“Black British History Is British History”
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Title: Black and British
Author: David Olusoga
Category: World History, Culture & Society
What if everything you thought you knew about British history was only half the story? Sam and Sophie sit with David Olusoga's 'Black and British' and realize that Black history isn't a footnote—it's the spine of the national narrative.
They walk through the book's sweeping timeline, from the Ivory Bangle Lady in Roman Britain to the Windrush scandal and Black Lives Matter. Olusoga's key turns include the role of the slave trade in fueling the Industrial Revolution, the forgotten Black activists of the abolition movement, and the systematic erasure that followed. An example that stops them cold: the government compensated slave owners, not the enslaved.
This episode is for anyone who wants to understand the UK's past—and present—more fully. The takeaway: British history is incomplete without this story, and recovering it is an act of belonging.
'Black and British' by David Olusoga. If you want the full written summary, the whole library is on 7minutebooks.com/app — over 6,000+ fiction and nonfiction titles you can read or listen to in any language, with infographics on many. Unlimited access from $2.99 a month, $9.99 a year, or $19.99 lifetime.
Chapters
00:00Black History Is British History00:32Roman Britain to the Tudors02:06Slave Trade and Abolition04:14Empire, War, and Windrush06:20Modern Struggles and Belonging07:14Takeaway: A Fuller National Story
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