Black People in England in the 1700s
Black People in England in the 1700s: Life, Freedom and Resistance The history of Black people in England in the 1700s is far richer and more complex than is sometimes assumed. Black people were living, working and building relationships across England throughout the eighteenth century. They were servants and sailors, soldiers and musicians, writers and […]
Una Marson: A Trailblazing Voice for Women’s Rights
Introduction to Una Marson and Her Significance Una Maud Victoria Marson stands as one of the most influential figures in Caribbean literary work and political activism. Known for her poetry, journalism skills, and radio programmes, Una Marson shaped both Jamaican culture and wider discussions around social justice, race, and gender. Her voice […]
Bishop John Sentamu
Bishop John Sentamu: From Uganda to Archbishop of York Introduction to Bishop John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, widely known as Bishop John Sentamu, stands as one of the most influential figures within the Church of England in modern history. Born in Kampala, Uganda, his journey from a turbulent political landscape to becoming the 97th […]
African American Soldiers in World War I and Their Connection to Britain
World War I and African American Soldiers World War I marked a turning point in global history, and the role of African American soldiers within that conflict deserves sustained attention. African American soldiers served with courage and determination, even as they faced discrimination within their own ranks. Their contribution to World War I extended beyond […]
Meet the Maroons of Jamaica
Uncovering the Legacy of Nanny: Jamaica’s Fierce Maroon Leader The story of nanny of the marroons is one of the most powerful narratives in Jamaican resistance history and wider Jamaican history. Known as Nanny of the Maroons, she stands as both a historical figure and a Maroon legend, a leader whose influence shaped the course […]
Edward Colston: Slave Trader, Philanthropist, and the Statue That Divided Britain
Edward Colston made his fortune trading enslaved Africans and spent part of it building schools and almshouses in Bristol. For over a century his statue stood in the city centre. On 7 June 2020, it was pulled down, thrown into the harbour, and Britain was forced to confront a question it had long avoided: who […]
The Royal African Company: The Crown Corporation That Enslaved 100,000 People
The Royal African Company was chartered by Charles II in 1672, with the Duke of York as its governor. It held a monopoly on Britain’s slave trade for a quarter century, branding enslaved people with its initials — and its shareholders included the English royal family. When we speak of the transatlantic slave trade, we […]
Grassroots Power: Black Leaders in Local Government
From John Archer in 1913 to the council leaders of today, local government has been a vital arena for Black political power and community service in Britain. While Westminster often grabs the headlines, the history of Black political engagement in Britain is deeply rooted in local government. For over a century, local councils have served […]
The Growing Mosaic: Mixed-Race Identity in Modern Britain
Mixed-race people are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the UK. This essay explores the evolving terminology, census data, and lived experiences of dual-heritage Britons. Mixed-race or dual-heritage identity is a defining feature of 21st-century Britain. According to the 2021 Census, over 1.2 million people in England and Wales identified as ‘Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups,’ […]
Grime: How East London Changed the Sound of Britain
Grime emerged from the tower blocks of east London in the early 2000s, rawly and urgently local. Two decades later, it had transformed British music and culture — and given the world artists like Dizzee Rascal, Stormzy and Skepta. In the early 2000s, in the council estates of Bow, Hackney and Poplar in east London, […]
The Notting Hill Carnival: From Community Defiance to Global Celebration
What began as a community response to racist violence in 1959 has grown into Europe’s largest street festival. The Carnival’s history is inseparable from the history of Black Britain. Every August Bank Holiday weekend, Notting Hill is transformed. Steel bands, mas camps, sound systems, dancers in extravagant costumes, hundreds of food stalls and two million […]
Sound System Culture: The Heartbeat of Black Britain
Sound systems — powerful mobile hi-fi rigs playing reggae and dancehall — were far more than a way of playing music. They were schools, community centres, political forums and sonic laboratories that incubated generations of British music. A sound system is, at its most basic, a collection of amplifiers, equalizers and speakers assembled for the […]
Stuart Hall: The Intellectual Who Explained Britain to Itself
Born in Jamaica in 1932, Stuart Hall became Britain’s most important cultural theorist, helping to found cultural studies and transforming how we think about race, identity and representation. Stuart Hall arrived in Britain from Jamaica in 1951 on a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. He was twenty-one years old. He stayed for the rest of […]
Stephen Lawrence: The Case That Changed British Society
The racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, and his family’s twenty-year fight for justice, exposed institutional racism in the police and changed British law, policing and public discourse on race. Stephen Lawrence was eighteen years old when he was killed. On the evening of 22 April 1993, he was waiting for a bus with […]
The New Cross Fire and the Black People’s Day of Action
Thirteen young Black people died in a fire in New Cross, south-east London, in January 1981. The community’s response — and the government’s indifference — shaped a generation of Black British activism. On the night of 18 January 1981, a fire broke out at a house party at 439 New Cross Road in south-east London. […]
The Notting Hill Race Riots of 1958: When Britain Was Forced to Look in the Mirror
For three weeks in August and September 1958, white mobs attacked West Indian homes and businesses in Notting Hill. The riots exposed the racism that had festered beneath Britain’s post-war social contract. The Notting Hill race riots of 1958 did not come from nowhere. They were the eruption of tensions that had been building since […]
The Windrush Scandal: A Betrayal Decades in the Making
The Windrush Scandal exposed how the British state systematically targeted people who had lived legally in Britain for decades, stripping them of their rights and in some cases deporting them to countries they had left as children. The Windrush Scandal did not begin in 2018. It began with decades of policy decisions that gradually stripped […]
Arrival Stories: Life Aboard the HMT Empire Windrush
What was it like to sail from Jamaica to a new life in Britain? The accounts of those who made the journey aboard the Empire Windrush in June 1948 reveal excitement, apprehension, and a profound sense of possibility. The HMT Empire Windrush had begun its life as a German passenger and cruise ship called the […]
The Haitian Revolution: A Global Turning Point
The only successful slave revolt in history, the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) shattered the myths of white supremacy and fundamentally altered the course of world history. The Haitian Revolution was not just a local conflict on a Caribbean island; it was a world-historical event that fundamentally challenged the foundations of the modern world. Between 1791 and […]
Marcus Garvey: The Prophet of Pan-Africanism
From his early years in London to his global leadership of the UNIA, Marcus Garvey’s vision of Black self-reliance and unity transformed the 20th-century diaspora. Marcus Garvey (1887–1940) was perhaps the most influential Black leader of the early 20th century. His message of ‘Africa for the Africans’ and his call for Black economic and political […]