Ignatius Sancho was the first African prose writer whose work was published in England. Ignatius Sancho was the first African prose writer whose work was published in England. A former slave and renowned shopkeeper, Sancho came to England at the age of two, it was 1731. The Duke of Montague made him presents of books to ...

Claudia Jones founded the first major black post- war newspaper -The West Indian Gazette; and also helped launch the Notting Hill Carnival.? Claudia Jones was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in 1915 Cladia moved with her family to Harlem. She had a short education as she was plagued by lung and heart problems, which would persist for ...

From a small, east London council flat in 1982, Val McCalla started the weekly newspaper, the Voice, which went on become the mouthpiece of Britain's black community and made him a multi-millionaire. Launched at the Notting Hill Carnival that August, it grew into the most popular and important black newspaper in this country. From initial sales of ...

A reading list of books related to the ongoing black presence in Britain, Slavery, colonialism and black Settlement in the U.K The list is by no means exhaustive! Staying ...

In my last piece entitled "For the love of Ghana" i pointed out how diasporians are like a "mirror" for Africa. They being outside of Africa and holding kinship to her are in a special position. What is apparent to the Diasporian by life's experiences hold keys to Africa's rise. Africans around the world are in ...

Driving In Ghana I remember taking my last taxi to Tema before picking up my new second hand car that came off a ship from Germany. It felt good that i was finally avoiding bartering with the greedy taxi drivers who when seeing a foreigner would double their fare. You see the taxi driver is ...

Is death the start of the human journey or its end? Is mortality a transition from one sphere of our existence to another - the recurring cycle of life, death and rebirth? From Nobel Literature Laureate Wole Soyinka’s versatile prose emerges a mournful piece of theatre, which isn’t in fear of difficult themes of life ...

My Monday column is about the challenges facing news organizations trying to maintain conversations with readers while keeping the discourse civil and thoughtful. Consider what happened recently when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s weekly magazine, Go!, ran an article about the best places to smooch and featured a picture of an interracial couple kissing on the magazine ...

BLACK AND WORLD HISTORY COURSES Starting Sunday 3 May 09 (11.00am) and Thursday 7 May 09 (7.00-9.00pm) - Walthamstow, London E17 Our courses are an excellent introduction and progression into self-development providing a realistic insight into our history, present day situation and future. Our courses are popular and have been running for over 12 yrs. Our unique series of 17/18 week ...

Walter Backstrom | Letter to a young black man By WALTER BACKSTROM Bellevue Reporter Columnist Mar 20 2009, 1:26 PM It seems sometimes I grew up in a different country than you. I grew up in a time and place where black people couldn't vote. It seems times have changed. Sometimes it seems nothing has changed. When I tell you ...

I don’t remember ever having asked myself what race I belonged to. I was born advantaged in a society that discriminated against non-whites. So, am I white? The answer isn’t so simple. On my identity card, it says my skin color is white. So, am I white? Let’s have a look at my genealogical tree; since ...

Same old Same old The Streets are always watching. That night,as I lay on my bed listening to the dogs bark, I began to wonder how much more I could take, and I began to get a terrible feeling inside my chest and a tightness at the back of my throat, and I jerked upright with my head spinning and stared into the ...

"Black Inventors, Crafting Over 200 years of Success". It is one of the most comprehensive books on Black Inventors since Henry E. Baker's research on Black inventors in the early 20th century. This book identifies Black inventors from five continents, over seventy countries, including almost all fifty states in the United States. This book cites a ...

Daniella Maison is the edgy, unswerving, soulful writer been best known for her series of poetry publications since her astonishing poetical debut in 2000. A young Masters graduate, Maison currently works as a freelance writer and part time music promoter, and is set to make an impact within the local and wider community, she comments: ‘James ...

Lock up Im nineteen years of age. Im standing in the dock. There a Judge. A right snooty f***. Hes staring at me. Got a twinkle in his eye. And for all I know, hes as bent as a nine Bob note, and wearing ladies knickers and push-up bra in the bargain. Or hes one of the ...

I too have a dream! I usta hang out all day with my cousin, fantasizing about the day we were gonna be supa rich and famous. My cousin had a studio in the basement of his yard over on the West side of town; Powis Square. I rented a tiny room on the North side, ...