BCA invites Black community to submit their questions for London Mayoral Candidates

Black Cultural Archives (BCA) will be taking questions from the Black communities and posing them to some of the leading candidates for the London Mayoral elections. The home of Black British history is keen to ensure that not only do people vote in the elections but that the community has a chance to hear how the candidates will be supporting their needs over the coming four years.

Already confirmed is current London Mayor, Sadiq Khan plus his Conservative Party rival, Shaun Bailey.

The series exemplifies the national heritage centre’s mission to make sure that Black voices are heard by decision makers at every level.

People have until Thursday 22 April to submit their questions on the BCA website. The interviews will then be broadcast via BCA’s YouTube channel and social networks ahead of the election on Thursday 6 May 2021.

Of the series, BCA Managing Director Arike Oke said “The Mayor of London is one of the most powerful political roles outside of parliament. We want to make sure that whoever is next for City Hall’s top job has the concerns of Black London at the top of their mind.””

Viewers can submit their questions online and will be able to watch the interviews from Monday 3 May on YouTube.

Black Cultural Archives leaves government’s Windrush Working Group after ‘unsubstantiated’ race report

Black Cultural Archives (BCA), the home of Black British history, has resigned from its position on the Home Office’s Cross Government Windrush Working Group following the recent release of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report. 

In a statement sent to the government, the BCA stated “Black Cultural Archives refutes the approach and findings of the report on the basis of its poor use of data, unsubstantiated conclusions and British history inaccuracies”. 

Their statement addressing the government advises that the report “minimises the historical context of both the lived experience of racism and the documented evidence of institutional racism.” And presents a plethora of challenges made by the national institution and leading to its decision to step away from the Windrush Working Group. 

BCA were invited to join the Working Group in June 2020. They accepted the invitation as part of their commitment to using their active voice for positive change in the spaces they occupy for their community. At the time, the then-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dawn Hill CBE, said “We are hopeful that the formation of this group is a positive step forward to a more just and equal society.” However, the release of the Commission’s race report represents a step backwards in the work towards an anti-racist society.  Despite stepping away from the Working Group, BCA wishes to recognise the achievements of this group in: 

• Advising the Home Office on its programme of internal culture change 

• Restructuring the payment system for Windrush Compensation claimants, including an increase in the amount paid to victims. 

• Forthcoming simplification of the claim forms. 

BCA’s full statement on the report covers several issues with the report including the minimisation of the ongoing effects of the transatlantic slave trade, the importance of independent research, historical context and the findings of Wendy William’s 2020 report on  the Windrush Scandal. 

“The March 2020 Wendy Williams report identifies and uses evidence to identify clear links between institutional ignorance and the forced illegal deportation of British citizens. The Wendy Williams report draws links between ethnicity and poor treatment. The Commission included members of the Government’s Cross-Government Windrush Working Group. It is unclear why the scandal is not used or examined as evidence in the Commission’s study, when the Wendy Williams investigation and report contains so much of relevance to the Commission’s given brief, and to the conclusions that they draw on the existence or otherwise of institutional or systemic bias.” 

In conclusion, BCA states, “The chosen narrative of the Commission’s March 2021 report, its selective and confused approach to data collection and analysis, and its inconclusive findings undermines its own recommendations.  

We still await action for positive change for all individuals, communities and wider society. This report is not it.” 

The full statement is available here.

New exhibits for Spring 2021

From Windrush activism, historical objects, sickle cell memories, to the 1981 Uprisings, BCA has an online programme to help everyone learn and enjoy Black history this spring.

Our venue, 1 Windrush Square, will re-open its doors at the end of May in line with the government’s coronavirus restrictions, but our online programming continues.

Our dedicated digital space, created with support from Bloomberg and City Bridge during the first national lockdown, is where we share our latest digital exhibits.

New for spring 2021:

Our Journey Our Story: History and Memory of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Britain 1950 - 2020

This guest exhibit is created by the Sickle Cell Society and will transfer to an in-person experience when 1 Widnrush Square re-opens.

Objects Revealed

Guest curator Sandra Shakespeare and her team reveal objects from the BCA collection that they discovered before the November 2020 lockdown. This exhibit is supported by Historic England.

Windrush What’s Next?

‘Windrush: What’s Next? The struggle for justice’ podcast series frames the 2018 ‘Windrush Scandal’ within a historical but forward facing narrative, bringing together campaigners, people affected by the Windrush Scandal, race equality practitioners, cultural historians and lawyers. This series was recorded during lockdown.

This series was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and is dedicated to all Windrush survivors including activist Paulette Wilson.

Defend Yourself: Unity is Strength

Researcher-in-residence Virgillo Hunter has created An online exhibit drawing from Black Cultural Archives collections to explore the community response to the Brixton uprising in April 1981.

Explore the exhibits.

Our exhibits help us to work towards our 2030 aims of making teaching and learning about Black history available to everyone, using our active voice, and making our collections available online.

The rest of our digital programme includes a series of live events. Visit the programme page for upcoming events, and our YouTube page to view past events.

Upcoming Programme

BCA YouTube

BCA announced as Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund recipients

As part of its ongoing mission to invest $100 million in organizations focused on achieving social justice, the Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund (WMG/BFF SJF) today announced its initial six grant recipients: Black Cultural Archives, Black Futures Lab, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Howard University, REFORM Alliance and Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

The WMG/BFF SJF was established in June 2020 in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black people. These horrific events heightened awareness about the ongoing systemic issues plaguing Black communities. The Fund serves as an acknowledgement of the contributions Black culture has made to the profitability of today’s music industry. Over 10 years, the Fund will invest in organizations around the globe that build more equitable communities and create real change in the lives of historically underserved and marginalized populations – with heightened attention to Black communities.

