The History Hotline

In this episode I am joined by Perry Blankson. Perry is a columnist for Tribune magazine and a project coordinator at the Young Historians Project, working to encourage the development of young historians of African and Caribbean descent. He is also a member of the Editorial Working Group for the History Matters Journal. We reflected on the Sewell report 2 years on, British state surveillance of B...

William Cuffay was a chartist leader in early Victorian Britain. His mother was English and his father was a formerly enslaved African man born in Saint Kitts. He began as an apprentice to a tailor and quickly ended up in the world of politics, fighting for working people's rights. In part 2, we'll be exploring his contribution to the Chartist movement and the 1848 demonstration that led to him be...

William Cuffay was a chartist leader in early Victorian Britain. His mother was English and his father was a formerly enslaved African man born in Saint Kitts. He began as an apprentice to a tailor and quickly ended up in the world of politics, fighting for working people's rights. Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/thehistoryhotline Giveaway: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqDGYgJoYiz/ (closing da...

100 EPISODES. A special episode to mark a special milestone... Reflections on the podcast so far, how I got here and why I started. Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/thehistoryhotline Giveaway: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqDGYgJoYiz/ (closing date: 4th April 2023) Host: Deanna Lyncook Researcher: Zakiyyah Riaz

On Wednesday 15th March over 400,000 workers opted to strike across multiple industries. Strikes have become commonplace within British society as of late and with them impacting so many of us in a variety of ways. I thought it would be wise to sit down with some of those taking to the pickets for better pay, working conditions, job security, pensions and to make the services better for those who...

This episode looks at Hazel Carby's 'White Women Listen!' and explores intersectionality and the representation of Black women in British history.

Engagement with Dr King often begins and ends with his “I Have A Dream Speech” and even though Britain seems to bring him out at all possible times, we actually know very little about him. In this episode we will look at two of his visits to the UK in 1961 and 1964. His activism balanced on his firm beliefs in equality across all lines. We will discuss who he spoke to and met and the transnational...

In this episode I am joined by Tionne Parris, a PhD candidate specialising in African American history and member of the editorial board of the History Matters journal. We will be discussing a whole host of Radical Black Women including: Claudia Jones, Angela Davis, Eslanda Robeson, Vicky Garvin and Louise Thompson Patterson. We discuss Black British History, Black Radicalism and Black Power in th...

Henry Brown was born enslaved in Richmond, Virginia in either 1815 or 1816 at the Hermitage plantation. Unlike many enslaved Africans he knew and lived with his family members on the same plantation. However, after being split from his wife and children he decided that he could no longer be without his freedom and liberty and escaped in the way he saw best fit... in a box. Tune in to find out more...

Passing as a white man and his slave, Ellen and William Craft escaped enslavement in Georgia and headed for freedom. This episode will look at their escape, their lives in Britain and their constant efforts to free others from enslavement and garner support for abolition.

"The very serious function of racism [...] is a distraction." -Toni Morrison After a long break, the history hotline is back! This week with a round up of the many events 2023 has already graced us with, we'll be discussing: 1) The murder of Tyre Nichols 2) Racist hair policy's at a Birmingham secondary school 3) The resurgence of the Hostile Immigration policy. 4) The renaming of schools and road...

Caribbean Fruit Cake, Rum Cake, Fruit Cake, Black Cake or whatever you call the rich, moist alcoholic cake that hails from the Caribbean and is devoured over Christmas time... this episode is all about the history of the cake and why it is so loved and enjoyed today!

James Drax arrived in Barbados in the early 1630s looking for an opportunity to create wealth. He was the first of a long line of plantation owners who not only held slaves but ensured the institution would remain etched into the fabric of Bajan society forever. Whilst his descendent, Richard Drax is the next to inherit the 600 acre plantation, calls for reparations are being made once again. In t...

“Nothing we can do will alter the fact that the black man has begun to think and feel himself as good as the white.” - [Secret] Colonial Office Memorandum, 1919. The men of the British West India Regiment (BWIR) were recruited as soldiers who would fight as part of the British regiment, during WWI. However, they were not granted the same freedoms as their white counterparts or celebrated in the sa...

In 1802 the 8th West Indian Regiment rebelled against their commanding officers and mutinied in Prince Rupert’s, Dominica. This episode explores the reasons for the mutiny, a timeline of events and the outcomes and consequences.

The British Army was the single biggest purchaser of slaves by the end of the 18th century. The enslaved African men they bought joined the West India Regiment from 1795. This episode explores the creation of the regiment, the pushback and opposition from Caribbean legislatures, the perception of the of the regiment and the material conditions and pay for soldiers within the regiment.

This week we're launching a series of podcast with The History Matters journal, featuring a very special guest: A. S. Francis. This episode explores the origins of The History Matters collective and the journal and the way in which it continues to contribute to the dissemination of Black British History within public narratives.

An episode thinking about the role of African people in the transatlantic slave trade, featuring: 1. The Woman King and the [in]accurate depiction of the Kingdom of Dahomey. 2. Racism and Slavery. 3. William Ansah Sessarakoo. 4. Ayuba Suleiman Diallo. 5. The artworks that depicted their lives in London.

Racism in football is often portrayed to be an unfixable issue as it is a manifestation of societal racism and arguably won’t be fixed until racism in wider society is. In this episode we will uncover not only the covert racism of fans but also the racism within the institution. We’ll be starting with the story of 1) Jack Leslie, the inspiration for this episode and looking at 2) the history of Bl...

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific. But following the death of Queen Elizabeth II can the commonwealth survive? Or will member states, with complex histories of being colonised by the British Empire begin to seek a different future?

Welcome back to The History Hotline, this week's episode includes: US Origins of the phrase and the movement. How that developed across the last 9 years. BLM in Britain as a movement, piggy backing the US? What BLM is doing in the UK? History of organisations fighting race based discrimination in the UK. Chris Kaba and police brutality in the UK.

Fort Charles is located in the small town of Port Royal in Jamaica. Fort Charles was the first and only surviving port constructed to guard its entrance in the 17th Century. Port Royal was decimated during a terrible earthquake in 1692 and Fort Charles is the only fort to have survived, as 33 acres were submerged into the 'sunken city'.

This week we're discussing the newly erected monument at Waterloo Train Station in 'honour' of the Windrush Generation, Gus John's open letter and whether or not it's all just an empty political gesture? Episodes will be released every Tuesday, instead of Mondays.

Wednesday 22nd June 2022 marks the 5th national celebration of Windrush Day and 74 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex and the generation of people that followed. But what are we actually celebrating, the Windrush and the legacy it leaves will be one of sacrifice and contribution but also of scandal, of pain and trauma. Is this something to celebrate or should it be a...

The ‘patty’ a baked flaky pastry filled with traditionally with well seasoned minced beef is a Jamaican staple. It can be enjoyed for breakfast or lunch or as a snack. They are known to all as a patty but this nearly changed in 1985 for a Toronto Jamaican bakery, who were threatened with a fine if they didn’t change the name of the ‘patty’ as it did not meet the food standards for a patty. Tune in...