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Josephine Baker and the Parisian Jazz Age

Josephine Baker

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of the dancer Josephine Baker in the annals of European Black History in this century. She quite literally changed everything for black artists in Paris, and as a consequence, the world over. Paris was the centre of the artistic and music world at the time Baker exploded onto the ...

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The Forgotten Fighters

Wed, May 3 1995 - Guardian In the early years of the war Britain made frequent requests for help from its colonies. One man to respond was Billy Strachan. Like most Jamaicans at the time he regarded Britain as his homeland, and enlisting it seemed a natural option. "I went to the British Army camp in ...

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Doug & Roy Brown – Stoke-on-Trent

Roy and Doug Brown

Doug & Roy Brown's father, Eugene and his brother John came to England from the Ghana, West Africa, they were students. They decided to join the British Army when WW1 boke out.  John was killed and Eugene badly injured but after the war he got married and had two sons.  Eugene later died of his ...

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Miracle at St Anna+Cy Grant on film

Remembering Cy Grant & Miracle at St Anna

29th October. Two archive films (incl. SONGS OF PROTEST) in the morning for our tribute event to the late great, Cy Grant, introduced by Arthur Torrington of the Windrush Society. In the afternoon we have an introduced and rare screening (formerly 'banned' by the distributors) of Spike Lee's WW2 film, Miracle at St. Anna. Audiences can ...

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Dwight Johnson

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/dwightjohnson.html You don't really think of Vietnam as being a tank warfare kind of affair. Sure, there were plenty of intense, groin-crushing battles fought during the vicious multi-year slugfest through the jungles of Southeast Asia, but most of these showdowns were the ambush / search-and-destroy sort of events, with infantrymen slogging through armpit-deep mud, fighting off ...

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Soft Lights and Sweet Music – Elisabeth Welch on Screen

Elizabeth Welch

Soft Lights and Sweet Music Elisabeth Welch on Screen with Stephen Bourne Saturday 29 October 2011 @ 2:30pm-5.00pm Elisabeth Welch’s biographer, Stephen Bourne, will share his personal memories of the stage and screen legend. Born in New York, Elisabeth settled in London in 1933 and became the most famous Black woman in pre-war Britain. Her 70-year career included work ...

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Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_Tafari Haile Selassie I (Ge'ez: , "Power of the Trinity") (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's Regent from 1916 to 1930, and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The Heir to a Dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th Century, and from there, by Tradition, back to King ...

Posted in Africa, Black Britain, Black History, Colonialism, Military, Racism, Religion, WarComments (0)

Africville

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville Africville was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. During the 20th Century, the City of Halifax began to encroach on the southern shores of Bedford Basin, and the community was eventually included as part of the city through Municipal Amalgamation. Africville ...

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REMEMBERING CY GRANT

REMEMBERING CY GRANT Triple Bill celebrating the life of Guyanese lawyer, singer, writer, broadcaster, cultural activist, actor. In the drama They Met in a City: The Encyclopaedist (tx 11/4/61). BBC. Written by John Mortimer. 30min), a salesman from Trinidad tries to sell a set of encyclopeadia to a housewife on London’s Chelsea-Fulham border. The documentary Freedom Road: Songs of Negro Protest ...

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Somalia

A plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "Wealthy" (dhawamaal), referring to Somali riches in Livestock. The history of Islam in the Horn of Africa is as old as the religion itself. The early persecuted Muslims fled to the Axumite port city of Zeila in present-day Somalia to seek ...

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Richard Pierpoint

Richard Pierpont

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pierpoint Richard Pierpoint (Senegal 1744 - Canada 1838), also known as Black Dick and Captain Dick, was born about 1744 in Bondu, Senegal. When he was about sixteen he was captured and sold as a Slave. He survived the crossing of the Atlantic and was sold in New York to a British Officer named Pierpoint. It was ...

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Black People in Health Care

Black Healthcare Workers

1861: Anderson Ruffin Abbott (7 April 1837 – 29 December 1913) was the first Black Canadian to become a physician after being granted a medical licence from the medical board of Upper Canada in 1861. 1862: Washington, D.C.: Freedmen's Hospital is established & is the only Federally-funded health care facility for Negroes in the nation. 1864: ...

