 22:57 29 Re: Film maker Blagrove in Israeli prison
005287 2009-06-25 08:20 225 photograph and a rare signature of Jamaican-born nursing hero, Mary Seacole
005280 2009-06-23 18:31 64 Re: New Exhibit at Smithsonian
005256 2009-06-20 06:28 460 Re: Wilberforce Institute Short Course: Slavery in All its Forms
005238 2009-06-18 02:06 671 Re: Recovery of Sunken Slave Ship
005235 2009-06-18 09:18 432 Re: {Disarmed} Re: Recovery of Sunken Slave Ship
005229 2009-06-17 20:41 69 Infant mortality in Jamaica before 1900?
005127 2009-06-01 07:47 63 'Until the lion has its' own historian, tales of hunting will always be of the hunter' African proverb
005037 2009-04-14 18:05 5760 Fwd: Black History Course
005026 2009-04-13 10:04 95 Dreading dreadlocks - Bahamas
005025 2009-04-13 07:53 558 Meet the Obamas
005017 2009-04-09 18:40 89 African literature more anthropological or sociological rather than literary!
005007 2009-04-09 12:06 32 Re: The Black Police and Obama
005003 2009-04-09 09:10 736 Fwd: Obahama and Queen
005002 2009-04-09 07:37 12955 Fwd: President Obama and a Brother
004902 2009-03-05 20:19 270 Re: Timeline of Black Film Actors (WHY NOT THEATRE?)
004891 2009-03-05 05:46 183 Re: A Timeline of Black Actors in British Cinema
004868 2009-02-24 19:30 56 Re: WWII Black/Asian soldiers
004852 2009-02-20 21:38 61 PARK IN ENGLAND RENAMED FOR JAMAICAN-BORN COUNCILLOR—02/14/09
004848 2009-02-20 09:24 70 was the poet and painter, Adrian Henri (1932-2000) mixed race?
004836 2009-02-18 13:57 123 Sir Sidney Poitier?
004817 2009-02-14 07:44 63 Propaganda and truth about the first world war
004729 2009-01-16 18:04 58 Re: black? and Asian studies association
004677 2009-01-01 05:48 30 Re: early photographs of the Black Presence in UK from mid 1800s
004644 2008-12-12 23:51 147 Fwd: Black Cultural Archives need your help...
004639 2008-12-11 19:58 764 Fwd: History of Feminism Network
004604 2008-11-21 15:06 267 the sad story of Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchinson
004595 2008-11-17 09:16 21 London's oldest black owned wine bar
004589 2008-11-14 18:08 290 The Lament of the SS Mendi
004585 2008-11-14 06:42 471 Fwd: A note from Alice Walker
004581 2008-11-13 21:52 48 Jamaican nostalgia at London's oldest black-owned wine bar
004551 2008-10-31 21:58 60 JAMAICAN WOMEN CHOSEN FOR EXPEDITION TO SOUTH POLE—10/27/08
004539 2008-10-26 07:57 23 Was Malcolm X Racist?
004528 2008-10-21 09:55 18 Jules Feiffer cartoons
004516 2008-10-16 20:50 40 Re: gollywogs in Liverpool
004503 2008-10-13 20:36 167 Black as ink: For info only - event sold out
004500 2008-10-13 05:55 71 Fwd: Golden Passports
004494 2008-10-10 10:46 93 Breast Cancer Awareness Month
004489 2008-10-09 08:34 23 142 page BHM magazine October 2008
004487 2008-10-08 18:28 102 Re: EVENT
004483 2008-10-08 07:32 52 Golliwogs for sale
004452 2008-10-03 14:06 90 Re: Digital Photo of Eric and Jessica Huntley
004436 2008-09-28 12:39 88 Re: Drake jewel
004414 2008-09-17 19:57 36 Re: Dag of Black person
004406 2008-09-16 01:30 94 Black Boy lane etc
004392 2008-09-14 07:58 17 early photographs of the Black Presence in UK from mid 1800s
004383 2008-09-12 11:49 67 Re: C19 photos
004372 2008-09-11 19:37 127 Re: photos of black people in Britain
004341 2008-08-30 14:18 33 root/origin of the word 'nigger'
004340 2008-08-30 14:34 306 mystery tribute statue to be identified
004309 2008-08-22 09:42 75 Congo Week
004308 2008-08-22 09:10 16 italian-vogues-all-black-issue
004305 2008-08-21 18:41 12055 Fwd: Ligali Alert - August 2008
004301 2008-08-21 11:58 18 commemorative stamp in honour of the life and work of Claudia Jones
004219 2008-07-17 17:48 222 'Ten Commandments' of race and genetics issued
004193 2008-07-07 12:07 111 George Orwell & Slavery
004165 2008-06-27 07:20 154 Fwd: SUPPORT for BLACK Models
004145 2008-06-20 02:46 14 A page to view from a friend
004144 2008-06-20 08:45 46 The secret to black women's success - Study reveals why some sisters triumph against all odds
004114 2008-06-07 15:10 260 Re: London negro road sweeper
004107 2008-06-06 11:31 93 "the black man that swept the crossing"
004067 2008-05-10 07:36 46 Dr. Clovis John Brooks
004044 2008-04-25 08:23 78 Dr Phyllis McPherson-Russell
003996 2008-04-14 06:17 77 Fwd: Crick Crack
003989 2008-04-09 20:06 895 Fwd: Sudden death of E.A (Archie) Markham
003980 2008-04-08 20:11 17 Re: Blacks in the military
003974 2008-04-06 19:27 87 Competences of the 'darker' races in military & medical professions
003934 2008-03-16 08:00 62 Henry Dandies, first Viscount Melville and Lord Advocate in 1807
003873 2008-02-23 09:31 99 ACCESS TO SLAVERY RECORDS - SIGN THE PETITION
003872 2008-02-23 07:31 204 Fwd: The David Oluwale Memorial Appeal