“We have been intentional in structuring the Fund as a separate legal entity to support organizations that are on the front lines of advancing equity and justice for all people,” said Camille Hackney, President of the WMG/BFF SJF and Chief Partnerships Officer at Atlantic Records/Head of Global Brand Partnerships Council at Warner Music Group. “Our Fund intends to not only work to affect structural change through our contributions, but also support Black-owned and led businesses as a core way of operating.”

As part of that purpose-driven structure, the Fund has chosen OneUnited Bank – the largest Black-owned bank in the U.S. – as its banking partner, and Moore Impact – a division of a Black woman-owned start-up Moore Philanthropy led by Yvonne L. Moore – as its fiscal sponsor. Moore will play a key role in the distribution of the funds. The Advisory Board includes five external members whose counsel and expertise in social justice have been invaluable to defining the fund’s mission and strategic direction.

Tanya Coke, WMG/BFF Advisory Board member and the Director of Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice at the Ford Foundation, said: “Over the past eight months, we’ve crafted a grantmaking strategy focused on three key pillars: education, criminal justice, and cultural and performing arts that promote narrative change about the Black experience. This first tranche of grants -- to organizations providing a range of needed services and advocacy to effectuate meaningful change – reflects these guiding principles, as well as the values of Warner Music Group and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.”

Howard University, for example, will receive a multimillion-dollar grant over the course of five years that will go toward the launch of a new Music Business Center at Howard University School of Business. A first-of-its-kind at any historically Black College or University (HBCU), the center will create curriculum development, internship opportunities, executive-in-residence and certification programs, as well as a new recording studio. With the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, our funds have helped 40,000 returning citizens (i.e., formerly convicted persons) register to vote by paying their remaining legal and financial fees. For the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, the grant will help provide medical and financial assistance to legacy R&B artists who have been confronted with unprecedented economic challenges due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“Providing opportunities in education for Black students in the arts paves the way for equal opportunity for everyone in the music industry and beyond,” said Len Blavatnik, Chairman of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. “The Fund’s commitment to a sustained effort to achieve change and results will have a lasting, positive impact.”

The WMG/BFF SJF is one expression of Warner Music Group’s ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts, which include the creation of a Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, employee resource groups, and a DEI team led by Dr. Maurice A. Stinnett, who also sits on the fund’s Advisory Board. Each grantee will meet with Dr. Stinnett and other key WMG executives to explore additional partnership opportunities. 

Grant Recipients:

Howard University is a private, federally chartered historically HBCU, comprising 13 schools and colleges in Washington D.C. Students pursue studies in more than 140 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.

Rhythm & Blues Foundation is dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of R&B music. The idea for the foundation grew out of royalties discussions in 1987 between artists’ rights attorney Howell Begle, Atlantic Records artist Ruth Brown, and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The R&B Foundation's mission is to provide financial support, medical assistance and educational outreach through various grants and programs. The Foundation is currently supporting R&B artists who recorded music from the 1940s through the 1990s. 

REFORM Alliance aims to dramatically reduce the number of people who are unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system – starting with probation and parole. It leverages resources to change laws, policies, hearts, and minds. The REFORM Alliance was co-founded by Fanatics Executive Chairman Michael Rubin; Atlantic Records artist and criminal justice reform advocate Meek Mill; entrepreneur and business mogul Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter; Kraft Group CEO and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; Brooklyn Nets co-owner and philanthropic investor Clara Wu Tsai; Galaxy Digital CEO and founder Michael E. Novogratz; Vista Equity Partners founder, chairman, and CEO Robert F. Smith; Arnold Ventures co-founder Laura Arnold; and CNN host, author and activist Van Jones.

Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is the home of Black British History, conceived in 1981 as a monument to hold space for the histories of people from across the African diaspora in British culture and history. The organization uses its mission to collect, preserve and celebrate the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK and to inspire and give strength to individuals, communities and society. BCA’s HQ is 1 Windrush Square in Brixton, London. At its headquarters, the BCA runs a series of gallery exhibitions, educational programs, and public engagement events. BCA provides free access to its unique set of archives, museum objects and reference library.

Black Futures Lab works to build Black political power and change the way it operates – locally, statewide, and nationally. The organization engages Black voters year-round, encouraging them to use their political strength to prevent corporate influence from creeping into public policies. It combines technology and traditional organizing methods to have the broadest reach possible.

Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) is a membership organization committed to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions in the U.S. Made up and led by returning citizens (i.e., formerly convicted persons), FRRC works to create a comprehensive and humane reentry system that will enhance successful reentry, reduce recidivism and increase public safety. The coalition is a respected leader in the effort to register, engage, and mobilize returning citizens and their families into empowered members of the community and passionate voters.

The Board will announce grant recipients twice a year with its second tranche to follow this fall. For more information about the fund or to request an application to apply for a grant, please email wmg.bff.fund@wmg.com

Black Cultural Archives partners with Scholastic to celebrate the Windrush generation

Black Cultural Archives is proud to be partnering with Scholastic UK for a book to celebrate the Windrush generation and our 40th anniversary.

THE PLACE FOR ME: STORIES OF THE WINDRUSH GENERATION will feature twelve stories inspired by the people of the Windrush generation – drawn from the archives.

Dame Floella Benjamin, Trinidadian-British author, actress, television presenter and politician, writes the foreword. The contributing authors all have a connection to the Windrush generation and include authors Kevin George, Salena Godden, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Jermain Jackman, Kirsty Latoya and Quincy the Comedian alongside Katy Massey, Emma Norry, K. N. Chimbiri and Judy Hepburn. The cover art is by illustrator Joelle Avelino.

