Raising the Visibility of Black British Publishers

A feature on  Black British Publishers that I wrote can be found on Ampersand, the book blog of 'And Other Stories'

The history of Black publishers in Britain, much like other areas of Black history is at best invisible, or worse, misrepresented and misunderstood. The irony is that, although Black publishers tell the stories of Blacks in Britain, their own stories have until recently remained untold, even within the growing body of work on Black history.  For example, in one of the most highly regarded texts of Black history in Britain, Staying Power by Peter Fryer, the mention of pioneering Black publishers amounts to one paragraph.

However, 2015 was a turning point as two exhibitions in London featured the work and legacy of New Beacon Books (founded by Trinidadian John La Rose in 1966) and Bogle L’Ouverture Press, (founded by Eric and Jessica Huntley in 1967). ‘No Colour Bar’ at the Guildhall Gallery and ‘A Dream to Change the World’ at the Islington Museum (yes, John La Rose believed that the world could be positively changed through the publishing of works that spoke to justice and equality) were mounted with significant support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Please click on the link below to read the full feature.

http://andotherstoriespublishing.tumblr.com/post/161622372641/raising-the-visibility-of-black-british#.WVmD2dPyshs