The African Stories in Hull and East Yorkshire project is organised by Gifty Burrows, founder of the William Wilberforce Monument Fund which was established in 2013 to acknowledge the issue of historic slavery and modern day exploitation.
Initially our main objective was to raise funds to light the Wilberforce monument in time for the Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and to gild the Abolition scroll in Wilberforce's right hand to bring to prominence the significance of the Act. Both these were achieved by March 2017. The African Stories project fulfils our educational remit to explore the stories of people of African descent in Hull and East Yorkshire from the Wilberforce era of the 1750s until 2007. This has been made possible through funding gained from Heritage Lottery Fund and other partners. |
Video: Richard Weeks and our project lead, Gifty Burrows, talk about the project on ITV Calendar, 7 September 2017.
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Previous research into Black presence has tended to focus on larger cities, especially those with their own slavery connections such as Liverpool, Bristol and London. Exploring the Black presence in Hull and East Yorkshire with its somewhat different relationship to the slavery story offers an interesting alternative especially in this region which still has proportionately fewer examples of minority presence. Hull’s link to William Wilberforce perhaps makes the presence of Africans particularly relevant and deserving of some attention.
A community project
This project is community-driven and inclusive, with the opportunity for any interested person to contribute to the outcomes. We have educational resources, narratives, photographs and oral histories cataloguing the experiences of individuals.
We hosted a successful exhibition in 2017 at Hull History Centre, and a second one in May/June 2018 at Beverley's East Riding Treasure House.
We hosted a successful exhibition in 2017 at Hull History Centre, and a second one in May/June 2018 at Beverley's East Riding Treasure House.
History
The migration of Black minorities to Britain is commonly associated with the ‘Windrush Generation’ that migrated from the West Indies in the period after World War II. However, this is inaccurate. The National Archives, in commenting about Black presence, acknowledges that “Black and Asian presence in Britain is not a recent one. Black and Asian people have lived, worked and died in Britain for 500 years or more. They have contributed to the wealth, development and history of this country, directly and indirectly helping put the Great into Great Britain.”
Until recently the oldest skeleton of an African in Britain was thought to be between 896 and 1025 AD, pre-dating William the Conqueror with further examples from the 12th Century. Now even Roman skeletons discovered in London in 2015 has been superseded by that of Cheddar man which was found this year. These examples give credence to the fact that Africans have been present in Britain since before the ‘Windrush’ period and that of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which are the points in history that most people associate with Black presence.
The Georgian and Edwardian period also saw significant periods of migration, a fact that further challenges the perception that minority groups are recent additions to British society. It took until 1984 for the narrative to change when Hull-born journalist Peter Fryer wrote about Black people as individuals “woven into English society” rather than as a collective group in his book Staying Power (Kathleen Chater, Untold Histories). This project’s aim has been to re-tell the stories of ordinary men, women and children in this region.
Until recently the oldest skeleton of an African in Britain was thought to be between 896 and 1025 AD, pre-dating William the Conqueror with further examples from the 12th Century. Now even Roman skeletons discovered in London in 2015 has been superseded by that of Cheddar man which was found this year. These examples give credence to the fact that Africans have been present in Britain since before the ‘Windrush’ period and that of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which are the points in history that most people associate with Black presence.
The Georgian and Edwardian period also saw significant periods of migration, a fact that further challenges the perception that minority groups are recent additions to British society. It took until 1984 for the narrative to change when Hull-born journalist Peter Fryer wrote about Black people as individuals “woven into English society” rather than as a collective group in his book Staying Power (Kathleen Chater, Untold Histories). This project’s aim has been to re-tell the stories of ordinary men, women and children in this region.
Local history and heritage links
Get involved!
We welcome new stories and memories about people who already feature in this project.
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Explore the project
Explore our collection of stories, oral histories and school resources across the website.
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Our events
Find out about future events and how you can attend - and catch up on past events.
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