Aimed at 8+ readers, the hardback will publish in June to mark the Black Cultural Archive’s 40th anniversary and Windrush Day on 22nd June which honours the British Caribbean community and the half a million people who travelled to the UK after the Second World War.

Scholastic will donate 50p from the sale of every book to BCA.

Arike Oke, Managing Director of Black Cultural Archives, says: “The stories of the Windrush Generation are the stories of how post-war Britain was made, and stories about the shared histories that unite people of African descent around the world. I am delighted that Scholastic recognised the importance of making sure that children and families have access to this precious history, and doubly pleased at the incredible writers that answered the call. This is a landmark publication that will carry its own legacy of education and inspiration into homes and schools. As the Managing Director of BCA, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Leah James, Publishing Manager at Scholastic UK, says: “Working with the BCA is a dream come true. They are a brilliant organization working tirelessly to document the lives of black people in Britain. We are thrilled to be publishing so many brilliant authors who will be sharing the under-heard stories and history of the Windrush Generation with children and adults alike.”

THE PLACE FOR ME: STORIES OF THE WINDRUSH GENERATION publishes in hardback in June 2021.

The Sickle Cell Society launch digital exhibition on Sickle Cell at BCA

The Sickle Cell Society launches 2021 with an exploratory exhibition on the history of Sickle Cell, the NHS and the Black British community with Black Cultural Archives.

Our Journey, Our Story: History and Memory of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Britain 1950 – 2020, which launches on the BCA events and exhibitions page on Monday 25 January, unveils the campaign to make sure that Sickle Cell was recognised by medical professionals and how treatment has evolved.

For the first time, the exhibition collects the testimonies and experiences of people living with SCD; photographs and archives about the history of sickle cell campaigning; and original art by Black artists.

Sickle cell disease affects 15,000 people in the UK. People with sickle cell can experience pain, strokes, fatigue and many other symptoms, and it can be life-threatening. SCD was misunderstood by doctors and underfunded for decades.

Against the backdrop of British Black Power, the first black MPs in Parliament, and anti-racist campaigning; patients, families, nurses and doctors campaigned for equitable treatment in the NHS, and better awareness of the condition.

As an illness that was an object of fascination for geneticists and anthropologists as a marker of ‘race’, this exhibition seeks to turn that on its head and present the condition as it is seen, understood and managed by the people affected by it.

Our Journey, Our Story: History and Memory of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Britain 1950 – 2020 will be available online at blackculturalarchives.org from Monday 25 January 2021. This project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Looking back at 2020 with our Managing Director, Arike Oke

Dear friends,

The year we have all been through together has tested everyone, across the world. Black Cultural Archives has been changed by the events of this year, and by the freely given generosity of our community and supporters, such that we will never be the same again. We go forward into 2021 with renewed purpose, renewed vigour and renewed vision. We are humbled by the support we continue to receive, from donations to advice, new opportunities and international avenues.

In reflecting on the past twelve months, it feels right to recognise the Afrikan family festival of Kwanzaa, which ends on the 1st of January. This whistle-stop round of up 2020 is split into the 7 Kwanzaa principles.

 The first day of Kwanzaa is Umoja: Unity. This year BCA has been using its active voice on Windrush and Black Lives Matter.

We began 2020 by holding a public meeting in Lambeth Town Hall to update and bring together information about the Windrush Compensation Scheme. Over the year our support of the people affected by the Home Office’s immigration policies (the Windrush Scandal) has evolved via our partnership with legal firm McKenzie Beute and Pope, our supporters The Funding Network, JCWI, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Patrick Vernon and London Borough of Lambeth, and our commitment to using our influence in support of our community. We accepted the invitation to join the government’s Windrush Working Group and are gradually shifting policy. September saw our online conference, Windrush Next, which dove into the issues and challenges and commemorations of the Windrush period. In June we ran a series of online celebrations of the Windrush period, our friends Decolonising the Archive released specially made content, and we shared oral histories from our collections so that researchers could continue to study this pivotal period in British history.

When we heard of the killing of George Floyd we were all hit hard. It took us a while to begin to process what had happened and what that meant. Already dealing with the move to remote working for some of the team, and furlough for others in the team, we were floored. Our marketing supplier The Girl in the Red Glasses (TGRG) created a series for us on social media that remembered the UK victims of police violence. I worked with the trustees to create our statement, and I advised other cultural institutions on their responses. Despite the challenges we were already facing due to the pandemic’s disruption, our Archives Supervisor Rhoda Boateng, stepped up to create a digital call out to capture the summer’s activism into our collections. Over 200 people contacted her with potential donations. I will always be humbled by how the BCA family pulled together to respond and support each other and the Black Lives Matter debates, behind the scenes we’ve been able to influence beyond the cultural sector and to keep some of these issues alive into 2021.

The second day of Kwanzaa is Kujichagulia: Self-Determination

Despite the pandemic closing our home at 1 Windrush Square in March we went ahead and launched our 10 year strategy in a packed virtual town hall event in May. I loved interacting with you all, hearing your views and sharing our vision to 2030. BCA has gone from the fragility of a charity that has survived on the passion, skills and goodwill of our community (but with no savings or financial buffer for hard times) to a charity with a renewed mission, a healthy and growing network, and finishing our financial year with a small surplus. Finally achieving a level of financial stability for our charity has been a major win for us in 2020 and this is mainly down to the generosity and incredible faith that you and our supporters have shown us. Closing 1 Windrush Square meant that our ability to generate our own income wasn’t possible anymore: no more room hires, no more café, no more bookshop, in person events, workshops or exhibition visitors. We’ve learned, especially with the support of Niche on Demand, how to use our expertise and our collections digitally to earn income during Black History Month. We are humbled by the donations that individuals and organisations sent to us to help us get through.

Financial independence for BCA means true self determination for BCA. It means that we can be politically independent, and that we can guide our journey according to our ethics and point of view.

