Congratulations on being shortlisted for the 2023 Wolfson History Prize. How does it feel to be shortlisted?
Being shortlisted is extremely important not just for me but for all of us who have worked so hard to study, research and write about this history, a history which is so often hidden and marginalised. That unfortunately being the case, I think it also important for all those of African and Caribbean heritage in Britain, because it’s also a recognition that our history is important. I should perhaps add that I think it is important because it sends a message that everyone is part of Britain’s history, that all history matters.
What was the inspiration behind African and Caribbean People in Britain?
The publishers at Allen Lane approached me with the original idea of an introductory history. However, I thought that what was required was a larger survey which could present to the general reader all the latest research on the subject over the last 40 years. That is what I have tried to do, especially to build on Peter Fryer’s Staying Power and present the history up to 2020 and the Black Lives Matter protests. The aim was to produce something that would be useful to the general reader as well as my students. For that reason, I’ve used many archival sources that are available online as well as presenting lots of other material for further reading and research.
The Wolfson Foundation funds a wide variety of museums, historic buildings and landscapes. Do you have a favourite historical place or a place that has inspired you?
There are many. I think that one that never fails to impress and inspire me is the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. It is African history that cannot be hidden or ignored.
The Great Pyramid at Giza. Photo by Nour Wageh on Unsplash.
Was there a particular writer, book, experience or event that first made you interested in history?
I first became interested in history as a very young child as a result of watching the famous Robin Hood series, Feared by the bad and loved by the good on TV. I think at the age of four I was impressed with the idea of taking from the rich to give to the poor.
Why do you feel it is important to celebrate history writing?
I think it is particularly important at the moment, when it appears that history is so much under attack. There are threats of redundancies in university history departments, but also attempts in some countries to restrict which history can be taught even in schools. There is also the pressure from governments and the media that only certain types of history are acceptable, while every effort is made to marginalise the history of certain people. The historian therefore has a particular responsibility at the present time, to state what the evidence reveals to us, even if we are criticised for doing so. Sometimes we need to write things which disturb popular myths, such as the idea that African and Caribbean people only came to Britain after 1948. When we do that, we can introduce people to so much more history that enables them to see the world in a completely different light.
Read an extract from African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History.
