New this Black History Month: IRBARE 2013: The Image and Reality of Black Africans in Renaissance England

Black Magus, rood screen, Devon, c.1520 and John Blanke, 1511.

Last year Michael Ohajuru and I both spoke at an event at the British Library about Blacks in Renaissance Britain. He spoke about images of the Black Magi and other Africans in the art of the period, while I focused on a particular case in which 135 Africans had spent a week in Devon in October 1590. You can read my blog on the event here. 

The contrast between the image and the reality of the Black African experience really struck us, and so this year, we've decided to join forces during Black History Month in October to present our thoughts on The Image and Reality of Black Africans in Renaissance England, which we've called IRBARE for short. 
We've put together a website, Facebook page and Twitter account to promote this, so please do check those out/Like/Follow to hear more. Michael's already uploading lots of fascinating images, and I will be doing my best to keep up with some "reality checks"! And if you know any history societies, universities or other institutions who would like to book us for a Black History Month event, send them our way! To book, contact me or email IRBARE2013.

Hope to see you at one of our IRBARE events this October!

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