Posted in African American, Black Britain, Black History, Black History Month, Caribbean, Community, Education, Europe, Health, Men, Military, Racism, Science, Students, The Americas, War, WomenComments (1)

Walter Tull Video

The inspirational story and autobiographical details about Walter Tull, a black professional footballer in the early 1900s who went on to fight in the First World War. Walter was only the second black player in football league history when he played for Tottenham Hotspur in 1909 and, later, Northampton Town. During his time in the ...

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Black History Month – Why we still need it

French Colonial Troops

by P Gregory: Owner Editor of the Black Presence Website. So, Black History Month 2010 is upon us, and as I sit here and take a breather after working hard to get the website to a state of readiness, I wonder how long it will be before the mud starts flying? Black History Month, is at best ...

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Walters War – part 1

Warning: Some of this content may not be suitable for younger viewers. Brilliant Drama about Walter Tull, the first black officer in the British army who was also the first black footballer to score a goal in british football. Starring the talented O-T Fagbenle and written by award winner Kwame Kwei Armah

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Walter Tull – Dramatisation

Walter Daniel John Tull (28 April 1888 - 25 March 1918) was the first black officer in the British Army, and the second black player in the top division of the Football League. Also played football for spurs and Northampton town if wasnt for war he may signed for Glasgow rangers, walter tull was played ...

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The Archaeology of Black Britain

Black romans were Stationed in Britain

"The Archaeology of Black Britain: Approaches, Methods and Possible Solutions" Case study: North African soldiers at Aballava (Burgh-by-Sands) Richard Paul Benjamin, Postgraduate Researcher University of Liverpool Alan M. Greaves, Lecturer University of Liverpool There is an on-going debate regarding the presence or otherwise of black people in Britain in antiquity. The basic problem with this kind of research has ...

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Black British Soldiers – Joseph Gasford

Far from Home; A Brief Record of the Life, Military Service and Death of Joseph Gasford; A Black Bandsman of the 89th Foot; Late of St. Domingo and Gosport, Hampshire. By John D Ellis. Joseph Gasford was born in French governed St. Domingo, (modern day Haiti and the Domincan Republic), in 1785. Whether he was ...

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Tuskeegee Airman

Tuskeegee Airman, originally uploaded by RickRaven. Fantastic photo of one of the Tuskeegee Airmen

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The Negro Soldier

Soldiers

This clip from a War Department film shows African-American soldiers being trained for combat during World War 2. The Tuskegee Airmen are seen flying fighter planes in the U.S., while other soldiers train in arctic conditions. There's no year given, but it's probably 1942 or 1943.

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Black Soldiers photo gallery

Black Soldiers

Throughout History the role of the black soldier has been underplayed in Western Armies. Black people have fought in all the Major European Armies including those of Poland and Germany. African American troops fought in Both world Wars and subsequent conflicts. African colonial troops fought in the First World War in Europe. Look through the images ...

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African Prisoner of War WW1

African Prisoner of War in World War One

"Die Farbiger", originally uploaded by drakegoodman. A coloured French soldier (Troupes de Marine), most likely Senegalese is singled out to have his photograph taken with a Uhlan NCO and military official. Many of the Senegalese and other colonial troops were in the Troupes de Marine and were reported to have fought with incredible valour and great ...

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Three French Prisoners of War

Three French Prisoners of War

Three French Prisonniers de Guerre / Landwehr Inftr Regt Nr 120, originally uploaded by drakegoodman. Three French Prisonniers de Guerre / Landwehr Inftr Regt Nr 120 Letter on reverse (below) with admin stamp from Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 120 and postage cancelled 8.6.1918 at an unspecified location. Three French Prisonniers de Guerre, two of whom are Senegalese 'colonials'. In late 1915 ...

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The Massacre of the Senegalese WW1 1914

The Massacre of the Senegalese WW1 1914

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A wounded Senegalese prisoner of war is carried to a bandaging station, November 1914

Wounded African Soldier

A wounded Senegalese prisoner of war is carried to a bandaging station, November 1914, originally uploaded by drakegoodman. A wounded Senegalese prisoner of war is carried to a bandaging station, November 1914 Note on reverse (see below) dated 28.11.1914. One of a series of pictures taken by a German orderly at a first-aid station located in Etterbeek ...

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