I posted 2 images of Black Britain from this fantastic book I found in my university library on the Afrospear blog but there are more. I don’t want to get in trouble by posting too many but I cannot resist. These images are heart-breakingly stunning and provocative.
1) This photograph was apparently taken in Cardiff in the 1950. I think it is one of the most stunning yet depressing photos I have ever seen. A young black child standing alone on a street corner during a time of mass immigration of people from the West Indies, yet he is all alone in around the concrete of Cardiff. So emotive. This photo should be in the Tate or any of those other posh museums in London. These kinds of photographs should be getting the limelight, not Damien Rice or whatever his name is. This picture also hints at the presence of black people in Wales, which in itself is a very interesting story as many black American G.I’s met women in Wales and had children and the African and Caribbean immigration played a part too.
2) This image was taken in Cardiff, Wales in 1950 which features young (black) kids looking at a vinyl record with awe and curiosity. This is such a cute picture and interesting in how it features black and non-black kids together during a time of racial separation.
3) This image features young black women competing during a rehearsal of a carnival competition in London around 1959.
This pictures are all individually gorgeous yet all tell different stories. The black experience in itself is one of the most diverse in the entire world. From Britain to Brazil, black people all have different stories. I think the last picture is subconsciously trying to change the view that white women were the (only) beautiful people around and was trying to show black people that black beauty existed. Of course we know that today, but it must have been so different then. Please check out this book if you are interested in black history or Black Britain.
4) I crossposted this at the Afrospear. I absolutely adore Shirley Bassey. She was fierce in this image (which is from the book) which was taken in the 1950s in Cardiff.
I am not Black British; I am Black African but I was just mesmerised when I read this book. It makes you fall in love with black people and be amazed at how diverse we are throughout this world. Please remember to check it out!
Charcoal Ink 
Blackpresence website has hundreds of Articles about Black Britain. This month we are running an article about the efforts of Black Britons on the home Front in World War 2
http://www.blackpresence.co.uk/2010/08/black-history-refreshed-by-bournes-latest/
Pogus Caesar. A new book on black musicans coming out this year- reflects the numerous artists Caesar has photographed throughout his distinguished career.
Coming soon! “Muzik Kinda Sweet” the book – Autumn 2010
Muzik Kinda Sweet is an evocative and nostalgic look back at iconic Black performers from the last twenty five years. Candid pictures snapped on city streets contrast with the vibrant energy at stageside. These images reveal the personalities behind the personas of an influential generation of music heroes.
Birmingham based photographer Pogus Caesar worked up close and personal to his subjects with an early model autofocus camera, developing each negative by hand. The results are very human portraits which counterpoint the digital performance photography of today.
This highly collectable limited edition book includes stunning and largely unpublished photographs of Stevie Wonder, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Grace Jones, Jay-Z, Cameo, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Lynden David Hall, MC Hammer, Augustus Pablo and many more.
Limited Edition, over 70 black & white plates, 215 x 280mm
Published by Punch and OOM Gallery. 2010
Talking about black photographers, there’s an interesting film on YouTube that shows Pogus Caesar talking about his work. This comes off the back of his ‘South Africa – A Brighter Flame’ exhibition at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Great research material.
I have known about Pogus Caesar since the 1980’s as helped to curate a a number of high profile contemporary exhibitions by Black British artists.
Thanks for letting us know 🙂
Make me sad how few people of African descent clearly see how we are all connected by historical and present events…
@Ensayn — Thanks for the link. I have seen it before and found it very interesting. Thanks also for the book suggestions – they sound great!
@ladydeborah — thank you for commenting too!
Check this link http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/home.html
I have learned a lot from just reading what you have posted. This is really interesting information.
The photographs are outstanding!
Thanks for taking time to share this information.
Auleia, there is a very interesting book that dates Black people in Britain long before the Black GI’s of WWII and the Caribbean immigration to the UK. It called Ancient and Modern Britons. Very interesting. The author points out the name Douglas is Gaelic (I think thats spelled right) meaning “the black”, its like a contraction of two word Du Glash something to that affect. But, check it out if you can. Another good series of books of course is J.A. Rogers’ On Sex and Race Volumes 1-3. Volume 1 deals with Black people in Europe and our interaction/relationships with the lighter Europeans. If you haven’t read them they can be an eye opener.