Black History Resources

Kingston-on-Thames:

Kingston, as home to the influential Black gentleman Cesar Picton, has a significant place in British Black history. See links below for further resources relating to Black history in Kingston and beyond.

Find out more about Cesar Picton and how to start tracing Black history at Surrey History Centre. There’s more on Surrey’s Black history on Exploring Surrey’s Past theme pages.

Woodbridge, Steven, ‘How Black History Month has inspired research into the stories and achievements of Black figures from Kingston and Surrey’s past’, 5th October, 2020, at: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/2388/05-oct-2020

Jenkinson, Orlando, ‘Celebrating black history’, Surrey Comet, 8th October, 2020, p.3.

British Black History in Wartime:

Bridge, Mark, ‘First black officer rewrites history’, The Times, 27th October, 2020, p.13 (on Lieutenant Euan Lucie-Smith).

Bridge, Mark, ‘Mystery of fallen footballer’s grave solved’, The Times, 7th November, 2020, p.30 (on Walter Tull).

Bourne, Stephen, Mother Country: Britain’s Black Community on the Home Front (The History Press, 2010).

Bourne, Stephen, The Motherland Calls: Britain’s Black Servicemen and Women, 1939-45 (The History Press, 2012).

Bourne, Stephen, Black Poppies: Britain’s Black Community and the Great War (The History Press, 2014; 2019).

Bourne, Stephen, Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime, 1939-45 (The History Press, 2020).

Olusoga, David, The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of the Empire (Apollo Books, 2019).

Olusoga, David, ‘Failure to honour black and Asian dead is a scandal of the present, not just the past’, The Observer, 25th April, 2021, p.43.

Renfrew, Barry, Britain’s Black Regiments: Fighting for Empire and Equality (Cheltenham: The History Press, 2020).

Syal, Rajeev, ‘Neglect of Commonwealth victims of war fuelled by racism, says report’, The Guardian, Thurs., 22nd April, 2021, p.1 and pp.10-11.

Webster, Wendy, Mixing It: Diversity in World War Two (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).

British Black History General:

Abraham, Keshia N. & Woolf, John, Black Victorians: Hidden in History (Duckworth, 2022).

Adi, Hakim (ed.), Black British History: New Perspectives (London: Zed Books, 2019).

Adi, Hakim, African and Caribbean People in Britain (Allen Lane, 2022).

Akala (Kingslee Daley), Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire (Two Roads, 2018).

Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin, ‘Windrush Day celebrates a mammoth contribution’, i newspaper, Tuesday, 22nd June, 2021, p.19.

Dabydeen, David et al (eds.), The Oxford Companion to Black British History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).

Ghadiali, Ashish, ‘David Olusoga: Black people were told they had no history’, The Observer Review, 26th September, 2021, p.45.

Green, Jeffrey, Black Edwardians: Black People in Britain, 1901-1914 (London: Frank Cass, 1998).

Jenkinson, Jacqueline, Black 1919: Riots, Racism and Resistance in Imperial Britain (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009).

Mohdin, Aamna, ‘History doesn’t exist to make us feel special’ (Interview with David Olusoga), The Guardian, Monday, 7th June, 2021, G2 pp.6-7.

Mohdin, Aamna, ‘We’re not a post-racial society’ (interview with Samuel Kasumu, former race adviser to No.10), The Guardian, Wednesday, 16th June, 2021, G2, pp.6-7.

Nanton, Avril, ‘Black history is British history… if you know where to look’, i newspaper, Tues., 25th May, 2021, pp.36-37.

Olusoga, David, Black and British: A Forgotten History (Pan Books, 2017).

Panayi, Panikos (ed.), Racial Violence in Britain, 1840-1950 (Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1993).

Sanghera, Sathnam, ‘Empire’s legacy is all around us – we should be teaching it’, The Sunday Times, 17th January, 2021, p.27.