003853 2008-02-19 21:12 74 Boissiere House, Port au Spain, Trinidad
003843 2008-02-15 23:00 47 statues of Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines & Henri Christophe
003839 2008-02-14 10:41 49 Australian apology may boost Aboriginal health
003830 2008-02-12 11:40 35 Re: Books for Jamaica
003795 2008-01-17 20:24 59 Poet Roi Kwabena falls to lung cancer
003791 2008-01-15 06:48 101 The Harder They Come returns to the United Kingdom stage this year
003725 2007-12-02 19:26 106 Re: Black man on Nelson's Column
003689 2007-11-27 19:21 51 Re: 3 September 1939
003654 2007-11-05 19:46 121 Are African Caribbean Community organisations becoming extinct?
003646 2007-10-24 06:00 141 Fwd: BHM events in B'ham
003624 2007-10-12 18:04 55 only 18 per cent of black male students in Jamaica go on to University?
003495 2007-09-08 19:58 29 Re: capitalise Black or not?
003460 2007-08-30 11:43 55 Jane Austen’s ‘Mansfield Park’ & Dido Be lle
003456 2007-08-29 10:06 61 Hertfordshire’s Hidden Histories
003389 2007-08-02 17:04 167 The Guardian: Priest's racist rant posted on YouTube, August 1, 2007
003366 2007-07-29 11:10 193 Re: Black Oxford - shortlisted for national award
003312 2007-07-10 10:02 76 Fwd: UWIPRESS :: Book Review :: Language of Dress
003289 2007-07-03 09:51 318 Irish Independent: History is made as town elects first black mayor
003270 2007-06-26 19:42 17 Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe on BBC Radio 4's Front Row WEDS
003266 2007-06-25 09:05 17 http://www.100blackscreenicons.com
003257 2007-06-23 17:43 17 http://www.comptonhistory.com/
003248 2007-06-21 21:37 71 The Mirror: THE DARK SIDE OF THE REGGAE SUPERSTAR: My husband Bob Marley raped me March 31, 2004, Matt Roper
003247 2007-06-21 21:19 89 graphics of Jamaica's glorious cultural past
003238 2007-06-18 21:45 52 detained and denied entry to UK
003235 2007-06-17 21:36 44 Connie Mark: Community activist and Caribbean champion
003226 2007-06-13 06:11 56 Chinua Achebe
003222 2007-06-11 21:07 46 Ousmane Sembene
003176 2007-05-27 07:18 51 Double standards
003161 2007-05-15 19:20 142 Fwd: ACCESS TO SLAVERY RECORDS - PETITION
003120 2007-04-26 14:40 157 Fwd: Slaves to the Past - debate in London
003096 2007-04-15 07:53 71 Black on Black Violence?
003078 2007-04-08 11:40 23 Abolition 200 Memorial Service: Westminster
003043 2007-04-05 10:35 79 December 1946 black Jamaican serviceman shot in London
003039 2007-04-05 00:30 22 Early Black Presence in Europe
003027 2007-04-01 21:45 20 Re: Olaudah Equiano/ Gustavus Vassa & Joanne Vassa
003015 2007-03-28 01:14 1594 anti slavery medallion
003012 2007-03-27 22:08 2514 emancipation image
003001 2007-03-20 18:36 24793 Fwd: Silent River
002918 2007-02-23 07:58 140 ’In defence of multiculturalism’ by Jenny B ourne, 2007
002894 2007-02-13 17:57 44 IMAGES OF BLACK WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL - FRI 2 - SUN 4 MAR
002803 2007-01-25 07:56 100 Morality and the Media
002722 2006-12-18 20:09 85 Fwd: RACE ATTACK VICTIM SENTENCED TO 2 _ YEARS
002688 2006-12-12 11:38 76 Birmingham's 'The Drum' to Hold Cultural Quiz Nights
002678 2006-12-10 13:57 60 Black American 'Watch Night Services'
002589 2006-10-27 18:33 29 Re: Fifth Pan-African Congress
002545 2006-10-04 19:36 16 BBC film 'Shoot the Messenger'
002544 2006-10-04 19:33 129 Black Oxford graduates
002508 2006-09-16 22:06 196 early Black Scholars
002375 2006-06-12 20:33 29 Fwd: CARIBBEAN HERITAGE MONTH
002093 2006-02-12 19:34 20 Who's who of Black Achievers
002086 2006-02-02 21:00 68 Charity Week - Slave Auction
002085 2006-02-01 06:38 60 Kenya enraged by 'dog food' aid
002059 2006-01-17 21:54 2036 Re: Peter Lobengula
002027 2005-12-20 23:40 47 Black History Calendar Database of entries
002026 2005-12-19 20:54 11 Fwd: Jamaican Nostalgia
001596 2005-04-28 21:14 96 Re: Goa Maritime Museum.
001569 2005-04-18 06:32 40 Re: Blacks in Ireland
001437 2005-01-28 20:05 26 Black & Asian Doctors & nurses
001404 2004-12-17 15:52 45 Black Britons - A History
001403 2004-12-13 19:54 17 Re: Opportunities in Birmingham
001381 2004-12-02 16:20 11 Sam Selwyn
001377 2004-12-01 14:51 16 American film - Conrad
001344 2004-10-31 21:41 12 Black American Doctors
001280 2004-09-30 09:21 15 Re: What Does 'Creole' Mean?
001261 2004-09-20 20:07 27 Black History Month: Leamington Spa
001238 2004-09-03 13:46 28 Rightism
001101 2004-04-27 19:54 39 Re: Books for review
001089 2004-04-17 13:57 18 first black man to graduate from Oxford University
001086 2004-04-13 17:36 16 Colonial Architecture & Infrastructure
001068 2004-03-23 18:15 14 Information services for British born African-Caribbean users
000789 2003-09-15 13:13 33 FW: PT evening courses in Black History/Caribbean Studies

