The unbearable whiteness of history

by Jendella Benson  Deciding that it is never too early to take the task of cultural reproduction seriously (see David Osa Amadasun’s article, “‘Black people don’t go to galleries’ – The reproduction of taste and cultural values”), I took my fourteen month old son to the National Portrait Gallery one brisk November afternoon. The exhibition… Read More

Celebrating the life and times of J A Rogers – one of the leading Black historians of all time

by Patrick Vernon  After my recent article on the absence of black historians and the growing network of independent black scholars, I felt I wanted to share one of my personal heroes who embodies the characteristics and challenges that black historians face today. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Joel Augustus Rogers,… Read More

Where are all the Black historians?

Black historians in the UK: the unseen scholars by Patrick Vernon    BBC Radio 4’s Making History programme recently considered the plight of black historians, taking six minutes to explore the question of whether black historians exist in the UK. A number of white historians gave their perspectives on the issue but the views of… Read More