The third day of Kwanzaa is about Ujima: Collective work and responsibility

Although BCA’s core mission is preserving, documenting and celebrating the histories of African descent people in the UK, I’m determined that BCA should use its position to support other Black-led groups, causes and organisations. This is why we are part of the Mayor of London’s advisory groups for the remembrance of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, and for Africa in London. As part of these groups BCA can make sure that others are brought into the discussions and programming. It’s also why we included budget to support the hire costs for grassroots groups to use 1 Windrush Square when the Covid restrictions allow us to reopen our venue. We know that our building should be a convening place and community resource on top of its core role in protecting and sharing our heritage collections. We also know that the running costs of our Grade II* listed building are beyond our means, and not becoming any more affordable as the building ages. Being able to secure funding to help support the costs of our building, therefore allowing other groups to use it without high hire charges is a significant win for us.

Working with architects Urban Symbiotics and Julian Mcintosh, and with support from Lambeth and the Arts Council, we created a Covid-safe garden, and new Covid measures in the rest of the building for our late summer (between lockdowns) re-opening of 1 Windrush Square. People could now safely return to BCA, and our friends Poetic Unity could restart the regular in person spoken word nights again, which they had run on our Instagram during the first lockdown. Our venue team, Keith, Issa and Michael could come back from furlough to welcome visitors again.

Day four of Kwanzaa is Ujamaa: Co-operative Economics. BCA is becoming more resilient, flexible and entrepreneurial

BCA would not have made it to the end of this year of challenge and change without the donations, grants and support of our community and beyond. From the individual donations via justgiving, text and the CAF, to donations from festivals, sausage sales(!), events, networks and even people taking on fundraising challenges, to the formal bids that we have spent hundreds of hours writing this year: thank you all. You have saved this charity.

Not only have you saved BCA, but you’ve also put us in the best position for creating our business plan for the coming years in which we expect Covid to still throw us a few curveballs. From developing new ways for us to interact remotely, and allowing us to hire our first administrative assistant, Jasmine, to new ways to make sure that we can share our collections online, touring and in-person. 2021 already has some exciting announcements in store as we reach into new media with new partners.

Nia: Purpose is the theme for day five of Kwanzaa. Making teaching and learning about Black history available to everyone is one of the pillars of our mission.

The resilience of our Leaning and Engagement Manager, Ayshah Johnston, was tested this year as all of her in person schools workshops and events had to be cancelled. She nimbly seized the opportunity to collaborate with Stateside academic Daisha Brabham on a series of online panels that looked at Black culture and experience in America and Britain: Bridging the Atlantic was one of my personal highlights of the year. Beyond that series Ayshah now runs online schools workshops, and created various other online events that delved into Black history. We were delighted, with the support of TGRG, to host events celebrating Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, including what could be McQueen’s most candid interview to date.

Just before the first lockdown in March we’d opened our landmark exhibition with noted photographer Joy Gregory. Breaking Barriers is part of the series sponsored by JP Morgan and included the portraits and stories of five incredible Black women professionals. Thanks to support from the City Bridge Trust and Bloomberg Philanthropies we could move the exhibition online when lockdown struck. The online exhibition was used by schools as lockdown homework, and featured in Tatler magazine, Metro, the Londonist and more.

Day six of Kwanzaa, new year’s eve, is dedicated to Kuumba: Creativity

This year one of my personal goals for BCA was achieved as for our 2020 Black Futures Month* commission we welcomed Black artists and curators to respond to the BCA collections, with support from Arts Council England. The results are incredible and form an entirely new view of Black history and heritage. We’re humbled to have hosted the artists and curators. You can view their residencies on our new digital showcase space in the Re-Imagining Care and Digital Residences series.

Bloomberg Philanthropies and Historic England are separately helping us to share BCA beyond 1 Windrush Square. Our new content on the Bloomberg Connects app is the product of the creativity of curator Natalie Fiawoo, while Sandra Shakespeare is working on the Historic England project to research and share our building’s story and treasures remotely including the mysterious collection of objects from the diaspora.

Imani: Faith is the Kwanzaa principle for the 1st of January.

Drawing on the best of ourselves for 2021 will see BCA continue its resilience journey (thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Warner Music Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund, Lambeth and other generous supporters), curate a film festival, celebrate in person gatherings again, welcome a new Chair of the Board of Trustees, and our 40th anniversary. Not least, but finally, we are delighted that we’ll be starting a new project working on the archives of Black mental health we hold, with help from the Wellcome Trust, and developing an innovative cultural workforce development programme with our incomparable team member Karis Morris-Brown, partners Inclusive Boards, and supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

With so much happening it’s easy to forget that BCA’s core team, people whose jobs are not created for projects, currently numbers only seven people. I am indebted to the team, to the Board of Trustees and our Chair Dawn Hill CBE, and to our network of partners, supporters, friends and family for everything that we achieve, and for the support when things do not go according to plan. There are too many of you to name, and so I hope that those of you not mentioned above will forgive me.

Bring on 2021. We are ready.

Best of wishes for the New Year,
Arike Oke, Managing Director.

*BCA celebrates Black Futures Month in October, as for us Black History is an all year round event.

BCA is now on the Bloomberg Connects app

We're pleased to announce that visitors from anywhere in the world can now experience Black Cultural Archives through the Bloomberg Connects app. Bloomberg Connects is a free digital guide to cultural organisations around the world.

As the home of Black British history, we’re delighted to make Black history available in your home, or on the move, via your device. This exciting new technology allows you to virtually tour our home at 1 Windrush Square, discover the secrets of our collections, delve deeper into the stories from the collections, view exclusive exhibitions and more.

