roots1937

Bajan soldiers in World War One

Bill Hern’s review of Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) graves from the First World War on Barbados is now complete – there are articles on the Historycal Roots site covering the twelve soldiers who are commemorated on the island by a CWGC headstone. The articles are arranged in alphabetical order from Archer to Yard.

The first to enlist was Martin Luther Taitt (September 1915), the last was Fitz Grandison (in May 1917). Taitt also has the distinction of having served the longest – he died in a military hospital in Trinidad on 31st August 1919 having served almost exactly four years.

Bill has no further excuse to visit Barbados which makes his decision to go again early in 2018 all the more strange, perhaps it isn’t just the opportunity to do research on behalf of Historycal Roots that attracts him?!

Congratulations to Bill on completing his project and do please contact us if you are a descendent of any of these brave men..

Call Mr Robeson

Just how well known is the name Paul Robeson these days? That was a question Tayo Aluko asked during the Q&A session that followed his one man show ‘Call Mr Robeson’ in South Norwood’s Stanley Halls recently. And is he better remembered in the UK than in his native USA?

If the knowledgeable audience that filled the Stanley Halls was anything to go by the name of Paul Robeson is far from forgotten but Tayo commented that when he spoke to people in America about the singer, actor and political activist he often got blank looks. This is a state of affairs that Tayo is determined to change.

Born in New Jersey in 1898, Robeson was the son of a man who had been born as an enslaved person. Robeson became only the third Black student to attend the prestigious Rutgers College. He fought racism and injustice throughout his life, making himself exceptionally unpopular with the American authorities by closely associating himself with communism.

Perhaps best known for singing ‘Ole Man River’ in the film ‘Showboat’ he enjoyed a successful film career (a personal favourite is ‘Proud Valley’ filmed on location in a South Wales mining community) and as a singer. He also performed on stage, for instance taking the title role in a London production of ‘Othello’.

Tayo Aluko’s one man play is a powerful evocation of Robeson’s life. The stage is littered with Robeson memorabilia, all from Tayo’s personal collection. Occasionally during the play he picked up a letter or theatre bill and used it as a prop to support the narrative. His singing voice was powerful but, probably inevitably, could not quite match Robeson’s own deeply resonant tone.

There is a DVD of the show, it was available on the night but I’m not sure where else it can be obtained. So here is a short extract from the show:

An Evening With Maria Downer

The Guyana High Commission recently hosted ‘An Evening with Maria Downer’. Maria, her husband, Patrick and the Historycal Roots team did a presentation to a packed house:

Maria is co-author of ‘The Walker Brothers and Their Legacy’ which tells the story of her father’s service in World War One. Her two uncles also served, making this the only example that has yet come to light of three Black brothers serving in that war. There must have been other examples and we would love to hear about them.

The brothers, who were born in Barbados but moved to British Guiana when their father died, enlisted with the British West Indies Regiment. Maria’s father, Milton, was one of the first to join the newly established regiment, his service number was 272 and he enlisted in October 1915. His brothers, Leonard (service number 6519) and Clarence (number 9221), enlisted later but all three served in the campaign in Egypt and Palestine during 1917 and 1918. There is no way of knowing but it is lovely to think that they re-united at some stage and truly became ‘brothers in arms’.

Maria concluded the evening by urging everyone present to think about their own family history because what the story of the Walker brothers has shown is that there is a lot of fascinating Black history hidden away in the minds (and attics) of the current generation, history that needs to be recorded before it is lost forever.

After the presentation the authors signed copies of the book before everyone tucked into the food and drink provided by Maria with the help of her friends.

We would like to thank the High Commissioner, His Excellency, Hamley Case, for making the High Commission available for this event.

Windrush 70: the next stage (live calypso!)

Two members of the Historycal Roots team attended the next in the planned series of Windrush 70 events recently. Hosted at the welcoming MAA MAAT Cultural Centre in Tottenham High Road, the event was led by Arthur Torrington, ‘Mr Windrush’ himself.

There were informative talks about Haiti (Cecil Guzmore) and Reparations (Esther Stanford-Xosei). Both speakers were deeply knowledgeable about their subjects and their talks were thought provoking but would it be frivolous of me to confess that the contributions from the several calypsonians present (including Alexander ‘D’ Great and DeAlberto) were the highlight of the day?

I mentioned to Alexander during a break that I hadn’t been able to fully enjoy his contribution in Windrush Square on Remembrance Sunday because one of the WW2 veterans had asked me to use his i-pad to take photos, I’d never used an i-pad before so this was rather nerve wracking as there was only one chance to get the shots he wanted. When Alexander was asked to fill in a brief gap in proceedings while the IT was set up for the next session he reprised his calypso from the previous weekend and graciously agreed that I could film and share it. What a trouper he is, keeping his focus while people scrabbled around with the IT behind him!

