Resources
Here are a selection of resources for you which may be of interest, including:
Books and Reports
1944 We Were Here: African American GIs in Dorset, Louisa Adjoa Parker
'1944 We Were Here: African American GIs in Dorset' explores the stories of the black soldiers who came to Dorset to train for D-Day. Told through the eyes of local people as well as the children of the GIs themselves, this is an important addition to Dorset's rich and diverse history. Here we discover stories of friendship, love, murder, racism and the segregation that was a fact of life in the US for African Americans at this time.
She Can Still Sing, Louisa Adjoa Parker
She Can Still Sing by Louisa Adjoa Parker beats with the knowledge of what it is to have known pain, but still remember the pathways of joy. One part love letter to the mundane, three parts hymn to the departed, four parts ride of wonderment, these poems celebrate the bonds of friendship and family even as they leave love notes to the departed stuffed into surprising images. Written while Louisa grieved the loss of a friend who took her life after a long struggle with mental illness, She Can Still Sing is a eulogy that projects from light.
How To Wear A Skin, Louisa Adjoa Parker
Louisa Adjoa Parker’s latest collection is an exploration of identity. Mostly set in South West England, Parker explores themes including place, race, friendship, motherhood, love, and loss, as well as what’s happening in society today. She takes inspiration from her own story and the imagined stories of others – a boy at a train station; a woman with a tattoo – and weaves them together in her quest to understand our place in a beautiful, yet fractured world.
Stay with me, Louisa Adjoa Parker
Stay With Me is a collection of love stories with a difference. Set mostly in the South West, these stories burrow into the dark underbelly of rural England. They expose some of the rot beneath the veneer, making us aware of the contrast between the backdrop of beautiful landscapes and seascapes and the deprivation that exists in some of England’s seaside towns.
Salt-sweat and Tears, Louisa Adjoa Parker
Louisa Adjoa Parker’s first poetry collection Salt-sweat and Tears was published by Cinnamon Press in 2007. Now in its second edition, this largely autobiographical collection explores the life of a mixed-heritage child, then woman, living in white rural England during the 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties.
Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race, Eddo-Lodge, Renni
Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. (Waterstones)
Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World, Layla F Saad
Me and White Supremacy shows readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of colour, and in turn, help other white people do better, too. (Waterstones)
Racism and the Dorset idyll: a report of the experiences of black and minority ethnic people in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole, Gaine, Chris, and Lamley, Kirstin
A high number of race crimes were committed in Dorset last year, according to this study commissioned by the local race equality council. Most were attacks on homes and businesses owned by people from ethnic minorities, often including racist graffiti. Muslims, travellers and asylum seekers were most at risk from hostility. People from ethnic minorities are 10 times more likely to suffer a hate crime in the countryside than in a town.
Keep them in Birmingham: challenging racism in south-west England, Eric Jay
In 1992 the late Eric Jay, a former director of the Greater London Action for Race Equality - who later moved to Bristol - released a ground-breaking study called 'Keep Them In Birmingham: Challenging Racism in South-West England'. Recently there was an online panel discussion which talks about where we are now 30 years on from the study, and you can watch this on Youtube.
Britain's 'Brown Babies', Lucy Bland
This book recounts a little-known history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in the second world war. The African-American press named these children 'brown babies'; the British called them 'half-castes'. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girl-friends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children's homes but few were adopted, thought 'too hard to place. (Waterstones)
Articles
We need to call out rural racism. Nature is for everyone to enjoy, in HuffPost UK
Why having black friends doesn’t mean you can’t be racist, in the f word
https://thefword.org.uk/2017/04/why-having-black-friends-doesnt-mean-you-cant-be-racist/
Article for the Wellcome Trust, Building resilience in a racist world
Why black lives matter in the British countryside
https://www.cpre.org.uk/opinions/black-lives-matter-in-the-countryside/
‘The English countryside was shaped by colonialism’: Why rural Britain is unwelcoming for people of colour
Useful Websites
DEED, Dorset: deed.org.uk
DEED supports education and innovation by encouraging and inspiring teachers, pupils and community members to develop their understanding of global issues and cultural diversity.
Global Centre and DDE: globalcentredevon.org.uk
For over 20 years Devon Development Education has been working with schools and communities, aiming to help children and people of all ages understand the big issues in the world and their involvement in them; make links with the ‘global village’ within and outside Devon; and work together for a more just and sustainable world.
Jeffrey Green: jeffreygreen.co.uk
Jeffrey P. Green (born 9 October 1944)[1] is a British historian and writer, who has been particularly active in researching and documenting the Black British experience, publishing books and articles since the 1980s. (Wikipedia)
Louisa Adjoa Parker: louisaadjoaparker.com
Co-director of The Inclusion Agency, Louisa's poetry and prose writing is widely published. Louisa has written extensively on ethnically diverse history and is a sought-after speaker on rural racism, black history, mental health and marginalisation.
Where Are You Really From?: whereareyoureallyfrom.co.uk
Where are you really from? is a project being run by TIA. The project aims to digitalise the stories of ethnically diverse people's rural lives, and share them via a podcast, website and other channels. It aims to increase understanding between people of difference ethnic backgrounds living in rural communities, to build empathy, and celebrate diverse histories and resilience.
Telling Our Stories Finding Our Roots: tellingourstoriesexeter.org.uk
The Telling Our Stories Finding Our Roots website is a resource for multicultural education and exploration highlighting the diversity in Devon and Exeter's local history.
BLM In The Stix: linktr.ee/blmstix
Resources that aim to support white people in rural England be anti racist and to help black creators and business owners demand change.
#BAME A Statement For The UK: Google Doc
A guide to terminology, for use by everyone who wants to be an effective ally and wants to avoid causing further harm through the use of casual and inaccurate language.
Image Left: provided by Where are you really from? project.
Podcasts and Films
Where Are You Really From?
Oral histories from ethnically diverse people about their experiences in rural Britain.
The Localist - Dorset 'A Green And Not So Pleasant Land' BBC
Dorset is 97.9% white. By default, that means encounters between people from different ethnicities can be rare and sometimes troubling. In this episode, Ollie Peart discovers what life is like if you are from an ethnically diverse background. Residents, including campaigners, describe the appeal of living in such a stunning landscape but how it’s also led to “covert racism”. (BBC)
Louisa Adjoa Parker 'Dear White West Country People' Poetry Reading
In spring 2020, a global pandemic hit. At first it felt as though we were in it together, united in our fear and grief. It soon became apparent that the virus - and people's experience of lockdown - were very different. Covid 19 shone a light on the glaring inequalities in the UK, especially in relation to 'race' and class. And then, in June, the Black Lives Matter movement spread after the murder of George Floyd. Many white people, it appeared, were noticing structural racism and its impact for the first time. In rural Britain an unprecedented number of anti-racist protests took place. Louisa, a poet and writer, wrote the following poem in the summer of 2020, as she felt empowered to say the things she had long wanted to say to the white people she loves, in a region she loves. The poems was also published online by Little Toller here.