Interview on education and Black British history

Abstract

This interview traces a life shaped by transnational education and a commitment to reshaping how histories of slavery, empire and Black experience are understood. Beginning with early schooling in Nigeria the narrative follows the profound dislocation and racism encountered upon moving to Britain and the rebuilding of confidence that followed. It charts a non-linear academic trajectory: early professional work as a PA, a return to higher education later in life, a degree in Caribbean Studies and a PhD on Edgar Mittelholzer. The interviewee articulates a historically rigorous, ethically grounded approach to archives, emphasising silences, power, descendant knowledge and the productive tension between history and heritage. Her specialism sits at the intersection of the Caribbean and Black British history, archival interpretation and trauma-informed, community-centred methodologies. She argues that Black History is analytically universal in its global explanatory power yet rooted in specific communities and epistemologies. She also offers a critical reading of the contemporary pushback against Black history, situating it within struggles over power, accountability and the destabilisation of Eurocentric hierarchies. The interview concludes with reflections on intellectual lineage and heritage through three imagined dinner guests whose literary, political and ancestral significance illuminate the values that guide her work. The interview questions were provided by Dr Elizabeth Williams, Associate Director of Library Academic Support, University of Edinburgh.