This week on the Secret Library blog we have chosen to highlight past articles exploring the rich legacy of Black communities, locally, nationally and internationally – as seen in the collections at Leeds Central Library. We shall be publishing more articles along these lines over the coming months, because we firmly believe #blacklivesmatter. A permanent tab has also been created to store all our articles on Black history in Leeds specifically. 

Pablo is Coming!
A brief look at the life and times of Pablo Fanque, Britain’s first Black circus owner, told using Playbills in our collections. Pablo is buried in Leeds – for more on his life, see our later article jointly-written with the help of the Norfolk Heritage Centre.

The American Civil War and the End of American Slavery
Reading guide to classic works of history on this important subject, all of which can be found at the Central Library.

A Brief History of the African-Caribbean Community in Leeds
Told using books and other resources available at the Central Library, highlighting the contributions of unjustly little-known community activists.

William Boyne and the Voices of History
Opinion piece, exploring the problematic legacy in slavery of a key treasure held by the Central Library: William Boyne’s History of Leeds

People of Leeds #2: Cedric Clarke
Short piece on the life and achievements of Leeds’ first local Councillor of African-Caribbean heritage.

Power & Protest: Rock Against Racism (1977)
Brief history of the pioneering anti-racism movement in Leeds.

The 1981 Uprising
Brilliant history and analysis of the 1981 uprising in Chapeltown, by Miriam White.

Exhibition – Leeds West Indian Carnival
Photo gallery showcasing snippets of an exhibition held at the Central Library in August 2019. Useful as a guide to some further resources available at the Central Library for Black history – the subject of a forthcoming blog post.

Who was David and why should we remember him?
Account of the horrifying events leading to the death of Nigerian David Oluwale in Leeds.

African-Caribbean Family History 
Short guide to researching your African and Caribbean heritage. The guide also includes a brief list of further reading and resources on Black history.

Leodis
Archive of historical Leeds images and photos, including many of interest to those wanting to know more about Black history and heritage in our area. Please note that we are currently working on improving our indexing of these images, to make them more visible; for best results at present, search using geographical terms like ‘Chapeltown Road,’ or for specific events such as ‘West Indian Carnival’. All images below are (c) Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net.

5th March 2007. View of a memorial plaque to Councillor Norma Hutchinson, situated on Chapeltown Road outside Chapeltown Library.

1989. View of the Daily Bread Bakery, a Caribbean baker located at number 235 Chapeltown Road.

August 1989. Image shows students from CHALCS taking part in the annual Leeds West Indian Carnival.

28th July 1989. Image shows some of the 250 people who attended the Sikh Centre in Chapeltown Road to take part in the Community Lunch and sample the vegetarian menu. It was an event organised by the Leeds 100k club, a black organisation dedicated to raising £100,000 for the ‘Give For Life Appeal.’

December 1989. View of staff behind the counter of Dr. B’s Caribbean Restaurant.