Mary Prince
A Story of Courage and Resilience Early Life and Enslavement Mary Prince was born in Bermuda in 1788, to parents who were enslaved. Not long after her birth, Mary and her mother, Sarah, were sold to a Mr. Captain Darrel…
Category Storytime
Samuel Jules Celestine Edwards
Storytime This post is dedicated to the UK’s first Black editor and one of the UK’s first Pan Africanists, Samuel Jules Celestine Edwards. Samuel was the youngest of nine children, born to French speaking parents on the Caribbean island of…
How the colonists used the Bible to justify slavery – Part 2
“We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false Gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die.” Things Fall Apart For those as curious as…
Jack Leslie – England’s first black footballer*
Unfortunately we’ve had to add an asterisk to the title, as Jack Leslie was not officially England’s first black footballer. He wasn’t allowed because of the colour of his skin. Today we are dismayed and appalled at the treatment given…
Nannie Helen Boroughs
Nannie Helen Boroughs was born around the 1880s in Orange, Virginia. Her parents were formerly enslaved and her father sadly died whilst she was young. This led to her and her mother relocating to Washington D.C. Nannie was a bright…
Master Juba
Let me introduce you to William Henry Lane, the inventor of tap dancing. William Henry Lane was born circa 1825, in Rhode Island America. He was taught to dance by Uncle Jim Lowe – a prominent jig and reel dancer.…
Ottobah Cugoano
We have spoken about Ottobah being part of The Sons of Africa, however, we wanted to focus on his story and journey. He was an African abolitionist who sought justice in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Ghana Born…
Andrew Watson
24 May 1856 – 8 March 1921 Scotland’s first international Black football player. Young Andrew Born on 18 May 1857, in Georgetown Demerara, British Guiana (now Guyana). His father was Peter Miller Watson. Peter was a wealthy sugar plantation owner…
Margaret Busby OBE
Margaret Busby is the UK’s first Black female publisher. Born in Accra, Ghana in 1944, her father was called Dr George Busby and her mother Mrs Sarah Busby. Margaret was educated in Bexhill, Sussex and graduated at age 15, then…
Bernard Harris Jr.
Bernard Harris Jr’s dream was to be an astronaut and to walk in space. On the 9th February 1995, he made that dream come true. Born in Temple Texas in 1956, Bernard grew up absorbing all things science fiction, and…