History Curriculum

7 simple things you can do to change the history curriculum to include histories of migration, Black British experience and colonialism – from The Runnymede Trust.

Teaching British Histories of Race, Migration and Empire – A crowdsourced collection of resources for teachers, students and researchers exploring histories of race, migration and Empire.

Black and British: A Forgotten History. Historian David Olusoga tells the rich and revealing story of the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa and the Caribbean. It is a story that reaches back to Roman Britain, to Elizabethan “blackamoors” and the global slave trading empire. Black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of both world wars; black British history is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation.

Rev. Rt Honourable Dr John Sentamu the Archbishop of York said: “A classic in every sense of the word . . . should be compulsory reading”. 

BBC 2 also have multiple videos and programmes based on the documentary series by David Olusoga  Black and British – a forgotten history.

BBC NewsBeat in response to the death of George Floyd has a succinct summary of 6 key events:  The black British history you may not know about.

16 Key Events In The History Of Anti-Black Racism In The UK –  an article in the Huffington Post covering key events from Slavery to the Windrush scandal.

The History of Blacks in Britain: From Slavery to Rebellion
This article is an edited version of a talk given by Lorraine White to the Panther branch meeting in London in September 1994.

The History in the Life in the UK Test – On 22 July 2020, over 180 historians of Britain, the British Empire, and colonialism published an open letter calling for the review of the history chapter of the UK’s official “Life in the UK Handbook. They concluded:

“For applicants from former colonies with knowledge of imperial violence, this account is offensive. For those from outside the former Empire without prior education in history, the official handbook creates a distorted view of the British past. For those with a basic knowledge of history, whatever their background, it puts them in the invidious position of being obliged to read, remember and repeat a version of the past which is false. For British citizens in general, the official history perpetuates a misleading view of how we came to be who we are.”

Black History walks in London for walks, talks, films in London and schools resources, including videos, lessons, films, books, links to relevant websites.

Leeds Black History Walk from The Heritage Corner

History Today – archive on the history of black people in Britain.