This song was used for the closing credits of a BBC programme ‘Fighting for King and Country’. If you share a love of calypso and would like to know more about Alexander’s work you can find him here: http://www.alexanderdgreat.net/Home.html

‘Remembered – In Memoriam’

Following the commemoration event in Windrush Square on Remembrance Sunday ‘Remembered: In Memoriam’ was officially launched in Brixton library:

This is a handsome hardcover volume, described as ‘an anthology of African and Caribbean experience in WW1 & WW2’.

A number of the writers who contributed were present including Nairobi Thompson who hosted the event and did her best to keep co-editor Jak Beula’s excited enthusiasm in check (a difficult job, adroitly done).

Mind you, his enthusiasm was understandable, this is an important publication which, as he proudly pointed out, includes a message of support from Her Majesty The Queen.

In addition to Nairobi, other writers on stage included Professor Gus John, Marika Sherwood, Esther Stanford-Xosei, Dr Onyeka Nubia and Patrick Vernon. Other authors and special guests were in the audience and it was a real pleasure to meet Walter Tull’s great nephew who had traveled down from Scotland specially for the event. If I understood correctly Nairobi is herself a great, great niece of Walter so this was something of a Tull family gathering. Walter’s great nephew is definitely ‘White’ and Nairobi is equally definitely Black, seeing them together was a great visual metaphor for the joys of living in multi cultural Britain. I was also able to shake the hand of Phil Vasili author of several books about pioneering Black footballers that grace the shelves of Historycal Roots.

The book was on sale at the event but if you want a copy now I think you will probably have to contact the Nubian Jak Community Trust: http://nubianjak.org/ It’s well worth the effort.

Blue Plaque for Cy Grant

Congratulations to the tireless Nubian Jak for arranging another Blue Plaque to commemorate the contribution Black men and women have made to British society, well over thirty plaques have now been erected.

The latest was unveiled by the mayor of Haringey, Stephen Mann, fittingly enough, on Remembrance Day, 11th November 2017. The local MP, Catherine West was also present. The plaque was unveiled in Jackson’s Lane at the home of Cy Grant.

Cy died in 2010 after having lived a (very!) full and varied life. Born in what was then British Guiana in 1919 he served in the RAF as a navigator during World War 2. On only his third mission his plane was shot down. He was able to bale out but was taken prisoner by the Germans and spent two years as a prisoner of war.

After the war he studied law and qualified as a barrister but racial prejudice prevented him from finding work. He embarked on an acting career and found success in films (including a role alongside Richard Burton in ‘The Sea Wife’ [1957]) and on stage.

He also embarked on a singing career and it was as a calypso singer on the long running ‘Tonight’ programme, singing about a topical news item, that he came to the notice of both the boy who would grow up to become the Mayor of Haringey and also the author of this blog. He was one of the very few Black faces on TV at that time. Fans of ‘Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons’ will also remember Cy as the voice of Lieutenant Green.

He was also an activist who was instrumental in setting up the Drum Arts Centre in North London and later as Director of the Concord Multicultural Festvals. Oh, and he found time to write too.

A blue plaque seems a very fitting commemoration of such a life, just reading about his many achievements makes me feel tired!

Remembrance Sunday in Windrush Square

The sun shone on Windrush Square on Sunday 12th November for the first Remembrance Sunday since the unveiling of the War Memorial there. Unfortunately there was a cold, biting wind as well but that didn’t put off the crowd that gathered to commemorate those who died in the two world and other wars. There were several speakers, including ex-servicemen who had served in the 2nd World War:

The ceremony had a uniquely ‘Brixton’ flavour with, in addition to the traditional laying of wreaths, speeches and playing of the ‘Last Post’, the ceremony managed to incorporate African drumming, the summoning of ancient spirits and a specially written calypso. Congratulations to calypsonian, Alexander D Great, on getting his fingers to work on such a cold day!

John Blanke Symposium

Two thirds of the Historycal Roots team attended:

John Blanke is one of the few Black Tudors we can put a name to and this event, held at the British Library in London, was a celebration of his life. A project, the John Blanke Symposium, led by Michael Ohajuru, had invited people to re-imagine his life from a range of different perspectives.

Although facts are scarce, an image of him survives:

The author and historian, Miranda Kaufman, was there to set out the historical context. Little is known of Blanke’s life, but, from papers held at the National Archives, we know that he was paid 8d per day by Henry VII, and a surviving document records a payment of 20 shillings to “John Blanke the blacke trumpet” as wages for the month of November 1507, with payments of the same amount continuing monthly through the next year. He also successfully petitioned Henry VIII for a wage increase.

