Early Jamaican Maroons
Jamaican Maroons were escaped African slaves who had run away from Spanish owned plantations when the British took the Caribbean Island of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. They fled to the mountainous …
5 facts about the Black Lives Matter movement
What is Black Lives Matter? The Black Lives Matter movement started as a hashtag on social networks and officially began in the United States in 2013 after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of …
Bookshelf: Unveiling the magic of Witches Steeped in Gold: A Book Review
As an avid reader of Young Adult Fantasy novels, I was intrigued by the buzz surrounding Ciannon Smart’s debut novel, Witches Steeped in Gold. I was impressed by the book’s quality, and …
The Windrush scandal and the hostile environment
What is the Windrush scandal? The Windrush scandal mainly affected UK citizens originally from the Caribbean. It came to light in 2018 after it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth …
The top 5 benefits of mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness meditation has become one of the most popular forms of meditation in recent years. Many benefits come with practising mindfulness, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving mental …
How yoga can help you lose weight and tone your body and mind
There are many benefits to yoga. Yoga can help you lose weight, tone your body, and improve overall health. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at how yoga can help you lose weight and tone …
The Bakerloo Line extension to Lewisham placed on hold
It’s terrible news for the people of Lewisham as planned expansions of the Bakerloo line to extend from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham and potentially further have been halted …
The partition of India
The partition of India on 15 August 1947 resulted in the creation of India and Pakistan, two separate states divided along religious lines. This decision was made by the British government, which …
History of Ghana – From colonisation to independence
Where is Ghana? Ghana is a country in Western Africa. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, it is bordered by Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. Ghana was the first black African …
History of the Dominican Republic – From colonisation to independence
Where is the Dominican Republic? The Dominican Republic is a country in the West Indies that occupies the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the second-largest island of the Greater Antilles chain in …
History of Saint Lucia – From colonisation to independence
Where is Saint Lucia? Saint Lucia is an island in the Caribbean Sea. It is the second largest of the Windward group. Castries is the capital city. Saint Lucia was first known as “Louanalao” by the …
History of the Gambia – From colonisation to independence
Where is the Gambia? The Republic of The Gambia is the smallest country within mainland Africa and is sandwiched by Senegal. Banjul is the capital and the largest city in the Gambia. The Gambia has …
Flore Bois Gaillard – Saint Lucian revolutionary
Flore Bois Gaillard was a St Lucian runaway slave who led a band of free slaves called ‘Armée Française Dans Les Bois (French Army in the Woods). The life of Flore Bois Gaillard Flore Bois Gaillard …
Monuments: A short film by Donmar
Donmar Warehouse theatre has launched Monuments, a short film resulting from a Donmar Local project. The project explores the legacy of the British Empire. With anti-racism movements sweeping the …
Marie Sainte Dédée Bazile – Haitian revolutionary
Marie Sainte Dédée Bazile is notable as part of the Haitian Revolution. While there is much written about the men of the Haitian Revolution, not much is known or written about the women who helped to …
History of Grenada – From colonisation to independence
Grenada is one of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere. Known as the Spice island, it is the world’s second-largest producer of nutmeg after Indonesia and a significant …
History of Haiti – From revolution to civil unrest
Where is Haiti? Haiti is in the western one-third of the island of Hispaniola between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the …
Malcolm X visits Smethwick, West Midlands
In February 1965, civil rights campaigner Malcolm X was in Britain to speak at the London School of Economics. Avtar Singh Jouhl, general secretary of the Indian Workers Association, invited him to …
Remembering the 13 young people killed in the New Cross fire
On Sunday 18 January 1981 a fire broke out in a house in New Cross Road, Deptford, South East London, killing 13 young people and marking a massive change for black people in Britain. Thirteen people …
The life of Francis Barber
Most people believe that black people came to Britain after the Second World War with the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948. But Black people have had a presence in Britain for as far back as …
How Haiti won its independence
0n 5 December 1492, European navigator Christopher Columbus came upon an island in the Caribbean that he claimed for Spain and called La Isla Española (“The Spanish Island”, later Anglicised as …
Samuel Sharpe and the 1831 Christmas Rebellion
Samuel Sharpe instigates a rebellion On 27 December 1831, the Christmas Rebellion began at the Kensington Estate in St James, Jamaica. Samuel Sharpe was the main instigator of the 1831 Slave …
1919 race riots in Britain
Britain’s 1919 race riots started at the end of the First World War starting with an outbreak of violence in Glasgow in January, race riots happened around the United Kingdom until late in the …
UK race riots – The murder of Charles Wotten
Charles Wotten was a 24-year-old ship’s fireman from Bermuda who was murdered by an angry white mob during the Liverpool race riots of 1919. What led to Charles Wotten’s murder? Since the …