Oscar James & The Keskidee Centre, Islington 1970s

In May 2009 Alan Dein made a 30 min programme for BBC Radio 4 on the Keskidee Centre, Islington, established by Oscar James & Rufus Collins (b. Harlem) in the 1970s. The name Keskidee derives from the name of a Caribbean bird.

The programme was repeated on Thurs 7th April 2011 and is available on BBC iplayer

Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams: 1948

In April 2011 BBC World Service’s Witness, a documentary programme, broadcast a 10 minute feature on the obstacles faced by Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams, re. their 1948 marriage. The programme included interview clips from Ruth and her elder sister Muriel. Dramatised readings of letters/cables to and from Khama and his father were also included.
Available on BBC iplayer.

Know your enemies: over 6,000 BNP members listed

Know your enemies: over 6,000 BNP members listed

See http://file.wikileaks.info/leak/bnp-membership-list.txt

Sheldon Thomas & Brixton Riots April 1981

Sheldon Thomas – a black youngster who played an active part in the Brixton Riots of April 1981. He features in the BBC Radio 4 documentary programme of 2011, Witness: The Brixton Riots.
Available on BBC iplayer

Courttia Newland: West Side Stories

Thank God for Channel 4OnDemand! Don't know how I missed this programme first time around.

In Nov 2002 a Channel 4 documentary ‘West Side Stories’ featured the life and work of Newland.

Worth watching!

Steve McQueen: The Art of War

In episode 6 (The Art of War) of the 2011 Channel 4 documentary series, ‘The Genius of Art’, black artist Steve McQueen's postage stamps work was shown & discussed.

