My Nubian London

Lesser Known History

London is FULL of history, most of it proudly telling the heroic stories of history's heroes. At least that is how they labelled themselves. For almost all of the tales told were of white men. It seems that white women existed only in their homes, with lives lacking any value worthy of retelling.

Sadly there are few (in comparison to men) statues of lived heroines found around Britain, aside from queen's. I stopped counting the number of statue memoralising Queen Victoria the 1st once I reached fifty! Royals, myths & religion aside, how many impactful female stories from history did you grow up with?

For me it was Boudicca, the fierce female warrior who challenged the Romans and the fearless Joan of Arch, who fought against the English during the Hundred Years' War of 1429. She was French, not British! One female voice that almost every person educated under British knows is the Lady with the Lamp: Florance Nightingale, the famous nurse of the Crimean War.

Sexism it seems has succeeded in stopping statues being made that would share the names, images and stories of women that the following generations should know. If women born to the soil of Britain cannot gain fair treatment, what are the charges of non whites? Not good is the unofficial answer.

Many people missing from British history were black, mixed heritage or melanated individuals. People who made an impact and left their mark, but were forgotten, some to time, others sadly purposely erased.

As I walk the modern streets of London I am learning far more than I did from my history lessons taught in school. I find it all interesting but my order of excitement is first for those who have until recently been denied their rightful recognition and place in time.

Now is the time to remember and to share their stories, let's pen poems, sing songs, make movies, bind books and social media their presence, as we uncover all the lost impacts made in and by Black British bodies from Alkebu-lan (now called Africa) the Islands now known as The West Indies, Aotearoa (now called New Zealand), indigenous people from the island now called Australia as well as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and any melanated souls who stepped foot upon the British Isles for a minute or for their lifetime.

U woz ere!