The project has been developed over several months by producer and curator, Natalie Fiawoo. Past visitors to BCA may have visited Natalie's last exhibition Family Ties, the story of a Ghanaian family's journey of discovery which led them to uncover a royal history. A new version of the exhibition also features on the Bloomberg Connects App.

“It's always such an honour to work with BCA.” Says Natalie “The stories of people of African Descent are at the centre of all of my work and so being able to make this accessible in such a large way means that these stories will now spread even further.”

“Each of the exhibitions provide a little glimpse into all of the work that BCA is doing as well as the amazing-ness that sits in the (fully accessible) Archive. I hope that people will be inspired to learn more and come and visit, once we are open again of course.”

BCA sits amongst a number of international galleries, museums and archives on the app, meaning that you can explore a range of cultural institutions right in the palm of your hand.

Getting the app couldn’t be simpler. Head to the iTunes or Google Play store and download the Bloomberg Connects app.

BCA launches Digital Artist Residences, its new exploration in collaboration with Languid Hands

For October’s Black Futures Month, we opened our archives to early-career curators and gave them the opportunity to explore and create new projects based on what they discovered.

Curators-in-residence Pelumi Odubanjo and Languid Hands (a collaboration between Rabz Lansiquot and Imani Robinson) - under the mentorship of Barby Asante - took their own unique approaches to the practice of curation and interaction with the archives inviting artists and creators to respond.

In our first project, Pelumi Odubanjo curated a series of interviews, Re-imagining Care , which focused on artists’ reflections on their own understanding and practice of recording, acknowledging, archiving and curation, considering these acts as acts of care.

Continuing this dialogue between artist and archive, curatorial and artistic duo Languid Hands selected seven UK-based artists to undertake a four-week digital research residency with BCA; Ufuoma Essi, Rhea Dillon, Anisa Nuh-Ali, Zinzi Minott, Shamica Ruddock, Samra Mayanja and Felix Taylor.

We are now presenting the results of these residencies. The seven selected artists have produced reflections on their research, activating and re-animating the archive through their relative practices. The scope and approach of their research has been broad, whether exploring collections of antique maps or looking into the legacies of pioneering Black composers, the artists have interrogated the archive in unique ways, making links across different forms of Black cultural production. This project centres on how archival research can be undertaken creatively, recognising the importance of having a place to engage in this work collaboratively.

This exploration of our collections is now complete, although we hope it’s also just the beginning, and that more people will be inspired to engage with the archives in different ways. You can read Languid Hands perspective on this project here. Each exploration will be available to view from Monday 23 November when we’ll be presenting the outcomes of these residencies in our new online exhibition space.

Languid Hands will also extend their curation for the BCA to Instagram, where you’ll see one of the seven artists featured each day for the next week, from 23rd to 29th November, to share more about the process of this research and the work they have made.

You can experience Digital Artist Residencies and our other online exhibitions now.

These digital artist residencies are Black Cultural Archives’ Black Futures Month Commission in 2020.
Made possible with support from Arts Council England.

Teaching Black history in schools: open letter to Kemi Badenoch MP

Black Cultural Archives has sent the following letter to Kemi Badenoch MP, following her comments in the House of Commons Black History Month debate.

Ms Badenoch’s contribution can be viewed on Parliament TV.

Kemi Badenoch MP
Parliamentary Undersecretary of State (Minister for Equalities)
Government Equalities Office
Sanctuary Buildings
16-20 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT

I write in my capacity as the Managing Director of Black Cultural Archives, the home of Black British history, with thanks to Abena Oppong-Asare, the MP for Erith and Thamesmead for securing the debate on Black History in the Commons on 20th October 2020 and also acknowledging our local MP, Helen Hayes, to thank her for continuing to champion the work we do in documenting, preserving and celebrating the lives, achievements and presence of Black people in the UK. I write on behalf of Black Cultural Archives and its board.

Black History Month was filled with celebrations, debates, performances and panels on the shared history of Britain in which people of African descent, or Black people, have made pivotal change to, and contributions to, the creation of contemporary British society. The cross-party debate was a highlight of the month. We were delighted to hear MPs from around the nation talk about Black history and Black heroes as related to their own constituencies, demonstrating that the breadth of Black history encompasses every part of the UK and across the length of British chronology. It was inspiring to hear so many cross-party voices celebrate Black History Month and call for more teaching of Black history in British classrooms. We absolutely agree, and are pleased to see that the question of broadening education was accepted across the House.

We are highly concerned that you closed the debate by deviating from the positive and open discussion preceding your statement into party politics. We remind the Minister that the teaching of Black history in our current curriculum is dependent on enabling and empowering all teachers across the country to teach it, which you have undermined by making statements on the legality of teachers’ self-led classroom content, and misunderstanding ‘critical race theory’ as an ideology (it is one methodology among other methodologies, and to the date of the debate does not seem to have been suggested by teachers as a methodology they would use). 

We are dismayed that this follows on from the Minister for Culture’s letter of 28th September which seemed counter to the arm’s length principle, and to position the idea that our national cultural organisations should abandon established professional curatorial, engagement and research practice in order to follow an agenda set by government, under threat of funding review.

Organisations such as Black Cultural Archives, and celebrations such as Black History Month and Windrush Day, exist to find balance, by correcting the omissions and erasures that have led to the ignorance of our shared past. Ignorance of our shared past contributes to issues such as the Windrush Scandal, to racism and intolerance, to harmful stereotypes and ethnic disparities. Knowledge of our shared past contributes to:

• social mobility

• community cohesion

• the rule of law and justice

• a thriving cultural sector

• Britain’s global reputation.

As such, Black Cultural Archives unreservedly supports the Museums Association’s response to Oliver Dowden’s letter.

