Black and British: A short, essential history

Winner of the Book of the Year, Children's Illustrated and Non-Fiction at The British Book Awards, 2021Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2020A short, essential introduction to Black British history for readers of 12+ by award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga.When did Africans first come to Britain?Who are the well-dressed black children in Georgian paintings? Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution?These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history: from the Roman Africans who guarded Hadrian’s Wall right up to the present day.This children's version of the bestseller Black and British: A Forgotten History is illustrated with maps, photos and portraits.Macmillan Children's Books will donate 50p from every copy sold to The Black Curriculum.

For readers aged 12+, the book asks some thought-provoking questions and answers them in a smart and thorough style that will teach adults as much as it will children. We can see why it’s been called a must-read., In non fiction, David Olusoga’s authoritative text has been condensed for children in Black and British: A Short, Essential History (Macmillan). It ranges from the first Africans to come to Britain to the shameful Windrush scandal, and takes in the industrial revolution, cotton grown on slave plantations and the black soldiers who fought for Britain in the first world war. Olusoga’s book conveys with calm clarity why all British children should be taught black history, Discovering history is as entertaining as it is informative, And to the present day: David Olusoga is the best possible person to write Black and British: A Short, Essential History (Pan Macmillan). This new, updated edition of his 2016 book is aimed at younger readers, and it appears at a time when many people are debating the best ways to tell histories of empire and race in the classroom. Olusoga describes it as "the book I wish I had been given to read when I was at school", and I couldn't agree more, In this new title, Olusoga has distilled and reframed his bestselling Black and British: A Forgotten History for younger readers. Spanning the period from Roman Britain to the modern day, Olusoga’s expertly crafted narrative makes history engaging for a new audience in clever and accessible ways. Olusoga has by no means “dumbed-down” his research from Black and British: A Forgotten History, and he forces young people to engage directly with Britain’s often-brutal past, discussing overlooked or ignored histories. Black and British: A Short, Essential History clearly demonstrates that Black History is all our history – a vital and important book.

David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian, broadcaster and BAFTA award-winning presenter and filmmaker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and a regular contributor to the Guardian, Observer, New Statesman and BBC History Magazine. His previous books include Black and British, which won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize and the Longman-History Today Trustees Award, The Kaiser’s Holocaust and The World’s War. He was also a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Black British History. In 2019 he was awarded an OBE for services to history and community integration.The Black Curriculum is a social enterprise founded in 2019 by young people to address the lack of Black British history in the UK Curriculum. We believe that by delivering arts focused Black history programmes, providing teacher training and campaigning through mobilizing young people, we can facilitate social change. Our programmes are for all young people aged 8-16 and aim to equip young people with a sense of identity, and the tools for a diverse landscape. We are working towards changing the national curriculum and building a sense of identity in every young person in the UK.