David Olusoga (2017) Black and British: A Forgotten History.
“In this vital re-examination of a shared history, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga tells the rich and revealing story of the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa and the Caribbean”. A documentary series of 'Black and British: A Forgotten History' was also created for the BBC.
Miranda Kaufmann (2018) Black Tudors: The Untold Story.
"A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England. They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history".
Sam Selvon (2006) The Lonely Londoners.
“Both devastating and funny, The Lonely Londoners is an unforgettable account of immigrant experience - and one of the great twentieth-century London novels”. This edition includes an introduction by Professor of Modern Literature at the Open University, Susheila Nasta.
Lisa Palmer and Kehinde Andrews (Eds) (2016) Blackness in Britain.
This book “begins to map the field of Black Studies scholarship from a British context, by collating new and established voices from scholars writing about Blackness in Britain. Split into five parts, it examines: Black studies and the challenge of the Black British intellectual; Revolution, resistance and state violence; Blackness and belonging; Exclusion and inequality in education; Experiences of Black women and the gendering of Blackness in Britain”.
Andrea Levy (2010) The Long Song.
“The child of a field slave on the Amity sugar plantation in Jamaica, July lives with her mother until Mrs. Caroline Mortimer, a recently transplanted English widow, decides to move her into the great house and rename her "Marguerite." Together they live through the bloody Baptist War and the violent and chaotic end of slavery. An extraordinarily powerful story”. The BBC recently announced that they will be making a three-part adaptation of the book, at present dates haven’t been announced for when the series will air so keep an eye out for it later this year/early next year. If you want to read Andrea’s other books Every Light in the House Burnin', Never far From Nowhere, Fruit of the Lemon, and Small Island are all available from the Library.
Robert A. Hill Eds (2016) The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers.
“This is the first volume in a monumental ten-volume survey of thirty thousand archival documents and original manuscripts from widely separated sources, brought together by editor Robert A. Hill to provide a compelling picture of the evolution, spread, and influence of the UNIA. Letters, pamphlets, vital records, intelligence reports, newspaper articles, speeches, legal records, and diplomatic dispatches are enhanced by Hill's descriptive source notes, explanatory footnotes, and comprehensive introduction. And if you want more on Marcus Garvey, have a look at Robert A. Hill and Barbara Bair Eds (1987) Marcus Garvey: Life and Lessons: A Centennial Companion to the Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Movement Association Papers “A collection of autobiographical and philosophical works produced by Garvey in the period from his imprisonment in Atlanta to his death in London in 1940”.
Paul Warmington (2014) Black British Intellectuals and Education: Multiculturalism’s Hidden History.
Ask anyone moderately interested to name a Black intellectual and chances are the response will be American: Malcolm X, Audre Lourde or Cornel West. Yet Britain has its own Black intellectual traditions and its own master teachers, among them C.L.R. James, Claudia Jones, John La Rose and Una Marson. However, while in the USA Black public intellectuals are an embedded feature of national life, Black British thinkers remain marginalized. This book explores histories of race, education and social justice through the work of Black British educators, campaigners and academics, and the wider world of Black British politics, from the 18th century to the present.
Toni Morrison (2007) Beloved.
“Terrible, unspeakable things happened to Sethe at Sweet Home, the farm where she lived as a slave for so many years until she escaped to Ohio. Her new life is full of hope but 18 years later she is still not free. Sethe's new home is not only haunted by the memories of her past but also by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless”.
Olaudah Equiano (2001) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, the African.
"Olaudah Equiano's 1789 narrative tells the remarkable story of his childhood in Africa, his kidnapping and subsequent years as a slave and seaman, and his eventual road to freedom in the Caribbean and in England". One of the first widely read books about slave narratives, this book is credited as playing a large role in influencing public opinion against the salve trade in Britain. This edition includes explanatory notes, reviews and essays on the narrative, and a map showing Olaudah’s travel.
Peter Fryer (1984) Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain.
“In a comprehensive account, Peter Fryer reveals how Africans, Asians and their descendants, previously hidden from history, have profoundly influenced and shaped events in Britain over the course of the last two thousand years”.
Mary Seacole, Preface by William Howard Russell (1857) The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands.
"The daughter of a Scottish soldier and a Jamaican herbalist, Mary Seacole (1805–81) gained recognition for her provision of care to British troops during the Crimean War. She had travelled widely in the Caribbean and Panama before venturing to England to volunteer as an army nurse in the Crimea. Although rebuffed by officials, an undeterred Seacole funded her own expedition, establishing the British Hotel near Balaclava to provide a refuge for wounded officers. Known affectionately as 'Mother Seacole' among the men, yet returning to England bankrupt at the end of hostilities, she had her plight highlighted in the press. First published in 1857, and reissued here in its 1858 printing, her autobiography was intended to share her story and restore to her some financial security."
