EDITORIAL
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Thushari Perera
A digital resource on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Issues
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HISTORY & NOW 
Scottish Government launches anti-racism resources for teachers, The National, 26 August 2021
“The guidance says: “(Decolonising) reflects the concern that literature, cultures, successes and histories of groups impacted by racism are not sufficiently evident in the curriculum, and that the historical role of Scotland in the colonies and in the slave trade has not been consistently explored and acknowledged within the curriculum.”… As well as Education Scotland’s guidance, an anti-racist toolkit for teachers has been produced alongside a guide to anti-racist curriculum development from the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights.”
UK South Asians push for partition history in school curriculum, Al Jazeera, 6 August 2021 (includes videos)
“In July last year, more than 260,000 people signed a petition to make the national curriculum more inclusive of BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) history, calling for topics on Britain’s role in colonialism, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, institutional racism and mistreatment of BAME societies to be made compulsory for all United Kingdom students. However, the petition was rejected by the Department of Education on the grounds that the national curriculum already had the flexibility to be inclusive of BAME history, and therefore, it was not necessary to change the curriculum.”
August 14 to be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day: PM Modi, Kashmir Reader, 15 August 2021
“May the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, the prime minister said, keep “reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment”.”
UK needs its own slavery remembrance day, union tells government, The Independent, 24 August 2021
“…the Mayor marks the UNESCO International Day for Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition every year with a ceremony. “He urges the Government to step forward and ensure there is a national event each year and make certain that we are all doing everything we can to educate people about the legacy of slavery and stamp out racism in all its forms.””
COINS
Windrush 50-pence coin ‘planned for 2023 to mark 75th anniversary of historic voyage’, The Independent, 6 August 2021
“Minutes of Government meeting reveal a Caribbean artist could create the design and it would be one of several projects to commemorate the ship’s arrival in Britain”
LIBRARIES & ARCHIVES
Children in Newham find refuge in reading thanks to libraries project, Newham Recorder, 24 August 2021
“Aware some children have faced greater barriers to reading, Newham Libraries put its plans into action and provided every primary school child in the borough with membership. This meant distributing library cards to 38,500 primary school pupils.”
Tea, sweat and whale poop: museum sniffs out history of London’s docks, The Guardian, 11 August 2021
“Dockland smells and documents from transatlantic slave trade feature in show that draws on largely unseen archive”
A Photographic Journey of Punjabi Migration to the Black Country, The Historic England Blog (heritagecalling.com), 12 August 2021
“In 2016, Black Country Visual Arts established a digitally-based photography archive with a view to increasing the visibility of UK-based Punjabi migrants in the city of Wolverhampton and the UK. We named it the Apna Heritage Archive because, in India, “Apna” means “ours”. The archive is to preserve private photographs so that these communities will be reflected in public collections and their stories will be viewed globally. Below, we also explore images from the ‘Punjabi Workers’ and ‘Desi Pubs’ collections.”
BOOKS
Minarets in the Mountains, Bradt Guides, 15 July 2021
“A magical, eye-opening account of a journey into a Europe that rarely makes the news and is in danger of being erased altogether. Another Europe. A Europe few people believe exists and many wish didn’t. Muslim Europe. Londoner Tharik Hussain sets off with his wife and young daughters around the Western Balkans, home to the largest indigenous Muslim population in Europe, and explores the regions of Eastern Europe where Islam has shaped places and people for more than half a millennium. Encountering blonde-haired, blue-eyed Muslims, visiting mystical Islamic lodges clinging to the side of mountains, and praying in mosques older than the Sistine Chapel, he paints a picture of a hidden Muslim Europe, a vibrant place with a breathtaking history, spellbinding culture and unique identity. Minarets in The Mountains, the first English travel narrative by a Muslim writer on this subject, also explores the historical roots of European Islamophobia.”
The hidden heritage of Britain: Reappraising our past to reckon with the present, The Independent, 5 August 2021
“Britain’s buildings give clues to our complex, hidden history with Asia, writes newsreader Fatima Manji”
MUSEUMS & HERITAGE SITES
Egypt retrieves ancient priest statue from Holland, Al-Monitor, 9 August 2021
“Egypt has brought back an ancient statue of Nikaw-Ptah from Holland as the government works to recover many stolen antiquities from abroad…In a phone call with Al-Monitor, Abdel Gawad said, “Egypt and many other countries that are rich in archeological treasures experience illegal excavation at archeological sites. Smuggled artifacts are not registered [at the Ministry of Antiquities records] but are by chance caught in auction halls [abroad], seized in international ports or airports.””