Sanghera, Sathnam, Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain (Viking books, 2021).

Scanlan, Padraic X., Slave Empire: How Slavery Built Modern Britain (Robinson books, 2020).

Sherwood, Harriet, ‘From Tudors to BLM, a tour across centuries of black London’s past’, The Observer, 20th June, 2021, pp.16-17.

The Old Bailey Online has a resource guide for Black history available here.

The National Archives has a series of research guides relevant to Black history, including African forces under British control, slaves and slave owners, the British transatlantic slave trade and American and West Indian colonies before 1782. The National Archives also created an online exhibition called Black Presence: Asian and Black History in Britain, 1500-1850 with the Black and Asian Studies Association.

British Empire and Black History:

Daley, Kingslee (‘Akala’), Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire (Two Roads, 2018).

Sanghera, Sathnam, ‘Empire’s legacy is all around us – we should be teaching it’, Sunday Times, Sunday, 17th january, 2021, p.27.

Sanghera, Sathnam, Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain (Penguin, 2021).

Woolcock, Nicola, ‘College handing back Benin bronze’, The Times, 16th October, 2021, p.13.

London and Black History:

London Metropolitan Archives is home to the Black and Asian Londoners Project and also holds the rukus! collection, a Black LGBT archive.

The Institute of Historical Research has a guide on Black and Asian people discovered in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library.

The Black Cultural Archives in Brixton is an exhibition space and Heritage Centre as well as home to a collection of Black history resources.

Burgess, Kaya, ‘Slavery notice to be placed with statue of Guy’s founder’, The Times, Monday, 14th November, 2022, p.14.

Hammond Perry, Kennetta, London is the Place for Me: Black Britons, Citizenship, and the Politics of Race (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015).

Holbrook Gerzina, Gretchen, Black London: Life Before Emancipation (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1995).

Kanengoni, Jonathan, ‘History month “shows black community’s huge input to story of London” ‘,  Evening Standard, Friday, 30th September, 2022, p.14.

Kennedy, Maev and Manzi, Elizabeth, ‘After 30 years, black archive gets a permanent home’, The Guardian, Friday, 9th May, 2008, p.17 (on the Black Cultural Archives collection).

Matera, Marc, Black London: The Imperial Metropolis and Decolonization in the Twentieth Century (Oakland: University of California Press, 1993).

Okokon, Susan, Black Londoners, 1880-1890 (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998).

Panayi, Panikos, Migrant City: A New History of London (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2020).

Sherwood, Harriet, ‘From Tudors to BLM, a tour across centuries of black London’s past’, The Observer, 20th June, 2021, pp.16-17.

Other Useful Sources:

Brycchan Carey, former Professor of English Literature at Kingston University, specialises in the cultural history of slavery and abolition in the British Empire. See his website for further information and resources.

Miranda Kaufmann presented a talk on ‘Africans in Georgian London’ at Kingston University as part of Explore Your Archives Week 2014. You can see a recording of her talk here. Miranda’s blog discusses Black British History and includes links to further websites of interest.

Also at the ‘Africans in Georgian London’ event, Anna Brass and Lilly Mehbod presented their films, Cesar Picton Part One and Cesar Picton Part Two. You can view both parts of the film on Vimeo below.

Britain and Slavery:

Anthony, Andrew, ‘Family fortunes built on unspeakable brutality’, book review of Alex Renton’s Blood Legacy: Reckoning With a Family’s Story of Slavery, The Observer, review section, 23rd May, 2021, p.41.

Beal, James, ‘Lammy seeks slave rebellion pardons’, The Times, Monday, 14th February, 2022, p.11.

Bridge, Mark, ‘Slavery ‘dictionary’ to name investors’, The Times, Monday, 28th December, 2020, p.21.

Bridge, Mark, ‘City to honour slaves with plaques on buildings’, The Times, Wed., 26th May, 2021, p.15.

