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I saw some comments this morning that Scotland and Scottish people should address their own imperial history, so I thought I'd make a wee list of some of the existing work and resources in this area, so people can have resources to hand -- let me know what I miss please!
First, Black History Month in Scotland -- for 20 years @crer_scotland has produced a brilliant programme of events, last year all online, about Black history. You can see an archive of some of the covers here: https://www.crer.scot/black-history-month including this cracker from 2017.
You can download a walking tour of Glasgow's slavery history from the Virtual Museum of Slavery, Empire and Migration website: http://empiremuseum.scot/it-wisnae-us/ lots of different people have led this tour over the years, including curator @MarenkaOdlum and historian Dr Stephen Mullen.
I tried to do it myself with community organiser Yvonne Blake in 2019. It's really difficult! https://twitter.com/UofGUnescoRILA/status/1171850597240385536?s=20
In Edinburgh, @edincarib leads walking tours highlighting Black histories of the city, as well as working with the National Museum of Scotland and others. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/features/remaking-our-histories-scotland-slavery-and-empire
David Alston has made a lot of his research into Highland connections to Caribbean slavery easily available on his website: https://www.spanglefish.com/slavesandhighlanders/index.asp his work inspired the making of the film Eliza, a Gaelic-language play about Highland slavery.
Writers and actors @MorayoAkande and @MoyoAkande made the brilliant short film 1745, a fictional tale about two sisters fleeing slavery in Scotland. It's available to watch here: https://www.1745film.com/
The brilliant @maysumb wrote a radio play on the Joseph Knight case, an enslaved man who fought for his freedom in 18th c Scottish courts, and is also developing 'Enough of Him' for the National Theatre of Scotland https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/latest/joseph-knight
Scotland's first Black Professor, innovator and thinker @SirGeoffPalmer has devoted his time to addressing the legacies of slavery and empire in Scotland. https://www.channel4.com/news/people-still-do-not-understand-their-history-they-see-me-still-representing-the-slave-scientist-sir-geoff-palmer
At The Hunterian Museum, the woman behind the scenes of a lot of the Black History initiatives in Scotland @zandrayeaman has been appointed as Curator of Discomfort, leading programming to challenge and dismantle white supremacy in museum practice.
Glasgow's own dear @louisewelsh00 and @JudeBarber1 created 'The Empire Cafe' in 2014 to give a wee bit of historical context to the celebrated 'Commonwealth' Games -- http://www.empire-cafe.org/about
Always an honour to learn from @glasgow_sugar -- not least from his book about Glasgow's built heritage and slavery, now available online at https://it.wisnae.us/ and his forthcoming monograph, 'The Glasgow Sugar Aristocracy': https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-glasgow-sugar-aristocracy-scotland-and-caribbean-slavery-1775-1838/stephen-mullen/9781909646773
At Glasgow Life Museums, @Miles_AG is the new Curator of Slavery and Empire, working across all the collections and museums of Glasgow to research, interpret and share Glasgow's links to slavery and empire.
'Aye, it wis aabody' is a Scots language community project based in Birse exploring local connections to Caribbean slavery. https://issuu.com/magictorchcomics/docs/aye_it_was_aabody__issuu_
We're fortunate in Glasgow to benefit from the tireless campaigning, and warm-hearted nature, of Councillor Graham Campbell @CeeGraham1 without whom a lot of the other work would not have been possible.
The work being done across the nation, as well as in the city of Glasgow, with questions raised by Councillor Campbell is why the University of Glasgow, led by @SimonatMadison and @glasgow_sugar, researched and published a report into the institution's financial links to slavery.
We're trying to keep the academic research going, in collaboration with our friends and colleagues in campaigning, policy and activism through the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies: https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/slavery/ named for an enslaved woman, in remembrance of her and her community.
The centre is led by @peggybrunache one of Scotland's leading public historians of slavery, a culinary archaeologist, and Caribbean Studies researcher. She's made a great number of important public interventions on Scotland's imperial and slaving history.
Scots are one step ahead in dealing with deniers, thanks to Fergus Smith @oldscotbooks 'Denial Bingo Card', which summarises the tedious below-the-line commentary on every article about Scotland, Empire and Slavery. https://twitter.com/oldscotbooks/status/1350845173899661315?s=20
There's some brilliant journalism bringing history to different audiences and directly challenging the myth-making. See @LeaskyHT on this https://twitter.com/LeaskyHT/status/1350838028223307776?s=20
The National Trust for Scotland is researching and programming around legacies of slavery in Scotland: https://www.nts.org.uk/what-we-do/history/facing-our-past an initiative that has been largely warmly received and welcomed.
The University of Aberdeen is working to expose and explore connections to empire in a variety of different ways -- including researching and writing about some of its fascinating African graduates: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/stories/nathaniel-king/index.html
And, the creative / historic project @UndiscoveredAn3 seeks to provide moments of reflection and remembrance of individuals.
Frederick Douglass in Scotland is such an inspirational project! https://twitter.com/fd_scotland/status/1354052115719745536?s=20
Another amazing researcher, @DAO5000 I was fortunate enough to attend her talk last week on North-East Scotland and Caribbean slavery.
There’s loads more. This is a bit Glasgow-biased also, not because I was born, raised, and work in Glasgow but because Glasgow is, objectively, miles better.
Resources about the 1846 visit to Scotland by the anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass, compiled by @bulldozia : https://www.bulldozia.com/douglass-in-scotland/
You can see @edincarib @CeeGraham1 and @DandelionsGla speaking here at the @scotcivictrust conference on race and heritage in Scotland: https://www.scottishcivictrust.org.uk/race-and-heritage-in-scotland-conference/ -- I really learnt a lot from Davie Donaldson's presentation on Scottish Travellers.
International students at Edinburgh, a project run and researched by students and the lovely @h_p_dee : https://twitter.com/SobukweScozia/status/1354212156837912579?s=20
A toast to the laddies: @IainMacKinnon75 and @HearaichHerald have researched estate purchases made in Scotland with wealth created by enslaved labour - https://www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/2020/11/new-research-reveals-extent-of-historical-links-between-plantation-slavery-and-landownership-in-the-west-highlands-and-islands/
Mapping of Douglass in Scotland hosted by @natlibscotmaps https://twitter.com/gawanmac/status/1354425590783352834?s=20
Lovely project on Jessie Margaret Soga: https://twitter.com/ScotSuffragette/status/1319300739643199493?s=20 Joint Secretary of the Women's Freedom League Hillhead, Glasgow branch!
And this detailed article on Scotland and Guyana, which mentions the firm Sandbach Tinne, which @MalikAndTheOGs is researching and writing on at the moment. https://twitter.com/AissaBoodhoo/status/1354459482831548423?s=20
