BLACK HISTORY BLOG
NAMASTE
This may be the last entry on the blackhistoryblog for a little while as I shall shortly be departing these shores for an 8 month sabbatical in India and SE Asia. It is possible that I will add a few postings about my travels but it does mean that there won't be much new material coming onto the site for a while. However just to make up for that I have added loads of really good stuff over the last couple of days;The Slave Trade page has got some brilliant resources from Dale Banham, a History teacher and Local Authority adviser in Suffolk, who has written a scheme of work about Thomas Clarkson, the abolitionist who came from Ipswich. There is also a link to the new campaign that I have been working on with Donald Cummings and Lyndon Gallagher, two teachers from the Ridings School in Halifax. Our students have been writing letters demanding a Blue Plaque for Equiano, so please come and support us!
The Twentieth Century page has got some material produced by my students about Walter Tull including some of the broadcasts about Tull's experience playing football in Bristol, as well as films that they made telling Tull's story.
So can I take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who has supported blackhistory4schools.com over the last year and have no fear, it will continue to grow bigger and stronger once I return in May 2009 with a relaunch and new look website.
#Posted 28 August 2008 at 11:39 PM
BH4SCHOOLS RECOMMENDS - FALLOUT
I was extremely privileged this morning to see a preview of the forthcoming Channel 4 adaptation of Roy William's play Fallout, with a small group of students from my school. The play follows the aftermath of a stabbing of a teenage schoolboy, with a strong performance from Lennie James, as a police officer called back to 'his ends' to investigate the murder. As the 'gang' begins to unravel, the issue of how to resolve the crime becomes more complex, as James deals with suspects, witnesses and fellow officers in a downward spiral of frustration and violence. You can watch a clip here.
As the film ended the students burst into a spontaneous round of applause and their responses to a discussion with Roy, and a journalist from the Sunday Telegraph, were fascinating. The vast majority commented on how 'real' the story was, that the language and content reflected back to them an experience not too far from their own. Worryingly, nearly all of them knew peers who were carrying knives 'for their own protection', despite an awareness of the potential for increased risk of harm. Their suggested solutions to the vexed issue of 'street crime' ranged from the authoritarian - 'there should be curfews' to the benevolent - 'young people hate being shouted at, so talk to them as equals'. Ultimately it was agreed that there aren't any simple solutions, but the provision of facilities for young people was imperative.
Fallout is on Channel 4 on Thursday July 3rd at 22.00
#Posted 27 June 2008 at 6:56 PM
SUPERB NEW RESOURCES
I would like to give a huge thanks to Sanam Mirza, a History teacher from 'oop north' somewhere, who sent through some absolutely brilliant resources for the 20th century section of the website. There are 6 lessons which form a great little scheme of work on the contribution that Black and Asian people have made to the UK. Apart from the lovely presentation across all of the units, the most important aspect of these resources is that they will really engage pupils in the work, which is so vital for getting a deeper understanding. The other exciting element is the lesson on Noor Inayat Khan a fascinating woman who was a British secret agent during the Second World War, particularly as I am well aware that the Asian representation on the website is lacking and needs to be developed further.
So, anyone else who is out there lurking, and has got some resources that cover any aspect of Black and Asian British history, then please please send them in. You can email them to me at any time or just drop me a line and tell me your thoughts on the website.
#Posted 5 June 2008 at 8:27 PM
WALTER'S DEBUT (ON TTV)
Regular readers will know that I have been working on two films about Walter Tull for Teachers TV and the exciting news is that they will be on air next week (Monday May 19 at 15.00 and 15.15, Sky Guide Channel 880, Virgin TV 240, Freeview 88) and if you miss them you can soon watch them on the Teachers TV website. I was sent a preview this week and I think that they are really great, combining some great interviews with good classroom practice. The first film focuses on one of the lessons (in a sequence of seven) about Tull's experiences playing for Tottenham against Bristol City, and the second follows two students through their 'learning journey'.
Other interesting forthcoming events that I would like to mention include the BASA Education Conference which is being hosted by the Northamptonshire Black History Association on Saturday July 12. You can get a lot more information on the BASA website, including the programme which you download and a registration form. I will be running a workshop on Walter Tull and probably showing some of the films I made there. Other highlights include Marcia Hutchinson giving a practical creative approach to Black History in the Classroom and Martin Spafford talking about Black History in the new National Curriculum.
When I was at the launch of the London, Sugar and Slavery Gallery at the Museum in Docklands a few months ago I was introduced to a woman called Ann-Marie Olufuwa who works for an organisation called MeWe. They will be putting on performances of a play called 'Equiano's Cup' at the Battersea Art Centre (Box Office 0207 223 2223) on Friday June 27 at 2pm and 7pm.
Set in the 18th and 21st centuries, the production presents a lavish historical setting juxtaposed with powerful modern youth voices. The action
is informative and uplifting, offering an enjoyable way to learn more about the life of Olaudah Equiano. After the evening performance I will be appearing on a discussion panel with a very esteemed collection of people including Hakim Adi (Currently chair of BASA and Senior Lecturer at Middx University), Brycchan Carey (a leading scholar on Equiano from Kingston University), Professor Richard Ennals (Kingston University,Chairman, Council for World Citizenship Board member, UK National Commission for UNESCO)and Vikki Hubbard from the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.
