#African European by Olivette Otele

[afictionalpoet]

New books (that I already posted haha) have been purchased! Wandering Souls is one I’ve already read and loved. The other 4 will be favourites I’m sure! :)

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: African Europeans by Olivette Otele

African Europeans by Olivette Otélé

Africans or African Europeans are widely believed to be only a recent presence in Europe, a feature of our ‘modern’ society. But as early as the third century, St Maurice—an Egyptian— became the leader of a legendary Roman legion. Ever since, there have been richly varied encounters between those defined as ‘Africans’ and those called ‘Europeans’, right up to the stories of present-day migrants to European cities. Though at times a privileged group that facilitated exchanges between continents, African Europeans have also had to navigate the hardships of slavery, colonialism and their legacies.

Olivette Otele uncovers the long history of Europeans of African descent, tracing an old and diverse African heritage in Europe through the lives of individuals both ordinary and extraordinary. This hidden history explores a number of questions very much alive today. How much have Afro-European identities been shaped by life in Europe, or in Africa? How are African Europeans’ stories marked by the economics, politics and culture of the societies they live in? And how have race and gender affected those born in Europe, but always seen as Africans?

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

On Savage Shores by Caroline Dodds Pennock

We have long been taught to presume that modern global history began when the "Old World" encountered the "New", when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492. But, as Caroline Dodds Pennock conclusively shows in this groundbreaking book, for tens of thousands of Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit and others —enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, traders—the reverse was true: they discovered Europe.

For them, Europe comprised savage shores, a land of riches and marvels, yet perplexing for its brutal disparities of wealth and quality of life, and its baffling beliefs. The story of these Indigenous Americans abroad is a story of abduction, loss, cultural appropriation, and, as they saw it, of apocalypse—a story that has largely been absent from our collective imagination of the times.

From the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII to the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; from the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub to the mestizo children of Spaniards who returned “home” with their fathers; from the Inuit who harpooned ducks on the Avon river to the many servants employed by Europeans of every rank: here are a people who were rendered exotic, demeaned, and marginalized, but whose worldviews and cultures had a profound impact on European civilization.

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber

For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself.

Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume.

[larisanicholephotographer]

What I'm Doing...

I just have so many questions

Like how and why.

I remember sitting through my summer internship last year, expecting to find something unexpected in my studies. The "unexpected" I hoped to find was a newfound interest in learning about the history, art, and culture of pre-colonial Africans. The institution I was interning for seemed to have a grasp of these kinds of issues, but they didn't move in any meaningful direction with any meaningful sense of urgency.

Here is what I know. Black art in antiquity exists but we'll never see it in the mainstream because, like the institution of slavery itself, it is too controversial.

While I wait for the opportunity to pursue this research in a formal academic institution, I want to investigate who these Black Europeans were. I want to find out what their occupations were, what their religions, customs, and culture were before colonization transformed the African landscape, and, eventually, the perspective of the people who traveled halfway across the world to exist in Europe before their choice was taken away.

My reading is as follows;

Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufman

African Europeans by Olivette Otele

The Black Prince of Florence by Catherine Fletcher

Balthazar by Kristen Collins and Bryan Keene

Black in Rembrandts Time/ the Rembrandt House Museum

[horsegirl]

The men referred to here as "black" were white men with black hair and/or tanner skin. Notice that the Duke of Richmond is described as having a "Black Complexion much like King Charles." Of course King Charles II was not Black and nor was his mistress, the Duke's mother, the Duchess of Portsmouth. For one, the portraits of all the above men still exist and it is easy to tell they were not Black. Another clue is that Black people in the early modern period were more often denoted by racial terms like negro, mulatto (if mixed), moor, and blackamoor.

Occasionally the word black could refer to the skin-colour of someone with African heritage. That is likely where the name of Reasonable Blackman, also known as John Reason, came from. He was an independent silk weaver in 17th century England.

