E-Migration:  Migrants in the Digital Age RSA on 25th October at 6.30 pm    Immigration used to involve packing an entire life into a suitcase and moving to a new country for good. Now, with modern communications and transport, it is far more fluid and dynamic. Modern migrants need not lose contact with their old homes; they can ...

When searching the Records for The evidence of Early Black settlers in Britain.  Evidence is to be found everywhere. It just needs searching out.  the Old Bailey Website is an excellent source of records for evidence of Black people, living in Britain before the 20th Century. Here are some examples. Black people in the Old Bailey William Bosham ...

Call for Papers Writing Slavery after Beloved Literature, Historiography, Criticism International Symposium Université de Nantes – France March 16-17, 2012 Can Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987) be considered as a watershed in the contemporary representations of slavery and the slave trade, not only in the literary field, but also in historiography and Cultural Studies? This Symposium will attempt to assess whether this major ...

1861: Anderson Ruffin Abbott (7 April 1837 – 29 December 1913) was the first Black Canadian to become a physician after being granted a medical licence from the medical board of Upper Canada in 1861. 1862: Washington, D.C.: Freedmen's Hospital is established & is the only Federally-funded health care facility for Negroes in the nation. 1864: ...

Recently An Afro-Caribbean teenager has won a ruling that St Gregory's Catholic Science College in Kenton, Harrow, north London was applying a cornrows ban in a way which amounted to "unjustified" indirect racial discrimination. The Schools decision to ban hairstyles it says have become associated with gang culture has resulted in the boy being excluded from school, in September ...

A strong argument for returning the focus of postcolonial studies to its roots as a tool for political activism among people of the third world. The Politics of Postcolonialism: Empire, Nation and Resistance Rumina Sethi   Released July 4th 2011   PB / £ 17.99 / 9780745323633 / 215mm x 135mm / 192 pp   Rumina Sethi challenges postcolonial critics to put their ...

The Guardians Education Correspondent, Jessica Shepherd wrote at the end of May: Call from leading black academics that an urgent culture change is needed at UK universities as figures reveal just 50 black British professors out of more than 14,000, and the number has barely changed in eight years, according to data from the Higher Education ...

I have received many emails recently calling for the Africa Centre to be saved from sale. I thought that perhaps this one carries the most weight.  I cannot comment on the sale objectively , living outside London as I do.  I do however know how important the centre has been to Africans and Black Londoners in General. ...

Attack the Block or Attack the Blacks? It’s number three in the UK box office, after Thor and Fast Furious. It features a majority Black British cast so how does this film portray black people and what impressions will the tens of thousands of mostly white viewers walk away with? The main characters in the movies are ...

The inspirational story and autobiographical details about Walter Tull, a black professional footballer in the early 1900s who went on to fight in the First World War. Walter was only the second black player in football league history when he played for Tottenham Hotspur in 1909 and, later, Northampton Town. During his time in the ...

We are proud to announce the return of the Forums. After a long absence the Black Forums are back. Tell a Friend, get signed up and have your say. Worldwide Black Forums

When I was asked to review "The Slave Trade" By James Walvin, It was with some trepidation because I had read many books on the Slave Trade during my time as a student and expected some weighty and wordy tome. That would have to be waded through and then deciphered before I could even begin to think of writing ...

The talented African violin prodigy George Polgreen Bridgetower was born in Biala, Poland on February 29, 1780. His father, John fredeerick Bridgetower, The "African Prince" was married to a German woman who is named in English documents as Mary Ann Bridgetown. They had two sons, who both became fine musicians. The younger brother, Fredrick, was a ...

  History classes in the National Curriculum will often gloss over slavery, idolize the efforts of William Wilberforce and study the methods of Martin Luther King’s struggle for civil rights. For many young Black people in Britain, one would argue that it is very easy for them to recall the names of US Civil Rights icons, better ...

   For those of you who have followed this site  from the beginning, will know that over the last couple of years I have been an active contributor. Recently though, I haven't been around as I needed some time to gather my thoughts following the recent death of my father.   This post isn't asking ...

by P Gregory: Owner Editor of the Black Presence Website. So Black History month 2010 is upon us, and as I sit here and take a breather after working hard to get the website to this state of readiness, I wonder how long it will be before the mud starts flying? Black History Month, is at best ...

Black British History went through something of a coming out party in the late 1990's and early naughties. Real interest arose in the contributions of Black people in Britain and The Internet brought forth a whole plethora of sites and snippets of information all with the aim of finally setting the history books straight. However, ...

"The Archaeology of Black Britain: Approaches, Methods and Possible Solutions" Case study: North African soldiers at Aballava (Burgh-by-Sands) Richard Paul Benjamin, Postgraduate Researcher University of Liverpool Alan M. Greaves, Lecturer University of Liverpool There is an on-going debate regarding the presence or otherwise of black people in Britain in antiquity. The basic problem with this kind of research has ...

John Conteh was born in Liverpool in 1951, to an Irish mother and Sierra Leonean father. He was raised in a rough neighbourhood, and his father encouraged him to box at the Kirkby Athletic Club when he was 10 to keep him from joining the local gangs. John excelled in boxing, ...

Tommy Martin was born in Reading in 1916. In 1917, the family moved to Deptford. At 14 he ran away from home and joined a fairground, working in a Boxing Booth. In the late 1920s / early 30s there was always a token black boxer in a troupe, which helped draw crowds along with the slogan ...

Lenny Henry is one of Britains best known Comedians. Over the last decade Lenny Henry has risen from being a cult star on children's television to being one of Britain's best known and loved personalities - who has had a crucial influence on the creation of black-centred comedy and characters. His character creations range from Brixton's favourite ...

Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, PC (born 13 March 1954), was a British Labour Party politician and life peer, she served as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, PC (born 13 March 1954), is a British Labour Party politician and life peer, served as Leader of ...

Here at Black Presence we are always glad to�receive�information about black History Month Events. �As Black History month approaches (October in the U.K) Councils and organisations are starting to send in their information. We will relay it to you as we get it. � Croydon Celebrates Black History by: remembering people, places and events ...

    The Late Bernie Grant was Britain's foremost black spokesman, a champion of social and racial justice, and a pioneer for diversity. Born in Guyana, and resident in Britain since 1963, Bernie Grant worked as a British Railways clerk,he was also National Union of Public Employees area officer, and as a partisan of the Black Trade Unionists ...

Occasionally here at blackpresence we get sent manuscripts advertising upcoming books. We always try to support quality work our online community, none more so than the upcoming book "Almost British" from Author Olivea M Ebanks. The Passion that this book is written with shines through. Olivea's determination, not just to take on the establishment and win, ...