We will not be able to learn from our past without knowing our past, and so we advise, hope for, and demand that teachers are given clear guidance, robust resources, and meaningful support to be able to include all of Britain’s history into the classroom for the benefit of future generations and for all of society. The quickest route to achieving this would be to include Black history as a compulsory component of the curriculum. The government appears to have a preference on which methodologies are to be used by teachers. Therefore - supplying teachers with guidance, resources and support via the national curriculum would be sensible.

The simple request to support the teaching of Black history in schools is being over complicated. It should not fall prey to the toxicity of party politics. Black Cultural Archives, an independent charity and national heritage organisation, is doing its part. The government must do its part.

Arike Oke

FRSA RM ARA
Managing Director, Black Cultural Archives.

Announcement from BCA Managing Director, Arike Oke

Following the announcement of a second England-wide lockdown, the BCA team will shift back to digital and remote working with immediate effect. Our home at 1 Windrush Square will be closed to the public until the current restrictions are lifted. Any previously scheduled, socially distanced events, happening at 1,Windrush Square are postponed. This includes upcoming Poets Corner events, for which refunds will be made, and the use of our building for Remembrance Sunday.

You can still experience BCA’s programme and resources 24 hours a day through our new digital showcase and the exhibits on our Google Arts and Culture platform. We have been working hard on creating more digital programming since the first lockdown in March this year, and we will continue to make teaching and learning about Black history available during this lockdown, even if only via our online programming. Please keep an eye on our events listings.

Our staff will be working from home and can be contacted via email, social media and by telephone on 0203 757 8500. Sign up to our newsletter, or follow us on social media for our latest projects, and please look out for even more celebration of Black artists in our 2020 Black Futures Month commissions, the first ‘Reimaging Care’ curated by Pelumi Odubanjo can be viewed at bcaexhibits.org.

In this period our Windrush Compensation advice surgeries are suspended. Please send us an email at info@bcaheritage.org.uk or leave a voicemail on 0203 757 8500 with your contact details if you would like to be added to the list for when they re-open. Researchers should contact archives@bcaheritage.org.uk for further information on how to access the collections during the closure.

We will closely monitor government guidance to review when we can re-open 1 Windrush Square.

We give thanks to all of the funders, businesses, collectives and individuals who have shown us remarkable support this year. It is thanks to all of you that we can survive this latest lockdown and continue our work.

We encourage everyone to continue to be safe and look forward to welcoming you back through our doors soon. Thank you for your support of BCA. From community comes strength.

From me and all of our family at BCA, we wish you good health.

BCA and WARC launch interview series to spotlight pioneering Black British creatives and marketers

Featuring Kevin Morosky of Havas and Pocc, Dr Glen Yearwood of Soul Marketing, and Binki Taylor of The Brixton Project with Kunle Olulode of Voice4Change paying homage to designer Jon Daniel

Black Cultural Archives (BCA), the home of Black British History and WARC, the global authority of marketing effectiveness have partnered to produce a series of intimate interviews showcasing the contribution, influence and impact Black British marketers and creatives have had on the marketing communications industry.

The video series Hidden Figures: A Look at Black British marketing and design, created in collaboration with Niche on Demand, will be released every Thursday from October 15 , and will feature:

• Kevin Morosky, Creative Director, Havas Media Group and Co-founder Pocc on: 

• The current state of diversity, equality and inclusion in advertising - what do brands need to to next?

• Personal experiences of progressing in advertising: barriers faced & actionable steps.

• The future Black marketers and advertisers of tomorrow

• Dr Glen Yearwood, Owner, Soul Marketing (22 October) on:

• The importance of storytelling to success

• Recommendations for the aspiring Black creatives and Marketers of the future

• What should brand do now in order to have true representation

• Binki Taylor, Founding Partner, The Brixton Project and Kunle Olulode, Director, Voice4Change England and Creative Director, Rebop Productions - in memoriam of Jon Daniel ( 29 October) on:

• The importance of brand activism

• The power of personality and openness in creating a change environment

• Jon Daniels’ pivotal creative campaigns

The video series marks the start of a long-term partnership between BCA and WARC who are making a commitment to help address diversity in marketing.

Of the partnership, BCA Managing Director Arike Oke said “We are always excited to work with partners who are interested in amplifying the stories of the Black communities. Our contributors have made great waves in the marketing and design industries. Their stories deserved to be told and committed to our archive which is the Home of Black British history. We look forward to our continued partnership with WARC.”

Paul Coxhill, Managing Director, WARC & Lions Intelligence, commented: “The lack of diversity in marketing and advertising urgently needs to be addressed in an authentic and meaningful way.

“As such, we are delighted to partner with the BCA to not only highlight some of the pioneers in Black British advertising, but to continue to help bring change to our industry by helping businesses market more effectively by incorporating inclusivity into their strategies.”

You can view the first video online now.

BCA welcomes Barby Asante as Guide Curator for our artists in residence

We are delighted to announce Barby Asante as Guide curator for our Black Futures exhibitions. Barby Asante is a London based artist, curator, and educator.

A highly respected specialist in her field, Barby's work focuses on the politics of place, space memory and the histories and legacies of colonialism. Asante can often be found working with groups of people as contributors, collaborators or co researchers, making her the perfect guide for our early career curators, Pelumi Odubanjo and Rabz Lansiquot and Imani Robinson of Lanquid Hands.

The selected artists and co-curators, with Barby’s guidance, will bring new and alternative interactions and focus to our archival material – a new dialogue between past, present and future.

Asante taught on Fine Art and Critical Studies programmes in London, Berlin, Gothenburg and Rotterdam. She is co-founder of a collaborative agency concerned with ethics, intersectionality and education in the contemporary arts who were mentors to the sorryyoufeeluncomfortable collective. She is also on the board of the Women's Art Library and 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning.

