BUSY BH4S

I thought that I would quickly update you with the latest bh4schools activities as there are a few forthcoming events that I will return to later in the year; I have been commissioned recently to write two education packs that should be available for sale in September / October. The first pack is on Olaudah Equiano and is part of the new exhibition that is being held at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in September. The pack will cover eight areas of Equiano's fascinating life including his life in Africa, his experiences of the Middle Passage, life in the Royal Navy, his career as a merchant, his expedition to the North Pole as well as his life as a campaigner against the slave trade. The second pack is about Walter Tull, the professional footballer and first Black Infantry Officer in the British Army during WW1 and has been produced by Northamptonshire Black History Association. Earlier this year I was able to take pupils from my school to the battlefield in Favreuil, in the Somme region, where Tull was killed in March 1918. We laid poppies and had a minute's silence in his memory, a powerful and moving event.
I will also be presenting two workshops on Walter Tull at the Schools' History Project annual conference in Leeds, June 6-8th.
A couple of final things to round off; it was very gratifying to read in the Historical Association's report on Teaching Emotive and Controversial History that they support my 'recommendations that Black history be incorporated across the history curriculum rather than taught discretely'. I will also be appearing on Radio London tonight to discuss the issues around teaching Black history in schools, so tune in if you can.

#Posted 24 June 2007 at 4:06 PM

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