History of black Brits brought to life in artist’s stunning collection of images from last 100 years
THE HISTORY of black Britons has been brought to life and celebrated in a series of colourised images from the last 100 years.
Artist Tom Marshall has colourised black-and-white images charting the history of black British heroes, workers and ordinary men and women since 1899 with examples of their hardships, triumphs and contributions to the UK.
The white artist was inspired by the death of African American George Floyd, who died in police custody, and the Black Lives Matter protests which erupted across the globe demanding equal treatment of black people.
Mr Marshall said: "The UK isn't innocent, and black people in Britain continue to suffer inequality and unfair treatment at the hands of state authorities.
"I want to show solidarity and speak out, but I equally understand that this is a time for Black voices to be heard, and for everybody else to listen for a change.
"As a photo colouriser I thought a contribution I could make would be to try and highlight moments of black British history in a way that might open a few eyes to the contributions of black people in this country over the past century."
The snapshots include an iconic image of the ex-troopship Empire Windrush, which carried thousands of black Caribbeans to Britain to rebuild its shattered economy after the Second World War.
Immigrants donned their best suits when they arrived as they entered the Southampton Customs Hall before heading to Victoria, Waterloo or Paddington.
In 2018, thousands of people from the Caribbean who arrived in the UK as children were threatened with deportation in what became known as the Windrush scandal.
The Windrush generation, who arrived on British shores between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries, were told they were here illegally despite having lived and worked in the country for decades.
Many lacked the correct documentation to prove their right to remain in the UK and at least 83 black Britons were wrongfully deported to Jamaica in 2018.
The Home Office had a "hostile environment" policy of detaining and deporting Caribbean migrants who had a right to live in Britain.
Former PM Theresa May headed up the Home Office at the time the policy was brought in and the then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd was forced to resign when the scandal was revealed in 2018.
Also included in the collection of images is Paul Stephenson OBE, who was born in Essex in 1937 and was the only black child at his school. After serving in the RAF from 1953-1960, he moved to Bristol and became the city's first black social worker.
He later led the famously successful 60-day Bristol Bus Boycott in 1963 after the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to employ black people and was awarded an OBE in 2009.
Mr Marshall also used a picture of Frances Gqoba, a member of The African Choir which toured Britain from 1891-1893 and even performed privately to Queen Victoria to raise funds for a technical college in South Africa.
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Other images show the footballer and WW1-hero Walter Tull, widely considered as the first African-Caribbean mixed heritage man to be commissioned as an infantry officer in the British Army.
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Tull died in 1918 while leading an attack on the Western front during the Second Battle of the Somme in March and he was recommended for a Military Cross for bravery.
Mr Marshall added: "The history of Black people in Britain goes back thousands of years before these photos were taken, and their contribution to British culture, sport, music, art, cuisine, literature and all aspects of life should not be undervalued, it should be celebrated."
