Award-winning children’s author Atinuke has today called for more integration of Black British history into schools and universities, as new data reveals that most UK adults know “shockingly little” about Black British history. The Brilliant Black British History author commented on results from a new survey carried out by YouGov, released today by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) to mark Black History Month.
In the survey of 2,268 UK adults, 75% acknowledged that they did not know ‘very much’ or ‘anything at all’ about Black British history – despite 68% saying that they knew ‘a lot’ or a ‘fair amount’ about British history in general. The survey also revealed that more than half (52%) could not name one Black British historical figure, while only 7% believed they could name more than four.
Most UK adults also significantly underestimated the length of time that Black people have been living in Britain. Despite the fact that people with dark/black skin settled permanently in Britain around 12,000 years ago, with the first known people to come directly from Africa settling approximately 2,000 years ago, more than a third (36%) of Britons believe that the very first Black people migrated to Britain within the past 200 years, with a further 29% not sure. Only 9% of UK adults think that Black people arrived in Britain more than 1,500 years ago while 1 in 4 (25%) believe that the very first Black people migrated to Britain within the last 100 years.
Respondents also underestimated the enormity of Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Despite the British forcibly taking more than 3.1 million people from Africa, more than half of Britons (53%) said they ‘didn't know’ how many people were taken and around half of those who did give an answer believed the amount was 250,000 or fewer. Only 12% of Britons thought that more than a million people were taken, despite the true figure being more than three times that amount.
Although the data reveals a broad lack of knowledge of Black British history across all age demographics, there is an indication that knowledge is starting to improve with time. Younger adults (18–24 year olds) are the demographic most likely to believe that more than a million people were taken by the British as part of the transatlantic slave trade, and are also the group most likely to be able to name Black British historical figures: 18–24 year olds are twice as likely to be able to name more than four Black British historical figures compared to over 65s. However, even in the 18–24 demographic, 73% felt they did not know ‘very much’ or ‘anything at all’ about Black British history.
There have always been people with black and brown skin in Britain. So you cannot truthfully tell British history without including these people. British history is the history of all British people – white, Black, brown – everyone! We need One History and that needs to include Black and other marginalised British histories alongside white British History. I set out to write “Brilliant Black British History” in 2020 when no chronological books on Black British history for children existed. As our world becomes more polarised and divided, increased inclusivity is needed now more than ever.
We believe it is important for all of us to play a role in shining a light on Black British history, not just in Black History Month but every day. The results of this survey demonstrate an urgent need for books like Atinuke and Kingsley’s Brilliant Black British History; books that spotlight integral parts of our history that have been pushed to one side for far too long.
Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi, is published by Bloomsbury and available in hardback, priced £12.99.
A free exhibition based on Brilliant Black British History is now on show at the Black Cultural Archives, 1 Windrush Square, Brixton SW2 1EF (Thu-Sun only), until 28 January 2024.