There were a few titled Black people in the early modern period (about 1600-1800) but they mainly existed in Europe (e.g. Abram Petrovich Gannibal). Non-titled high society positions were slightly more common, like Dido Belle who was an 18th century British heiress from the West Indies. Even more common was being common. Thousands of Black men and women lived in Britain throughout this era; they went to work, to church, to the tavern. They were sailors, servants, landowners, musicians, business owners--the list of occupations and hobbies is long and varied and certainly does not begin and end with "slave" as some might imagine.

There are many books on early Black British history for those interested. Here are a few:

Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain by Peter Fryer

Black Tudors: the Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann

Black England: A Forgotten Georgian History by Gretchen Gerzina

African Europeans: An Untold History by Olivette Otele

Henry Redhead Yorke, Colonial Radical Politics and Identity in the Atlantic World, 1772-1813 by Amanda Goodrich

Lastly, the above artwork is a 15th century piece from the church of St. Moritz in Halle, Germany. I'm not sure who is shown in that particular painting but St. Moritz or St. Maurice was an Egyptian military leader from the 3rd century and was typically depicted as Black in the middle ages.

Descriptions of Black Nobility in the English/ Scottish Courts.

"From the Characters of the Men of the Nobility and Courts of England/Scotland."

[starsandsteelandbrokenglass]

May 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Happy summer! My semester is wrapped up and I'm finishing some time at home, but I'll be back to work as June gets underway. I'm doing quite a bit of traveling in July, so I have a lot to get done before that. But I've been taking things pretty easy this month which means lots of time for reading--14 books and about 4,800 pages! Here's the breakdown:

Hunted by the Sky (The Wrath of Ambar #1) by Tanaz Bhathena- 2.75/5 stars

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel- 3.25/5 stars

African Europeans: An Untold History by Olivette Otele

Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #2) by Tamsyn Muir- 3.5/5 stars

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir- 4.25/5 stars

A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1) by Marie Brennan- 5/5 stars

The Tropic of Serpents (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #2) by Marie Brennan- 4.5/5 stars

The Conductors (Murder and Magic #1) by Nicole Glover- 3.5/5 stars

Beowulf: A New Translation by Anonymous, translated by Maria Dahvana Headley- 1/5 stars

Spectres of Antiquity: Classical Literature and the Gothic, 1740-1830 by James Uden

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust- 4.75/5 stars

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster- 3/5 stars

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann- 3.25/5 stars

The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen Johnson- 4/5 stars

My favorite book this month was A Natural History of Dragons (I'm really looking forward to picking up the rest of the series!), but I also enjoyed Girl, Serpent, Thorn a lot more than I was expecting.

Currently Reading: The City of Dusk (The Dark Gods #1) by Tara Sim and Classic Ghost Stories

[readingwithwrin]

African Europeans by Olivette Otele | ARC Book Review

African Europeans by Olivette Otele | ARC Book Review

Title: African Europeans Author: Olivette Otele Publisher: Basic Books Published Date: May 4th, 2021 Genre: Non-fiction, History Source: Netgalley & Publisher Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ .5 Goodreads Summary: Africans or African Europeans are widely believed to be only a recent presence in Europe, a feature of our ‘modern’ society. But as early as the third century, St Maurice—an Egyptian— became the…

[rynthetyn]

You can't see the title because of the interlibrary loan sticker, but my latest read is 'African Europeans' by Olivette Otele. It's an extensively documented history of people of African descent in Europe from the ancient world to the modern era--history that's frequently erased from the record to create a vision of an entirely white Europe that never existed. . . #RynReads #Book #Books #Bookstagram #Instabook #AmReading #AfricanEuropeans (at Manatee County Public Library System) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd_7XhtuXR2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ninja-muse]

2021 TBR - Mid-Year Update

Okay, so the number of crossouts on my original list is vaguely ridiculous and I’m still adding stuff, so here’s a new one!

As usual, there are too many good books coming out and I need to read them all right now. What’s on your list for the year? Do we share any? Have I added any to your list? (All titles are adult unless stated otherwise.)