#Posted 13 May 2008 at 7:56 PM
BH4SCHOOLS RECOMMENDS - RANDOM
I was privileged to get tickets to the Press Night of Random at the Royal Court last night and it really was one of the most incredible plays that I have ever seen. The performance by Nadine Marshall was extraordinary. The writing by Debbie Tucker Green hit the mark every time. This was theatre stripped to the bare minimum - a monologue, no set, just a spotlight - and yet evoking the most powerful imagery. That one actor was able to bring to life so many characters made it even more impressive. I won't go into the content, you need to read the previous entry to find that, but I was deeply affected by the play. I spent most of the time thinking about Kodjo Yenga, (a former pupil of mine who was stabbed to death last year - you can read about him here) and Random was a painful reminder of his tragic loss. And yet uplifting in one sense, that something as moving and important as Random came out of Kodjo's death and the death of all of the other young people around the UK. I will be taking as many students and staff that I can muster to another performance as soon as I can.
Listen to extracts from the play here and GO AND SEE THIS PLAY.
#Posted 11 March 2008 at 5:27 PM
BH4S RECOMMENDS NO. 5
These fantastic images are from the new play random by Debbie Tucker Green which will be performed at the Royal Court Theatre from March 7 - April 12. Random is an important, powerful and urgent new play following a day in the life of an ordinary family whose world is turned upside down when one of the characters is involved in a street fight. It is written from the perspective of the family and tells the very real and human story that exists behind the headlines.
The Royal Court are also are offering free workshops to schools and youth groups where their outreach workers - including playwright and director Gbolahan Obisesan - will go along to work with the students. This is a great opportunity to help engage young people with, not only the play, but also different acting and writing techniques. See the Royal Court Theatre website for details.
#Posted 1 February 2008 at 1:01 PM
WALTER TULL ON TEACHERS TV
Just a quick post to share some exciting news that I have just heard from Teachers TV who want to make two films about the work I have been doing about Walter Tull. They should be coming to film at my school with my year 9s after half term and want to do one film in a lesson and one talking to the students about their experiences of learning about Walter Tull. Excellent news and hopefully will continue to get Walter the exposure that he deserves. I'll keep you updated as events progress.
#Posted 30 January 2008 at 2:55 PM
FUTURE PLANS
Welcome to 2008 and what promises to be another exciting year for bh4schools. To get the year started I have posted up some new material about Walter Tull, the Black professional footballer and first Black Infantry Officer in the British Army during WW1. You can hear an excellent radio interview that I did with some students from my school about the work that we did on Walter as well as talking about visiting the site of his death in Favreuil, France last March. I have also added some taster material for the (still forthcoming!) education pack which should be available soon. I have yet to receive my copies so I guess there is a bit of a hold up in the production.
Plans are under way for a new addition to the website with some interviews with leading figures from the Black British History world and contemporary culture. So watch this space - the first interview should be with Steve (S I) Martin who I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago at the inaugural Marika Sherwood Lecture at UCL. It was Steve's INSET at the Museum of London many years ago that set me off on the path to integrating Black and Asian British History into the curriculum so I am really looking forward to interviewing one of my heroes. The second interview will hopefully be with playwright Roy Williams, a former student at my school, who is undoubtedly one of the most talented writers in contemporary theatre. I went to see Roy's play, 'Joe Guy' at the Soho Theatre and some of the scenes were so powerful and prescient (particularly in light of the Man Utd Christmas Party) that I was replaying them constantly. Roy's particular talent is in picking up the language of the street / playground and working it in to his characters so well.
It was also great to read in the latest edition of Teaching History (issue 129) the article by Dale Banham and Rosie Sheldrake 'Seeing a different picture: exploring migration through the lens of history' in which they write about their experiences of teaching about the West Indian community in Ipswich. They used a community oral history project set up by the Ipswich Caribbean Association who had filmed interviews with 25 people to integrate this fantastic local history into their schemes of work. It was most gratifying to read how they have really taken on board the new requirements of the National Curriculum 2008 in teaching about diversity and enhanced their pupil's enjoyment and understanding of our history.
Finally a huge thanks to everyone who supported the website in 2007, just under 40,000 people visited the website, with over half a million hits which meant that traffic to the site trebled compared to the previous year. Spread the word in 2008.
Cheers
Dan
#Posted 2 January 2008 at 5:02 PM
A BIG THANKS
to everyone who visisted blackhistory4schools during Black History Month, i hope you found what you were looking for (if you didn't then please take a minute to fill in the questionnaire that popped up when you logged on to help me improve the website). I was delighted to register over 100,000 hits and more than unique users in October. The website will continue to spread the message about mainstreaming Black and Asian British History into the curriculum.
A big thanks too to everyone who came to the Museum in Docklands for the launch of their fantastic London, Sugar and Slavery permanent exhibition on Sat November 10th. There were hundreds of people there for the opening day events and the debate about teaching the slave trade raised some interesting issues around cultural awareness and the question of reparations. If you ever have a spare hour the Museum is really worth checking out as they have put a lot of thought into the exhibition which is handled very sensitively and imaginatively.
#Posted 13 November 2007 at 9:19 PM
RAISING THE ROOF
The 'Raising Horizon's event took place today at my school and was an outstanding success. It is extremely gratifying to be able to arrange an event where people are prepared to give up their time to inspire young people and share their talents and experiences with them. The response from the students was magnificent and the vote of thanks at the end of the day was heartfelt. I will post up the interviews from the day shortly, but if you want to look at the photos you can see them here (but you will need to sign up for a Flickr account).
#Posted 15 October 2007 at 6:49 PM
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