We are hugely excited to see Barby bring her approach to the archives through both her curation practice, guidance and mentorship of early career artists and curators.

Find out about Barby's other projects and current PhD on her official website.

The forthcoming projects will be available to view on the Exhibitions and Events section of the Black Cultural Archives from early October onwards.

BCA announces our second Curator in Residence, Pelumi Odubanjo

We’re thrilled to announce our next curator collaboration, led by Pelumi Odubanjo.

Reimaging Care focuses on the black womxn’s arts movement in Britain over the last decades (an inclusive term used to foreground experiences of trans women and non-binary people), Pelumi Odubanjo curates a video series bringing the voices of multigenerational, multi-national, queer, and non-binary artists to the forefront to explore the label of a ‘Black artist’. Martina Attille, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Libita Clayton, Evan Ifekoya, Joy Labinjo and Marcia Michael have been chosen by Pelumi to contribute to this new series.

The interviews with these six highlighted artists will create a dialogue with our archive collections, their works linked by a connective thread of ephemeral and translational kinship.

They’ll be asked to explore how art and practice can be seen as an act of care, whether this is through finding spaces for care, forming an art practice which cares for you, or your act of caring for certain communities, whilst simultaneously participating in acts of memory and remembering. This video series encourages cross-generational voices to come together.

In Pelumi’s words, “Although each generation will have their own distinct voice and mode of communicating sociality, I also believe that each generation has carved its own way of touching and imprinting on the other”. We are excited to see archival practise viewed through this lens, and we hope you will join us in our online exhibition space as we explore this new approach to dialogue between past, present and future.

This project is the second of two, the other being the Languid Hands’ Residency programme held with the intent of amplifying Black voices within the arts and heritage sector. We’ve invited early career curators to engage with the archives in these residencies, under the guidance and mentorship of guide Curator Barby Asante. We are hugely grateful that this programming is supported and funded by the Arts Council.

You can explore this series on BCA’s forthcoming online gallery from Monday 4 October 2020.

Featured artists:

• Martina Attille

• Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley

• Libita Sibungu

• Evan Ifekoya

• Joy Labinjo

• Marcia Michael

Windrush surgeries resume at BCA on Saturday mornings

Our Windrush surgeries have resumed at Black Cultural Archives (BCA).

Their purpose is to give first step advice to those from the community who were wrongly detained, denied legal rights, threatened with deportation, and, in at least 83 cases, wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office.

The service initially started earlier in the year but was interrupted by the global pandemic.

The appointments will be led by immigration specialist legal firm, McKenzie, Beute, and Pope who have dealt with a number of these cases since the scandal erupted in 2018.

The sessions are strictly by appointment only and can be booked by calling the BCA Reception on 0203 757 8500.

The surgeries take place Saturday mornings from 11:30 – 14:00.

This work is funded by Lambeth Council.

BCA announces Languid Hands as the first of two new curators in residence

As part of our commitment to amplifying Black voices within the arts and heritage sector, we’ve invited early career curators to engage with the archives as part of two residencies funded by the Arts Council.

This multi-generational collaboration will present the archives in new and thought-provoking ways, to be displayed in our forthcoming online exhibition space. Both projects will be guided by artist and curator Barby Asante.

In the first of two projects, curatorial and artistic duo Languid Hands (Rabz Lansiquot and Imani Robinson) have selected seven UK-based artists to undertake a four-week digital research residency with BCA; Ufuoma Essi, Rhea Dillon, Anisa Nuh-Ali B, Zinzi Minott, Shamica Ruddock, Samra Mayanja and Felix Taylor.

These artists will delve into the archive and produce reflections on their research, activating and re-animating the archive through their relative practices.

“We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with the Black Cultural Archives.” say the Languid Hands founders.

“It is essential that in the midst of upsurge in radical resistance to anti-black violence and carceral systems in the UK, we have access to our complex and wayward histories and are able to activate them in the service of our contemporary struggle, always inextricably tethered to times past. As abolitionist scholar Ruth Wilson Gilmore (2019) writes, “what the world will become already exists in fragments and pieces, experiments and possibilities. So those who feel in their gut deep anxiety that abolition means knock it all down, scorch the earth and start something new, let that go.”

They concluded “Now is the time to engage in radical sociality and deep study: across geographies, generations and revolutionary horizons. Black liberation is the goal, and art has always been one of many means.”

Visitors will be able to view the outcome of this work on BCA's forthcoming online gallery from November 20, 2020

You can find out more about Languid Hands at their official website, https://languidhands.co.uk/

BCA works with London Mayoral team on Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm

Join the Black Cultural Archives and the team working on the Mayor’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm for an evening of discussion.

The event will begin with an introduction to the work of the Commission by Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, Social Mobility and Community Engagement Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard. We will then hear a provocation from Tony Warner, founder of Black History Walks before launching into three community-led conversations on:

• Memorialising victims of the Transatlantic slave trade

• Recognising/Celebrating the Windrush generation

• Black Britons/Pioneers missing from our public realm

The purpose of the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm is to lead a London-wide conversation on how to practically achieve greater diversity of representation across the public realm and heritage sites. This will have a focus on increasing presence and visibility of underrepresented groups including Black, Asian and minority ethnic, women, LGTBQ+ and disabled groups and will include consideration of representation of socio-economic diversity.

Discussions from this event will feed directly into the first meeting of the Commission in December 2020. This will be the first of many community events and there will be further opportunities to engage with the work of the Commission throughout the two year length of the project.

Apply to become a board member

We are now recruiting board members for the Mayor’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. Applications will be accepted until Sunday 4 October 2020.