There is also a record of him having married and so, as the poet John Agard pointed out later in the evening, there is probably John Blanke DNA still out there in the populace today! In addition to two poems from John, there were contributions from artists (Holly Graham, Adelaide Damoah, Charmaine Watkiss and Ebun Culwin) a sculptor (Fawokan), another poet (David Nieta) and a rapper (Valentine Ogbunba). We arrived a little late so apologies to anyone we missed.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and an intriguing approach to bringing a little known Black Tudor to life.

The event is being repeated (perhaps with a different group of presenters) on Friday 1st December at the College of Arms (130, Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BT) from 18.30 to 20.30, well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Through The Glass Darkly: David Olusoga at the National Portrait Gallery

The David Olusoga fan club (otherwise known as the Historycal Roots team) were out in force at the National Portrait Gallery in London recently for his talk ‘Through the Glass Darkly: Black History and Portraiture’. David can be relied on to give an interesting talk and this session, in spite of his admission that he is a historian rather than an art historian, was no exception.

Focusing on the Georgian period, he used a small number of paintings to illustrate his talk about the doubtful status of Black people in that period. He opened with two relatively well known portraits: one of Equiano (although David suggested it may actually be of a young Ignatius Sancho) and one that is definitely of Sancho. Black figures in other paintings of the period are invariably anonymous and peripheral, in the painting to signify the wealth and status of the painting’s main subject. The black figures are often ‘exotically’ (and inappropriately) costumed, shown holding exotic fruits and painted with a pearl earring to enhance the contrast with their Black skin.

Estimates of the number of Black people in the UK (mainly London) during this period vary widely from 3,000 up to 60,000 and the lack of hard evidence about their lives is clearly frustrating for historians. Much of the evidence that does exist comes from adverts placed concerning people who had run away from their masters. They were frequently accused of theft on two counts: they had ‘stolen’ their own body which was owned by their master; and they had stolen the slave collar worn to help identify them if they ran away. It wasn’t until the famous Somerset case of 1772 that the legal position was clarified to make it clear that, oversimplifying somewhat, a Black man could not be a slave on UK soil.

The question and answer session after the talk was also interesting. Clearly we can’t repeat it all here but, in connection with how Black history is taught in schools, David recalled a school visit he had made as a child to a cotton mill in Lancashire. The entire process of spinning raw cotton into yarn and the subsequent sale and distribution of cloth (a mainstay of the UK economy at the time) was explained in minute detail. but there was no reference to the system of slave labour by which the cotton was produced. David made the point that at some stage omitting to tell a key part of the story is equivalent to a lie. Seen in this light the omission of Black people from history begins to look less like an accident and more like a deliberate strategy.

Afterwards there was a book signing. Although we already have signed copies of his books this didn’t stop us having a chat!

What’s Happening in Black British History?

This was the intriguing title for a workshop facilitated by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Certainly the title was intriguing enough to entice all three members of the Historycal Roots team to the University of London recently.

The advertised presence of David Olusoga as the keynote speaker was undoubtedly part of the attraction. If there is such a thing as a ‘celebrity historian’ (and we think there is) then David is almost certainly one of them. Unfortunately, thanks to the vagaries of the British transport system, he was unable to make it – a big disappointment.

To their credit, the organisers improvised a session with several of the authors who were present on the issues involved in getting a history book published. Whilst not fully compensating for David Olusoga’s absence it was nevertheless a worthwhile session.

Jyota Mheta from the BBC gave some interesting behind the scenes background to the making of ‘Black and British: Forgotten History’. He described it as ‘a landmark series’ and it’s difficult to disagree. All four episodes are still available on YouTube and they definitely repay repeated viewing. Episode 1 is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQYsewXjNlU

Another attraction of the day was the session on ‘What do young people see happening in Black British History?’ with students from the BRIT school in Croydon. The BRIT school is best known for alumni such as Adele and not somewhere you might normally associate with the study of history so it was interesting to hear the students’ enthusiastic discussion of a range of historical topics – very refreshing.

The youngsters were followed by three authors talking about their work. The most accessible was probably Miranda Kaufman who spoke about her book ‘Black Tudors – The Untold Story’. According to the blurb this ‘reveals the absorbing stories of some of the Africans who lived free in Tudor England’, Miranda did a good job of living up to the hype.

An interesting Christmas present for someone perhaps?

The ticket price included a drinks reception in the University’s Senate House which was an undeniably pleasant way to round off an interesting day.