Malcolm X visits Smethwick, West Midlands
In February 1965, civil rights campaigner Malcolm X was in Britain to speak at the London School of Economics. Avtar Singh Jouhl, general secretary of the Indian Workers Association, invited him to …
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Issa Rae to teach Creating Outside the Lines Masterclass
MasterClass, the streaming platform that lets anyone learn from the world’s best in virtually any subject, announced today that Issa Rae will teach a class on creating outside the …
Remembering the 13 young people killed in the New Cross fire
On Sunday 18 January 1981 a fire broke out in a house in New Cross Road, Deptford, South East London, killing 13 young people and marking a massive change for black people in Britain.
Thirteen …
Celebrating international and national days: Why they matter
Whether traditional, international or national, special days play an essential role in our lives. Unlike traditional days like Mother’s Day, April Fools or Samhain, international days are …
Donald Trump’s legacy of white supremacy
Donald Trump is a racist. This isn’t a new revelation, but it has been reiterated and confirmed throughout his presidential campaign and subsequent time in office. From the very beginning, Trump …
The life of Francis Barber
Most people believe that black people came to Britain after the Second World War with the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948. But Black people have had a presence in Britain for as far back as …
How Haiti won its independence
On 5 December 1492, European navigator Christopher Columbus came upon an island in the Caribbean that he claimed for Spain and called La Isla Española (“The Spanish Island”, later Anglicised as …
Samuel Sharpe and the 1831 Christmas Rebellion
Samuel Sharpe instigates a rebellion
On 27 December 1831, the Christmas Rebellion began at the Kensington Estate in St James, Jamaica.
Samuel Sharpe was the main instigator of the 1831 Slave …
1919 race riots in Britain
Britain’s 1919 race riots started at the end of the First World War starting with an outbreak of violence in Glasgow in January, race riots happened around the United Kingdom until late in the …
UK race riots – The murder of Charles Wotten
Charles Wotten was a 24-year-old ship’s fireman from Bermuda who was murdered by an angry white mob during the Liverpool race riots of 1919.
What led to Charles Wotten’s …
Air pollutions was a factor in the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah
Ella Addo-Kissi-Debrah is the first person in the UK whose death certificate lists air pollution exposure as a cause of death. The inquest into her death comes after her mother, Rosamund …
Queen Nzinga of Angola
Queen Anna Nzinga was a 17th-century African ruler who ruled the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in Angola and fought against the slave trade and European influence in Angola.
Anna …