First Light - Casey Berger - January 1 (space opera)

Padoskoks - Joseph Bruchac - January 7 (mystery)

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry - C.M. Waggoner - January 12 (fantasy)

The Ratline - Phillip Sands - February 2 (history)

The Absolute Book - Elizabeth Knox - February 9 (fantasy)

A Dark and Hollow Star - Ashley Shuttleworth - February 23 (YA fantasy)

Accidentally Engaged - Farah Heron - March 2 (contemporary romance)

A Fatal Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum - Emma Southon - March 9 (history)

Birds of Paradise - Oliver K. Langmead - March 16 (contemporary fantasy)

Raft of Stars - Andrew J. Graff - March 23 (historical fiction)

Nöthin’ But a Good Time - Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour - March 30 (music history)

A Little Devil in America - Hanif Abdurraqib - March 30 (sociology)

What Abigail Did That Summer - Ben Aaronovitch - March 18 (contemporary fantasy)

The Fall of Koli - M.R. Carey - March 23 (post-apocalypse)

Wild Women and the Blues - Denny S. Bryce - March 30 (historical fiction)

The Helm of Midnight - Marina Lostetter - April 13 (fantasy)

The Last Watch - J.S. Dewes - April 20 (space opera) DNF

Between Perfect and Real - Ray Stoeve - April 27 (YA contemporary)

When You Get the Chance - Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson - May 4 (YA contemporary)

African Europeans - Olivette Otele - May 4 (history)

Angel of the Overpass - Seanan McGuire - May 11 (fantasy)

The Hellion’s Waltz - Olivia Waite - May 11 (historical romance)

A Master of Djinn - P. Djèlí Clark - May 11 (alternate history/fantasy)

Son of the Storm - Suyi Davies Okungbowa - May 11 (fantasy)

The Album of Dr. Moreau - Daryl Gregory - May 18 (science fiction)

Pumpkin - Julie Murphy - May 25 (YA contemporary)

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar - May 25 (YA contemporary)

The Kingdoms - Natasha Pulley - May 25 (alternate history)

The Lights of Prague - Nicole Jarvis - May 25 (historical fantasy)

How to Find a Princess - Alyssa Cole - May 25 (contemporary romance)

The Ship of Stolen Words - Fran Wilde - June 1 (middle grade fantasy)

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston - June 1 (romance)

An Unlikely Spy - Rebecca Starford - June 1 (historical fiction)

Dead Dead Girls - Nekesa Afia - June 1 (historical mystery)

The Library of the Dead - T. L. Huchu - June 1 (contemporary fantasy) DNF

The Witness for the Dead - Katherine Addison - June 22 (fantasy)

This Poison Heart - Kalynn Bayron - July 6 (YA fantasy)

Lake Crescent - J. J. Dupuis - July 6 (mystery)

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead - Emily Austin - July 6 (contemporary)

Appleseed - Matt Bell - July 13 (literary fiction) DNF

A Radical Act of Free Magic - H.G. Parry - July 20 (historical fantasy)

She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan - July 20 (historical fantasy)

The Middle Ages: a Graphic History - Eleanor Janega - July 23 (graphic non-fiction) decided against it

Small Favors - Erin A. Craig - July 27 (YA fantasy)

Summer Fun - Jeanne Thornton - July 27 (contemporary)

The Rocky Road to Ruin - Meri Allen - July 27 (cozy mystery)

Clark and Division - Naomi Hirahara - August 3 (historical mystery)

Sisters in Arms - Kaia Alderson - August 3 (historical fiction)

The Bookseller’s Secret - Michelle Gable - August 17 (historical) DNF

My Heart is a Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones - August 31 (horror)

The History of Magic - Chris Gosden - August 31 (history)

No Gods, No Monsters - Cadwell Turnbull - September 7 (contemporary fantasy)

Matrix - Lauren Groff - September 7 (historical fiction)

The All-Consuming World - Cassandra Khaw - September 7 (space opera) DNF

When Sorrows Come - Seanan McGuire - September 14 (contemporary fantasy)

Fuzz - Mary Roach - September 14 (science)

The Escapement - Lavie Tidhar - September 21 (fantasy?)

Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid - Thor Hanson - September 28 (science)

Along the Saltwise Sea - Seanan McGuire - October 12 (portal fantasy)

The Cabinet - Un-Su Kim - October 12 (science fiction)

ExtraOrdinary - V.E. Schwab - October 12 (superhero graphic novel)

The Haunting Season - October 21 (ghost stories)

A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske - November 2 (historical fantasy)

Books and Libraries: Poems - Andrew Scrimgeour, ed. - November 2 (poetry)

The Undertakers - Nicole Glover - November 9 (historical fantasy)

The Sentence - Louise Erdrich - November 9 (contemporary fantasy?)

The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks - Mackenzi Lee - November 16 (YA historical)

Elder Race - Adrian Tchaikovsky - November 16 (science fiction)

Rivers of London, Vol. 9 - Ben Aaronovitch - November 16 (graphic novel, urban fantasy)

A Snake Falls to Earth - Darcie Little Badger - November 23 (YA contemporary fantasy)

The Liar’s Knot - M.A. Carrick - December 7 (fantasy)

Spin Me Right Round - David Valdes - December 7 (YA time travel)

Tread of Angels - Rebecca Roanhorse - possibly? (historical fiction) no date

[childofawoman]

Tagged by: @mareeandhal 😘

Last Song : She Couldn't - Linkin Park

Last TV show: Good Girls

Currently Watching - Line of Duty S6

Currently reading - African Europeans: An Untold History by Olivette Otele

Tagging: @teebeornotteebe @infinite-wanders @sweetandlowdowngrace @herroyalbubbliness

[researchmiscellanea]

Royal Edinburgh Asylum? Indian!

(Sorry, Goodness Gracious Me is embedded in my brain, and this is immediately where I went)

I finished listening to Olivette Otele’s African Europeans (reccomended read, btw) and had the thought that I’d never tried to cross-reference donors to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum (REA) with the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership database. That hasn’t brought anything up so far, though the nature of the records means that this absolutely should not be taken to say that no money from slavery went into the REA. However, a totally different colonial link came up, via an 1836 report detailing the finances of the REA from foundation to that time.

It gives the totals of all donations up to that time:

I’m not going to go into the shillings and pence, but of the individual donations received, of £5986 recevied, £1708 was from India - that’s 29% of all individual donations. The total of all donations, including grants from government, was £15,695 - which makes those donations from India 11% of all donations to the REA.Fees from patients were the largest single source of income, amounting to £38,042 over that time; the total of all income for REA was £57,735. Doing the maths on that, the money from India was 3% of the all the money that the REA had got, ever.

There has been a fair amount written about the enthusiastic Scottish participation in the British Empire, so this probably shouldn’t be as surprising as I found it.

It was certainly not a constant flow of money and seems to follow the pattern of donations in general with very significant variations from year to year: for example, total donations were £1032 in 1820, then £123 in 1821. The majority of the donations from India seem to have come from four big funding drives (I’m using the place names as they are in the document, not modernising): 1809: £408 from Madras, £83 from Ceylon 1811: £185 from Calcutta 1812: £283 from Bombay

My first thought was that these had been prompted by someone with a connection to Edinburgh. I can’t find anything about the Dr Christie associated with the Ceylon donation. The 1812 Bombay donation has Scottish links, but not obviously Edinburgh ones; it’s “remitted by Charles Forbes, Esq” and the Charles Forbes with connection to Bombay at this time is either this guy or his son, whose connections are with Aberdeen. The largest donation was from “Hon J Duncan”, and reading the photo of his tombstone he was from Forfar:

(You could write a whole essay on the iconography of that tombstone; you’ve got romanticism, classicism, colonialism, whatever the academic term is for “won’t someone think of the children!” etc etc)

I suspect that the donation from Madras “remitted by Dr James Anderson” was this James Anderson, medical degree from Edinburgh. A “Dr Adam Burt, Bengal” is listed as a member of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh in an 1815 almanack, so that’s probably the Calcutta donation “remitted per Dr Adam Burt”.