Bernard Westcarr: A hundred years of us: Episode 3 BBC2

Bernard Westcarr of Jamaica, was featured in a 10 min clip on the BBC documentary programme, "A hundred years of us: Episode 3". He married fellow Jamaican, Millicent, and later became Gloucester’s first black magistrate.

See more about Westcarr at www.gloucesterfm.com/black-history/black-history-interviews-Bernard-Westcarr.html

Dr Gus Casely-Hayford & William Ansah

In episode 2 (Art for the People) of the 2011 Channel 4 documentary series, ‘The Art of War’, black Ghanian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford revealed that William Ansah was a blood relation. Other key family names included Bannerman.

Brixton 1981 uprising, 30th Anniversary Retrospective

Brixton 1981 uprising, 30th  Anniversary Retrospective,
The Renunion. BBC Radio 4. Sunday 20th March 11.15-12noon
featuring Darcus Howe, Alex Wheatle and policemen who had served in the area during 1981.

listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zl4dq/The_Reunion_Brixton_Riots/

Lance Dunkley, The British at Work: Prog 1

Lance Dunkley, a black immigrant who settled in Wolverhampton – featured in the BBC documentary presented by Kirsty Young, 

The British at Work: Prog 1 – We Can Make it 1954-1964, 

aired March 2011 at 40 mins. 

He talks of the class-hierarchy in the work place.

In Jan 2018, PERMIJIT DUNKLEY, replied to my 2011 blog, at https://anjijoy.blogspot.com/2011/03/lance-dunkley-british-at-work-prog-1.html claiming that Lance Dunkley was not just black, but also Asian. As far as I’m concerned, unless I see categorical proof that Lance Dunkley himself, referred to himself as anything other than black, that is the way I shall always refer to him.

         I know of too many examples, past and present, in which the black children from black-asian relationships, have been racially terrorised and or rejected by their Asian relations. In such cases, it is no wonder that many reject their Asian heritage, and only identify as black.

Refugee Boy - Benjamin Zephaniah BBC R4 Book Club

Good to hear Zephaniah interviewed on BBC R4 Book Club re. his novel Refugee Boy.
I loved 'Listen to Your Parents' which I heard as a play on R4. One of the most powerful things I've ever heard.

Glad to hear that Sissay and Zephaniah are such friends.
Would like to see Sissay's stage version of 'Refugee Boy'.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are?

Love the Spike Lee episode of Feb 2011.
The US Griswolde family had escape me before. Wonder if they have any coonections to the UK Greswoldes, who were on my radar. The gun factory in the south was also a revelation. Seems so obvious now. And there was I thinking of British imports, but I guess they'd only have gone to the Union army.

Moira Stewart, Colin Jackson, Hugh Quarshie, Ainsley Harriot are the only black subjects featured on Who Do You Think You Are?, that I can recall.

I wonder which other black subjects are being lined up for the programme?

Clybourne Park a satire by Bruce Norris

Clybourne Park a satire by Bruce Norris which explores the ever contentious themes of race and property ownership from two time periods – 1959 and 2009 and leaves the audience asking whether the issues festering beneath the floorboards are actually the same despite the 50 year time difference.
Clybourne Park opened at the Wyndham's Theatre on 8 February 2011.
cf. Loraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner? by David Olusoga

In 2011 a BBC TV documentary, Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner?, by David Olusoga, considered that while, to most Americans Abraham Lincoln is the nation's greatest president - a political genius who won the Civil War and ended slavery, there is a darker side to Lincoln. 150 years after the war his reputation is being re-assessed, as historians begin to uncover the dark side of his life and politics. They have revealed that the president who ended slavery secretly planned to deport the freed black people out of America. Others are asking if Lincoln should be remembered as a war hero who saved the nation or as a war criminal who launched attacks on innocent southern civilians.

Marcus Garvey - BBC R4 Great Lives

excellent programme feat. Kwame Kwei Akwah & Colin Grant. 

Included audio footage of Amy Bailey on Garvey and one audio clip of Garvey himself, 

from a 1921 speech. 

I'd no idea he'd sound so mild-mannered yet assertive. 

I guessed I'd expected the bombastic hectoring of Farrakhan.

Black History: in Bromsgrove

Pleasantly surprised to find that there a Black History Group in Bromsgrove!
No local history museum, or record office, exists in the attractive town (as of Jan 2011), but an excellent central library.

Maid in Britain: Representations of domestic servants on UK TV

Missed opportunity in this, otherwise, interesting documentary. No mention was made of represenations servants from non-English backgrounds. Not even Manuel in Fawlty Towers or the Jewish servant in the newly made Upstairs & Downstairs series (2010).