Categories: Books, ReviewsTags: black history, positive black womenPublished: 01/03/2018Featuring 40 trailblazing black women in the world’s history, this book educates and inspires as it relates true stories of women who broke boundaries and exceeded all expectations. Debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison pairs captivating text with stunning illustrations as she tells the stories of both iconic and lesser-known female figures of black history, including: Nurse Mary Seacole Politician Diane Abbott Mathematician Katherine Johnson Singer Shirley Bassey Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models…Harrison’s book focuses on great black women, and it’s lovely to see Lorna Simpson and Gwen Ifill ascend to the ranks of Marian Anderson and Bessie Coleman. Harrison wants readers to imagine themselves in such august company; her adorable illustrations depict all of these figures as a little black girl, an everygirl, in a variety of costumes and backdrops.
Categories: Books, Educational, ReviewsTags: black and british, black historyPublished: 03/11/2016In this vital re-examination of a shared history, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga tells the rich and revealing story of the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa and the Caribbean. Drawing on new genealogical research, original records, and expert testimony, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination, Elizabethan ‘blackamoors’ and the global slave-trading empire. It shows that the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on…You could not ask for a more judicious, comprehensive and highly readable survey of a part of British history that has been so long overlooked or denied. David Olusoga, in keeping with the high standards of his earlier books, is a superb guide. (Adam Hochschild) Groundbreaking. (Observer) [A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain . . . Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion. It is thoroughly researched and there are many interesting anecdotes. (Kwasi Kwarteng The Sunday Times) A radical reappraisal of the parameters of history, exposing lacunae in the nation’s version of its past. (Arifa Akbar Guardian) A thrilling tale of excavation (Colin Grant Guardian) Lucid and accessible. (Herald Scotland) An insightful, inclusive history of black people in Britain . . . Rich in detail and packed with strong personalities, this is an important contribution to our understanding of life in the UK. (History Revealed) Olusoga’s account challenges narrow visions of Britain’s past. By tracing the triangulated connections between Britain, America and Africa, he presents black British history in global terms […] His subjects, even those who barely figure in the historical record, appear as individuals who matter, both in their own right and as historical exemplars. (The London Review of Books) Ambitious . . . Long overdue
An incredibly frightening zombie story- The First Days, as the title conveys, starts at the very beginning of a zombie apocalypse. People are getting bitten, then turn on others to feed. No one knows what’s happening, but after Jenni sees her family succumb to this horror, she flees. This is not easy for her. Being a mother myself, that beginning is incredibly heartbreaking. I just kept imagining being in her shoes, seeing my children turn into monsters in front of my eyes. Uncomprehending. The tangible emotions in this story is a big part of why it’s such a chilling read. It makes it extremely realistic. The setting, the pace, the reactions; it’s all how I imagine it would happen if the zombocalypse were to start today. It really makes you think.
Categories: Books, Educational, ReviewsTags: books, reviewAuthor: Booker T WashingtonPublished: 22/02/2016First published serially in the Christian newspaper “The Outlook” in 1900, “Up from Slavery” is the classic autobiography of one of the most controversial figures in American history, Booker T. Washington. “Up from Slavery”, recounts Washington’s rise from a Virginia tobacco farm slave to his long standing tenure as President of the famed Tuskegee Institute of Alabama. Booker T. Washington was instrumental in helping to establish schools specializing in vocational training for minorities in order…I cannot express my respect for Booker T. Washington enough. What a trailblazer! What an amazing, fabulous excuse for a human being! What he did cannot be replicated and he is someone that not only inspires me into finding some action to advance my race and that of people around me; but should be taught in every school, so that he can continue inspiring generations to come in the same way!