As an aside, it may well be the same Adam Burt who wrote “On The Dissection Of The Pangolin” in 1789, which finishes with this magnificent humblebrag:

Then I found a reference to the donation being talked about in the Bombay Courier, dated August 10th 1811, and it’s right there on the front page:

I’m going to transcribe it, because of a combination of fuzziness and multiple long ‘s’:

Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum To the Honorable Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay The managers of the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum beg leave to inclose to the Honorable Jonathan Duncan an address to the public on that institution and a short account of its origin. These they earnestly reccomend to an attentive consideration; and they may also further add, that the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum is intended, not merely as a local, but as a National Institution, into which the insane will be admitted, on the same terms from every part of Britain and where they may receive the advice and assistance of any practitioners in Edinburgh whom their relations may chuse to employ. Those whose circumstances do not enable them to pay Medical Practitioners will be supplied gratuitously both with adviace and Medicines; the person or the Parish who sends them being charged only with a very low Board for their Maintainence, and with the expence of such Clothing as the Managers may find it absolutely necessary to furnish to them. Where a Patient, sent to the Asylum is in such circumstances, that his Relations are willing to pay for the best accomodation, he will not only be attended by any Medical Practitioners whom they may chuse to appoint, but be under the immediate care also of his own Servants, and have a House and Garden within the walls of the Asylum appropriated to his own use. With this view; the ingenious Architect Mr Reid, to whose gratuitous exertions the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum is very much indebted, has introduced into the plan three small houses, each in the middle of a small garden, and conveniently accomodated for the reception of a single individual, subjected to Mental Derangement, whose Relations may wish, that while the care of his health is entrusted to those Physicians whom they have employed with a view to his recovery, the care of his person should be confided to such Keepers or Servants as they may chuse to appoint. Thus the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum, if Money can be procured to complete the whole of the intended Plan, will afford Conveniences, in the Cure of Insanity, which are not perhaps to be obtained in any similar institution in Europe. On this ground, the Managers flatter themselves with the hope, that they may receive some assistance from the Benevolent and Patriotic in every part of the British Empire. And money is only wanted from the Public to complete the building; for, after that is finished, there can be little doubt, that the institution will support itself. Edinburgh - Februrary 1808 ----- Subscriptions will be received at the Office of Messrs Forbes and Co where the Address to the Public and Plan of the Institution alluded to in the foregoing letter to the Hon’ble Governor may be seen. Bombay, 1st August 1811

There follows a list of 30 named subscribers.

So - they sent a mail shot half way across the world! Actually an incredibly canny thing to do - there were rich Scots in India, whose heart and purse strings could be pulled on. Possibly also some self-interest; Europeans who became “subject to Mental Derangement” in India were generally shipped home asap, and it wasn’t until 1818 that there was dedicated provision for the returnees in the UK.

Also, note the date sent from Edinburgh - February 1808. So the liklihood is that all four of the big donations from India (inc Ceylon) resulted from the same mail shot, but there were different amounts of time in transport/languishing in the governor’s in-tray as unimportant.

A similar tug-heartstrings-for-money had appeared in the Scots Magazine and Edinburgh Literary Miscellany in November 1807 - “Address to the Public, respecting the Establishment of a Lunatic Asylum at Edinburgh.” It’s much longer than the one in the Bombay Courier, and noteable in the difference in emphasis. Both want the reader to be benevolent to the poor; but only the Bombay version stresses patriotism. The Bombay version stresses the luxury end of the provision; the Edinburgh version stresses that you could go and visit friends in the asylum “without trouble or expence” and that charges would be “comparatively moderate”. India was where the rich Scots with money to spare were.