We are looking for a fantastic group of passionate, skilled and dedicated individuals to help us shape the future of London’s public realm. We’re recruiting experts in the fields of art commissioning, art history and the public realm, as well as people who can represent Londoners from under-represented communities.

The role of the commission will be to debate, listen, deliver, share best practice and provide leadership on how the capital’s landmarks can reflect its achievements and the contribution of diverse Londoners.

Find out more and apply

SUCCESSFUL ENTRANTS OF WINDRUSH WAVES YOUTH ARTS INITIATIVE 2020

It is with great pleasure that we announce the list of young artists who have been selected to receive professional mentoring and/or take part in our Black Futures Month programme.

First Place

Maya Campbell, aged 20, for her artwork ‘Adding a Face’

Maryam Ahmed, aged 15, for her poem ‘Betrayal’

Second Place

Fiona Quadri, aged 19, for her artwork ‘The Talk’

Maryam Chaudhri, aged 21, for her poem ‘They Need Us’

Third Place

Leah Bevan, aged 20, for her artwork ‘Mother County’

Samuel Adeosun, aged 18, for his artwork ‘There is Never a Time and a Place for Oppression’

David Quinn, aged 16, for his poem ‘Gust of Wind’

Katie Alice Pritchard, aged 18, for her poem ‘A Daffodil’

Specially commended 

Olivia Dayer, aged 14, for her artwork ‘Women of the Windrush’ 

Congratulations to these nine talented young people, and to everyone who took part. 

We're back: A message from our MD, Arike Oke

Greetings to our local communities, our researchers and visitors.

Welcome back.

1 Windrush Square is re-opening, Covid-secure, on Thursday 3rd September. We recognise that this year has been harder than most. It has been one of the hardest years in the recent history of our communities, people of African descent.

This summer was the one in which George Floyd was murdered and Black Lives Matter seized headlines. It was the one where Carnival couldn’t take place in person for the first time and one we will always remember.

We did not stop working while 1 Windrush Square was locked down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus this summer.

We welcomed the support of new funders thanks to Covid emergency funding, and we are humbled beyond words by the support we received from individuals donating by text and to our justgiving page. We would not be able to re-open 1 Windrush Square without your support.

A few things we’ve been working on, from home include:

Bridging the Atlantic: Fulbright scholar Daisha Brabham and our very own Ayshah Johnston curated a series of conversations on Blackness in the UK and in the USA.

Document! Black Lives Matter: we called out for lighting collecting of the summer’s protests. You responded in the hundreds. We’ll be sharing the collection for research and education soon.

Windrush: we celebrated and commemorated our Windrush elders with oral histories, talks and events and friends. Our resident associates, Decolonise The Archive, launched their radio channel with Windrush content. Even HRH Prince Charles recognised BCA in his Windrush Day message.

Politics: We got involved. We accepted the Home Secretary’s invitation to join the Cross-Government Windrush Working Group. We accepted in order to ensure that Wendy William’s Lessons Learned Report was implemented. There must never be another Windrush Scandal.

Getting digital: Thanks to funding from the London Community Response Fund members, City Bridge Trust and Bloomberg Philanthropies we were able to work from home! We moved our office files to the cloud and our exhibition onto the website, leading to it being used for home schooling and being highlighted in a range of press.

Black Future: A global pandemic might be a strange time to launch a strategy but we look to the future as we launched our 10-year strategy in May. We held online stakeholder listening events, and are going to hold more as we reimagine our building for the new era.

We are delighted to be back, to be able to share our space and to be able to see you all again.

Here are a few things to know about our re-open of 1 Windrush Square:

Our times have changed: for the foreseeable future we’ll have limited opening hours, based on how often we can afford to open and making sure that you can still have access to our space. The courtyard and gallery are open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11.30am to 5pm. You can drop in. You don’t need an appointment. You will have the opportunity to check in for the NHS Track And Trace on arrival. The library is open 12pm to 3.30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You will need to make an appointment in advance, we have very limited space under social distancing.

The staff will wear masks or visors. As mask wearing is essential inside our building, we also have a small supply of free masks for visitors who forget theirs. Mask wearing is not essential outdoors, and you’ll see that we’ve transformed our courtyard into a garden for you to enjoy and relax in. The basement is closed for social distancing, and so we’ve included an accessible toilet on every other floor.

Our café is closed: We are working on ways you can order food from local businesses instead.

Our shop isn’t open again yet, but we’re working on that.

Look out for an announcement soon on when our free Windrush legal advice surgeries re-start, in partnership with McKenzie Beute and Pope.

We look forward to seeing you again soon – whether it’s in person at 1 Windrush Square, or online.

We have an autumn season set to inspire and educate as using Black history to change the world is what we do best.

Join us.

BCA Statement on Domestic Abuse

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We have been made aware of serious allegations that an associate of BCA has physically and in other ways abused several of their partners over a period of time. With immediate effect we have ceased any planned work with the individual concerned.

BCA does not tolerate domestic abuse from any of our extended community. We take action on any form of abuse that comes to our attention. Victims and survivors of domestic abuse will find BCA a safe space for them to visit, work with and in.

The founders of the Black Cultural Archives envisaged a place where space was held for community, alongside our mission to document preserve and celebrate the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK. We have continued this vision into both our 1 Windrush Square building and online.

BCA stands not only for our history but also for empowerment and growth. Abuse in our homes and communities must end.

If you are currently in an abusive space, please do not stay silent . We take this opportunity to draw attention to  organisations that specialise in support for those affected by domestic violence and other forms of abuse.

Organisations that can help

National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247
WEBSITE

GALOP – The UK’s only specialist LGBT+ anti violence charity
WEBSITE

Refuge – Supports women, children and men experiencing domestic violence
WEBSITE
HELP FOR MEN

Childline – 0800 1111
WEBSITE

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