Bridge, Mark, ‘Fall of Rhodes statue blocked by ‘retain and explain’ policy’, The Times, Friday, 21st May, 2021, p.11.

Burgess, Kaya, ‘Slavery notice to be placed with statue of Guy’s founder’, The Times, Monday, 14th November, 2022, p.14.

Charters, Cameron, ‘Slave trade link ‘a problem’ for Elson vilage’, The Times, Monday, 11th October, 2021, p.17.

Conn, David and Hall, Rachel, ‘King Charles’s family link to slavery revealed’, The Guardian, Friday, 28th April, 2023, p.1 and p.17.

Ellery, Ben, ‘More statues linked to slavery may fall’, The Times, Monday, 7th June, 2021, p.17.

Ferguson, Donna, ‘Hidden history of why the British abolished slavery back on shelves’, The Observer, Sunday, 23rd January, 2022, p.31.

Gayle, Damien, ‘Colston’s firm enslaved more Africans than any other, Olusoga tells court’, The Guardian, Friday, 17th December, 2021, p.21.

Humphries, Will, ‘How Colston left curators angling for a compromise’, The Times, Friday, 4th June, 2021, p.1. Also: ‘Colston brought low for city’s verdict’, p.3.

Humphries, Will, ‘TV historian testifies in Colston trial’, The Times, Friday, 17th December, 2021, p.17.

Johnston, Neil, ‘Revealed: The villages built with slave trade money’, The Times, Monday, 8th February, 2021, p.19.

Khomami, Nadia, ‘National Gallery traces links to slavery that put art on its walls’, The Guardian, Tuesday, 9th November, 2021, p.19.

Khomami, Nadia, ‘Museums must address slavery legacy, says curator’, The Guardian, Monday, 29th November, 2021, p.28.

Mohdin, Aamna, ‘Guardian owner apologises for founders’ links to slavery, The Guardian, Wednesday, 29th March, 2023, pp.1-6.

Mohdon, Aamna, ‘What the researchers found and how we plan to respond’, The Guardian, Wednesday, 29th March, 2023, p.7.

Morris, Steven, ‘Edward Colston statue to go on display in Bristol museum’, The Guardian, Saturday, 29th May, 2021, p.22.

Renton, Alex, Blood Legacy: Reckoning With a Family’s Story of Slavery (Canongate, 2021).

Sanderson, Davis, ‘National Gallery reveals slavery links’, The Times, 9th November, 2021, p.7.

Scanlan, Padraic X., Slave Empire: How Slavery Built Modern Britain (Robinson books, 2020).

Simpson, Craig, ‘Gainsborough added to gallery’s slave list’, Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, 9th November, 2021, p.7.

Viner, Katherine, ‘The Guardian, slavery and a history we must confront’, The Guardian, Wednesday, 29th March, 2023, in ‘journal’ section, pp.1-2.

Younge, Gary, ‘Tear them all down’, The Guardian, Tuesday, 1st June, 2021, The Guardian, The Long Read, pp.5-8.

Black Lives Matter:

Elliot, Francis, ‘BLM is branded a political movement’, The Times, Monday, 7th December, 2020.

Glancy, Josh, ‘One Year On: What Exactly Does Black Lives Matter Want?’, Sunday Times, New Review, 23rd May, 2021, p.25.

Jones, Ellen E., ‘I do it because we deserve to live’ (profile of and interview with Opal Tometi, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter in 2013), The Guardian G2, Thursday, 24th September, 2020, pp.6-7.

Khan-Cullors, Patrisse and Bandel, Asha, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2018).

Lebron, Christopher J., The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017).

Mohdin, Aamna, ‘Protest Rescuer: Change is coming. It will happen’ (interview with Patrick Hutchinson), The Guardian, Monday, 14th June, 2021, p.19.

Sanderson, David, ‘BLM means we can’t be silent, insists arts boss’, The Times, Wednesday, 4th November, 2020, p.23.