When you think of colonies as machines for funneling money and resources to the colonising country, you tend to think of business, industry and military, not charity. But “supporting charity back home” could be another avenue for this resource transfer, and this example shows that it could be significant amounts of money.

[gracegrath]

[PDF] African Europeans: An Untold History - Olivette Ot?l?

Download Or Read PDF African Europeans: An Untold History - Olivette Ot?l? Free Full Pages Online With Audiobook.

  [*] Download PDF Here => African Europeans: An Untold History

[*] Read PDF Here => African Europeans: An Untold History

 A dazzling history of Africans in Europe, revealing their unacknowledged role in shaping the continent Conventional wisdom holds that Africans are only a recent presence in Europe. But in African Europeans, renowned historian Olivette Otele debunks this and uncovers a long history of Europeans of African descent. From the third century, when the Egyptian Saint Maurice became the leader of a Roman legion, all the way up to the present, Otele explores encounters between those defined as "Africans" and those called "Europeans." She gives equal attention to the most prominent figures -- like Alessandro de Medici, the first duke of Florence thought to have been born to a free African woman in a Roman village -- and the untold stories -- like the lives of dual-heritage families in Europe's coastal trading towns. African Europeans is a landmark celebration of this integral, vibrantly complex slice of European history, and will redefine the field for years to come.

[boatshoejoe]

New Book Alert🚨 “African Europeans” By Olivette Otele * * * #knowledge #power #thinkers #wise #learned #Intelligence #experience #blackman #blackwomen #spiritual #history #blackhistory #realhistory #science #nature #education #books #goodreads https://www.instagram.com/p/CQn715inwe-cQBhtzWo-vzeQ98GXDNChqfh_-w0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koliasa]

African Europeans, X Troop and Fenn's Treasure | History

https://koliasa.com/african-europeans-x-troop-and-fenns-treasure-history/ African Europeans, X Troop and Fenn's Treasure | History - https://koliasa.com/african-europeans-x-troop-and-fenns-treasure-history/ Sweeping in scope and ambition, historian Olivette Otele’s ...

[fangirlnationmag]

'African Europeans' is a Fascinating Look at the Influence of People of Color in Europe

‘African Europeans’ is a Fascinating Look at the Influence of People of Color in Europe

Traditionally, when most of us think of Europe, we don’t picture how people of color impacted the creation of society or their presence as part of it. The new book African Europeans works to dispel some myths and legends, as well as give attention to prominent figures like Alessandro de Medici , Saint Maurice, and Alexander Pushkin.  Historian Olivette Otele does an incredible job with research…

[blmresourcesdesigndept]

Black History: Black Present: Black Future 

 Are we ready to rise to the challenge of Black Lives Matter to create a fairer and more representative city after the pandemic? How can a better understanding of our past help this? What is the impact of Bristol’s history on the racial injustice we witness today? How can we use stories of the past to help us build a better city in the future?

 Join leading figures in the city for a series of conversations that focus on the momentous events of 2020, Bristol’s relationship with its past and the individuals and organisations who are committed to changing the city now and in the future. Curated by award-winning Bristol playwright and Bristol Old Vic Trustee, Chinonyerem Odimba (Princess and the Hustler, Unknown Rivers), these conversations will reflect on aspects of Black British history, and ask whether we are ready to rise to the challenge highlighted by Black Lives Matter to create a fairer and more representative city after the pandemic. 

OLIVETTE OTELE: AFRICAN EUROPEANS

 Co-produced with Festival of Ideas Venue: Online Duration: Approx. 1 hour Wed 21 Oct 6:30pm 

ROLE MODELS, CREATIVITY AND CHANGE Marvin Rees in conversation with Chinonyerem Odimba Sun 25 Oct 6:00pm 

THE FUTURE: CAN BRISTOL REALLY CHANGE? Venue: Theatre Duration: Approx. 1 hour 

In this pivotal year of 2020, will the opportunity for change be seized or will it once again pass Bristol by? Wed 28 Oct 6:00pm