Major grant for Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust to increase diversity and improve equality, Royal Pavilion and Museums Brighton and Hove, 21 July 2021
“At the core of the work will be the World Art Collections. This collection contains more than 13,000 objects from Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas and has been designated as a collection of national importance by Arts Council England. The project has a series of aims…”
Racism, oppression and Empire ‘in plain sight’ in Sheffield street names, YorkshireLive, 13 July 2021
“A review has found city place names, museum collections and public art ‘perpetuate racist, outdated and uncomfortable messages’”
Statue of Hindu monk unveiled in North West London after campaign victory, MyLondon, 6 August 2021
“Vivekananda is credited with promoting interfaith awareness and Indian philosophy in the Western world. He travelled extensively through the United States, Europe and England to help raise the profile of Hinduism as a major world religion.”
Newcastle statues have ‘no links to slavery or racism’ – but two memorials to get new information panels, Chronicle Live, 11 August 2021
“New information boards will be installed next to the Armstrong Memorial and the South African War Memorial, both in Newcastle city centre, after a council review”
Two of Wales’ leading cultural bodies are ‘institutionally racist’ and need to ‘radically change’, Wales Online, 19 August 2021
“There is a ‘perpetual exclusion of black and non-black people of colour’ a report has found”
ARTS
Sheku Bayoh death to feature in national theatre’s digital effort to tackle racism, FutureScot, 30 August 2021
“The National Theatre of Scotland’s new online portal offers a selection of digital shorts and projects focusing on the organisation’snew productions. A resource pack has been created for the acclaimed co-production ‘Lament for Sheku Bayoh’ – “a compelling, artistic response” to the death of Sheku Bayoh who died aged 32 after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy. Access to the digital education portal can be found here.”
JR: Chronicles, Saatchi Gallery, August 2021
“Saatchi Gallery is pleased to present JR: Chronicles – the largest solo museum exhibition to date of the internationally recognised French artist JR, featuring some of his most iconic projects from the past fifteen years. Curated by Sharon Matt Atkins and Drew Sawyer from the Brooklyn Museum, JR: Chronicles traces JR’s career from his early documentation of graffiti artists as a teenager in Paris to his large-scale architectural interventions in cities worldwide and recent digitally collaged murals that create collective portraits of diverse communities.”
What would Scottish culture be without immigrant artists?, Art UK, 30 August 2021
“There is a long history of Scotland welcoming migrants and international artists, who have enriched its artistic production. Over the past century in particular, Scotland has attracted waves of European and international migrants, who came initially to seek refuge or to study and then chose to remain.”
David Levene on documenting the aftermath of the London riots, 1854 Photography, August 2021
“Ten years on, the sheer power and scale of 2011’s riots remain terrifying. But David Levene captured a counter-narrative to the “seductive” side of the chaos, photographing the aftermath and clean-up”
PARKS & GARDENS
Young female South African architect reinvents Serpentine Pavilion in London, The Conversation, 3 June 2021
“Architecture of invitation: To date, the Serpentine Pavilion has provided a passive setting for people to meet. But Counterspace aims to actively engage with communities and sites of marginalised history across London – to draw people in.” Serpentine Pavilion link here
Botanical map of Brixton complements Tube art, Brixton Blog, 13 August 2021
“Transport for London (TfL) has published a botanical map Brixton, showing local green spaces. The map also addresses the legacies of the British empire and celebrates local botanical education, community gardening and food-growing initiatives…It responds to, and expands on, Things Held Fast, the current commission at Brixton Underground station by Australian artist Helen Johnson. download a free PDF”
EVENTS
Dance Can’t Nice: Exploring London’s Black music spaces, Horniman Museum, until 24 October 2021
“Where does Black British music belong, and who gets to decide? Celebrating south London’s music scene, Music Curator Adem Holness highlights the relationship between Black British music and physical space.”
Festival of Sanctuary announces Lampedusa Cross loan to Hastings, The Museum Association, 31 August 2021
“The Festival of Sanctuary will take place on Sunday 12 September, 12-6pm at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery to support local refugees.”
Walking Tour: A Little History of the Sikhs, Chelsea History Festival, 23 September 2021
“Discover the Sikh history of Kensington and Chelsea through statues, locations and artefacts with Rav Singh, founder of A Little History of the Sikhs.”
Related link: A little History of the Sikhs – Sikh History on the streets of London
Bengal History Week 2021 – extended to the whole of October this year, Brick Lane Circle
Trade, Conquest, Enlightenment and Revolution: the forgotten history of French colonialism in Bengal, Online, 12 October 2021
How Robert Clive spent his Bengal loot after the Battle of Plassey, Online, 13 October 2021
Bengali Seafarers in the Archives and Beyond: How researching the seafaring life of my grandfather led to sources about Bengali seafarers, Online, 25 October 2021
Fallen Idols – 12 Statues That Made History: Alex Von Tunzelmann in Conversation with Hugh Linehan, Dublin Festival of History, Online, 1 October 2021
“The stories we tell about history are vital to how we, as societies, understand our past and create our future. Fallen Idols looks at twelve statues in modern history. It looks at why they were put up; the stories they were supposed to tell; why those stories were challenged; and how they came down. Alex von Tunzelmann is a historian and screenwriter”
Image Credits: Pixabay.
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