Thousands of Years before Windrush: The Significance of Black Romans in Ancient Britain
By Hannah McCann. (REPRINT FROM VOLUME 13) As part of the English National Curriculum in primary school, students are taught about the impact of the Roman Empire in Britain. However, I highly doubt that many people reading this article were taught about the ‘Ivory Bangle Lady’ of York or the North African soldiers that were …
Trailblazing: The life of George Arthur Roberts
By Hannah McCann (REPRINT FROM VOLUME 14) George Arthur Roberts was an incredibly brave soldier, a pioneering civil rights activist and a fearless firefighter. His life was full of hardships – two world wars and rampant discrimination to name but a few – but he fought for justice for all and helped others throughout his …
Destination Freedom: Resilience and memory in Radio
By Bethan Davis Remembrance of America’s ‘Golden Age of Radio’ often leaves out African-American contributions. The 1920s gave way to some opportunities in broadcasting for black musicians and actors, but historian Erik Barnouw firmly argued they had a ‘dwindling role’ in radio. The recurrent and popular programs like ‘The Jack and Benny Show’ were incredibly …
The other side of Notting Hill: black London through the lens of Charlie Phillips
By Lauren Hare When you think of Notting Hill you may picture Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, hand in hand, strolling down Portobello Road in a sea of white faces. However, Notting Hill from the fifties was home to black Londoners whose presence seemed to have been forgotten during the filming of this ‘classic.’ The …
From the street corner to stardom: The incredible life of Josephine Baker
By Hannah McCann (REPRINT FROM VOLUME 16) If you were to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, to the Union Station in the early 1900s, you would see a young black girl playing in the railway yard and making her money by dancing on the street corner. This girl is Freda Josephine McDonald who was born …
Marsha P. Johnson: A Trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ Black Community
By Anya Goulthorpe “As long as my people don’t have their rights across America, there’s no reason for celebration”. This quote was eloquently spoken by LGBTQ+ activist and social trailblazer, Marsha P. Johnson. She would later be attributed to propelling the gay liberation movement, something which many modern historians fail to recognise due to the …
“Instead of getting life histories or love interests, black characters get magical powers”: How the Magical N*gro Trope Perpetuates Racist Stereotypes
By Kate Flood. In the early days of Hollywood, black characters were most often played by white actors in blackface, an evolution of the racist theatrical practice of minstrelsy. Much has changed since then, but although blackface is now widely criticised and seen as generally unacceptable, this unfortunately does not mean that modern film is …