The first Black History Trail was a collaboration of Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Archive, (named in honour of his death from stabbing at Burnage High School in 1986,) Maria Nobel from MEC and BAA.

There were Black people in Britain in Roman times, and there has been a continuous Black presence here since 1555. For Shakespeare's London audiences, Black faces would have been a familiar sight.

Ira Aldridge a.k.a the African Roscius or Mr Keene studied at New York ’s African Free School and University of Glasgow .A leading Shakespearian actor of his time, he made is professional debut in London on 10 October 1825 playing Prince Oroonko of Africa in The Revolt of Surinam or A Slave’s Revenge. His first of several appearances in Manchester was in February 1827 at the Theatre Royal. Whether despised or admired, he never left critics indifferent. He also toured and performed throughout Europe .  He became a British subject of Queen Victoria in 1863. His portrait, which is sometimes known as the ‘Blackamoor’ or ‘Untitled’, hangs in Manchester ’s City Art Gallery. You can also see his portraits at the National Portrait Gallery or online.

By 1596 there were so many Black people in England that Queen Elizabeth I issued an edict objecting to the presence of 'sundry blackamoors' and outlining arrangements under which they were to be deported. Such was the number of runaway slaves that what we still call the Suss Laws came into being.

By the 1760s, the Black population had grown to somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000; mainly made up of slaves and sailors. In 1772, Lord Chief Justice Mansfield's historic decision in the case of runaway John Somerset making it illegal to deport runaway slaves this was followed in 1806 by the abolition of slavery.

There is evidence of considerable natural solidarity between poor White and Black: they lived in the same neighbourhoods and often intermarried. Intermarriage became common within the working class, where blacks were often accepted in this period as equals. The Name Morrison is the best indication of these unions although the more famously recorded ones where the marriages of Olaudah Equiano and Francis Barber

Further Information

There are many sites which relate to the history of Black communites in Britain.  Here are some of them:

• Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Archive
• Black Britain: A bridge across races
• Black History Month Events Across Britain
•  The Black Presence in Britain
• Casbah
• Every Generation
• Channel 4 'Origination' microsite
• 100 Great Black Britons
• Channel 4 Black History Map
• BBC Multicultural History
• Mary Seacole Biography
• Moving Here - 200 years of Migration to England
• BE-ME Black and Ethnic Minority Experience
• The National Archive-Black Presence. Asian & Black History in Britain
• Commission for Racial Equality- Ethnic Diversity
• Ethni-city portal site, your gateway to Multicultural Manchester
• Independent Race and Refugee News Network
• Jamaica National Heroes Day

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