Mary Prince (1831) The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave.
"Mary Prince recalls that in the slave market in Bermuda, where she was put up for sale, the buyers' talk 'fell like cayenne pepper into the fresh wounds of our hearts'. During her life as a slave she was taken from Bermuda to Turks Island and Antigua, eventually arriving in London where, in 1828, she reported the cruelty of her master and mistress to the Anti-Slavery Society. The History of Mary Prince(1831) was the first life of a Black woman to be published in Britain. This extraordinary testament of ill-treatment and survival was a protest and a rallying-cry for emancipation that provoked two libel actions and ran into 3 editions in the year of its publication. This edition includes an introduction which discusses The History within the context of Black writing, explanatory notes, a chronology, and supplementary material on enslavement and the case of Mary Prince."
Luke G. Williams (2015) Richmond Unchained: The Biography of the World's First Black Sporting Superstar.
"Today Bill Richmond is largely unknown to the wider public, but he was one of the most significant sportsmen in history and one of the most prominent celebrities of Georgian times. Born into slavery in Staten Island, Richmond won his freedom as a young boy and carved a new life for himself in England as a cabinet maker and then a renowned prizefighter and trainer. His amazing life encompassed encounters and relationships with some of the most prominent men of the age, including Earl Percy, William Hazlitt, Lord Byron, the Prince Regent and Lord Camelford. His fame was such that he fulfilled an official role at the coronation celebrations of King George IV in 1821.The story of Bill Richmond is an incredible tale of personal advancement, as well as the story of a life informed and influenced by a series of turbulent historical events, including the American War of Independence, the fight for Black emancipation and Britain's long-running conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte".
Jeffrey Boakye (2019) Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored.
"Teacher and writer Jeffrey Boakye has encountered endless labels – all of which have informed his experience of being Black and British today. Here, he unpicks their meanings".
Errol John (1957) Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
"For the teeming populace of Old Mack's cacophonous yard in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, it's a cheek by jowl existence lived out on a sweltering public stage. Snatches of calypso compete with hymn tunes, drums and street cries as neighbours drink, brawl, pass judgment, make love, look out for each other and crave a better life. But Ephraim is no dreamer and nothing, not even the seductive Rosa, is going to stop him escaping his dead-end job for a fresh start in England. Set as returning troops from the Second World War fill the town with their raucous celebrations, Erroll John's 'Moon on a Rainbow Shawl' depicts a vibrant, cosmopolitan world that is as harsh as it is filled with colour and warmth".
Toni Cade Bambara (1970) The Black Woman: An Anthology.
"A collection of early, emerging works from some of today's most celebrated African American female writers. When it was first published in 1970, 'The Black Woman' introduced readers to an astonishing new wave of voices that demanded to be heard. In this groundbreaking volume of original essays, poems, and stories, a chorus of outspoken women -- many who would become leaders in their fields: bestselling novelist Alice Walker, poets Audre Lorde and Nikki Giovanni, writer Paule Marshall, activist Grace Lee Boggs, and musician Abbey Lincoln among them -- tackled issues surrounding race and sex, body image, the economy, politics, labor, and much more. Their words still resonate with truth, relevance, and insight today."
Lorraine Hansberry (2011) To be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words.
"This is the story of a young woman born in Chicago who came to New York, won fame with her play, 'A Raisin in the Sun', and went on to new heights of artistry before her tragic death. In turns angry, loving, bitter, laughing, and defiantly proud, the story, voice, and message are all Lorraine Hansberry's own, coming together in one of the major works of the Black experience in mid-century America".
The following books are well worth a read, but unfortunately aren’t available in our library:
Carole Boyce Davies (February 2008) Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones.
“In Left of Karl Marx, Carole Boyce Davies assesses the activism, writing, and legacy of Claudia Jones (1915–1964), a pioneering Afro-Caribbean radical intellectual, dedicated communist, and feminist. Jones is buried in London’s Highgate Cemetery, to the left of Karl Marx—a location that Boyce Davies finds fitting given how Jones expanded Marxism-Leninism to incorporate gender and race in her political critique and activism”. If you’d like to read more about Claudia Jones there are two books about her available in the library – Claudia Jones: Beyond Containment: Autobiographical Reflections, Essays, And Poems, and I Think Of My Mother: Notes On The Life And Times Of Claudia Jones.
Howard Gayle (2019) 61 Minutes in Munich.
The story of Liverpool's first Black football player, Howard Gayle, will be available from October 2019.
Bernardine Evaristo (2019) Girl, Woman, Other.
"Joint winner of the Booker Prize 2019, 'Girl, Woman, Other' is teeming with life and crackling with energy. Told through many distinctive voices, this novel follows the lives of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, Black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years. Joyfully polyphonic and sparklingly contemporary, Girl, Woman, Other is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible".
