As it is Black History Month, let’s look at podcasts marking the occasion.
Black History Buff Podcast has just launched “31 Days of Black British History,” with a new episode launching each day this month. There’s deep dives into the lives of contemporary figures, such as grime artist Stormzy, the celebrated author Malorie Blackman and the literary phenomenon Zadie Smith.
The podcast also looks back further to pioneering individuals and communities, such as the contributions made by the Windrush Generation as well the life of the human rights activist Claudia Jones, the ‘founding mother’ of the Notting Hill Carnival. The podcast also has a patreon, which you can contribute to on their website.
It’s A Continent, a podcast that delves the history of each nation within the African continent, are re-airing their favourite episodes over the course of the next month. It starts with an interview with the activist and author Professor Kehinde Andrews, behind the book ‘The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World.’
Meanwhile, Witness History: Black History by the BBC World Service, has uploaded a new episode looking at how Haile Selassie, who became the Emperor of Ethiopia, ended up living in Bath after Mussolini invaded the country.
I would also recommend listening to My Dad Mr Brixton, which looks at the life and impact of the activist and community leader Courtney Laws. A pioneer of the Windrush Generation, and considered to be the ‘Prime Minister of Brixton,’ his death in 1996 was a shock to the community. This nine part series, created by his daughter Claudette Parry Laws, looks at his life and his impact.
