Our week at Historycal Roots started with a meeting in Birmingham with Garry Stewart (Recognize Black Heritage and Culture) and finished with an event celebrating the life of Cy Grant. In between we took in a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
One member of the Historycal Roots team has to confess to not being a big fan of the V&A but the free talk exploring black representation in the European galleries covering the period from 1600 to 1815 was far more interesting than its rather dry title implied. The interest was generated in no small part by the guide, Sheba Montserrat. Sheba brought a real passion to the subject.
The V&A were clearly overwhelmed by the numbers who turned up for the tour and had to split the visitors into several groups and conjure up additional guides. Sheba did seem to be the pick of the bunch though. She introduced us to this rather unhappy looking chap!
The Cy Grant event was hosted by the London Metropolitan Archives in Clerkenwell, London. It was the final event in a series celebrating his life and work. And what a life it was! He served in the RAF in WW2, qualified as a barrister, became one of the first black faces on British television, acted on stage with many of the great actors of his time, appeared in films and was a political activist (playing an integral part in setting up the Drum Centre in North London. It was particularly pleasing to meet Cy’s widow and his children and to see his old friend Alex Pascall speaking and performing.