As regular readers will know, the aim of the series is to foster a creative dialogue between researchers, educationalists (mainstream and supplementary), artists and writers, archivists and curators, and policy makers. It seeks to identify and promote innovative new research into the history of people of African origin or descent in the UK and facilitate discussion of the latest developments in the dissemination of Black British history in a wide variety of settings including the media, the classroom and lecture hall, and museums and galleries, thus providing an opportunity to share good practice.
The workshop in Bangor was originally scheduled for April 2020, but the COVID-19 crisis obliged us to postpone it. As a consequence, we have already received a number of proposals and we are currently confirming arrangements with the authors. But we are still keen to attract some additional presentations for the rescheduled workshop on 14 May. There will be a strong local focus to the event, so we are specifically seeking proposals for presentations examining some aspect of the Welsh dimension of Black history. Please submit a title and a brief description of your presentation (no more than 300 words) as an attached Word document also stating your name, contact details, and, if you have them, Institution and Twitter handle to Professor Philip Murphy at [email protected] by Monday 17 January 2022.
You can see the full Call for Papers here.
There's so much fascinating Black Welsh History out there, to give some North Wales examples: 18th century gardener John Ystmyllyn, who since I first encountered him now has an entry in the ODNB and a rose named after him; the Congo House school for Africans in Victorian Colwyn Bay, or boxer Randolph Turpin's time training at Gwrych Castle (now more famous as the site of ITV's I'm a Celebrity...) in 1951. I can't wait to find out more!