Black History Month: Recommended Reads

Black & British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

I'm always in awe of writers who tackle global, sweeping histories. It takes true mastery of the source material to bring so many voices to life in a singular volume. David Olusoga is no exception!

I started 'Black and British: A Forgotten History' towards the tail-end of Black History Month. And it is an exceptional book. From Roman settlements through to the Brixton riots of the 1980s, Olusoga explores the role of Black people in British history and Britain's interactions with Africa; by definition, a global, transnational and triangular past.

Often we are so taken with the symbolic power of the Windrush, that we can forget the many Black Britons that have come before; whether it's the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' of Roman York (Eboracum), the Royal trumpeteer John Blanke of the Tudor Court or the famed abolitionist, Olaudah Equiano, of Georgian London.

Endlessly surprising and fascinating, almost every other line of my now well-worn copy is furiously underlined and annotated. But even so, 'Black and British' takes care to emphasise that we are merely scratching the surface here; that there are so many more histories yet to be written.

In a powerful bonus chapter commenting on the Windrush Scandal and the recent BLM movement of 2020, Olusoga observes that our historical amnesia has "enabled the veneration of slave-traders and empire-builders" but renewed efforts to draw Black British history into the mainstream may serve to "reshape our relationship with our national history".

With 'Black and British', David Olusoga makes a powerful contribution to these ongoing efforts, to rightfully correct (or begin to correct) our collective amnesia and bring an often overlooked and sidelined past into the spotlight.

To use his words:

"black British history is not an optional extra [...] It is an integral and essential aspect of mainstream British History".

'Black England: A Forgotten Georgian History' by Gretchen Gerzina

This book was written to correct what Gretchen Gerzina describes as a “British historical amnesia” regarding the history of black people in Britain.

In the 1990s, Gerzina had an “unfortunate encounter” at a well-known London bookshop when she was 'informed' by the sales assistant that "Madam, there were no black people in England before 1945". In just 230 pages, Gerzina takes this tall tale to task using the Georgian years alone as a case study.

First published in 1995, ‘Black England: A Forgotten Georgian History’ has now been updated and re-released in a gorgeous new edition (can we have a moment for that cover!) after many years out of print. In her foreword to this new edition, Zadie Smith said of Gerzina's work: "Into my perfect ignorance poured all these remarkable facts" such as the existence of an 'all-black brothel' in London during the 1770s (potentially even more than one!) My reading experience was almost identical, a jarring reminder of what a missed opportunity the history school curriculum is.

In these pages, you will find a rich tapestry of stories brought to life. Some are well-known, but many may be obscure to you. Black England features a fascinating roster of characters, from Dr Samuel Johnson's manservant (and heir) Francis Barber to Mary Prince, the abolitionist whose memoir is the first account of a black slave woman in Britain. Of course, this book can be a really tough read, as many of these stories so often oscillate between great triumphs and immense hardship. Both heart-warming and heart-breaking all at once.

Gerzina spotlights many of these overshadowed lives in a series of engaging and nuanced portraits, underscoring the presence of a thriving Black British community that has existed in England for many centuries. Needless to say, it is an immensely important book.

But remember, Black History is year-round! So, even if you don't get to either of these reads this October, I encourage you to still give Olusoga and Gerzina a read, you won't regret it!