Grants:Project/Groundings: Black British Archival Workshops
Project idea
editWhat is the problem you're trying to solve?
editWhat problem are you trying to solve by doing this project? This problem should be small enough that you expect it to be completely or mostly resolved by the end of this project. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
There is no one reliable digital source for fact-checked and chronological information covering a wide breadth of Black lives in Britain over the last century. Only in the last few years has there been a slight rise in scholarly writing on Black British lives, but the history remains severely under-explored which leaves room for appropriation and ahistorical representation. Access to Higher Education, social institutions and other governmental spaces has been limited for Black people in the UK since their arrival and so instead they have worked in small grassroots community-style organising, relying heavily on word of mouth and ephemera as proof of their survival and cultural contributions. The focus of this project will be on contemporary Black British culture in the UK including but not limited to: publishers/writers, socio-political movements and activism, cultural producers (activists, teachers and community leaders), academics, archives, visual and performance art, theatre, music and dance. We want to address this benign neglect by establishing a digital source that is accessible and legible to a general audience, the curious and other researchers worldwide. This problem can be significantly addressed by creating dedicated Wikipages for people to engage with and contribute to about Black life in Britain from the 20th century and going forward.
It ought not to take proximity to institutional access for marginalised communities, in this case, the Black community in the UK, to access and engage with their own history and culture. The majority of the scholarly and publishing outputs which have been generated as a consequence of the increased visibility of the Windrush generation and Black life in Britain more generally over the last decade has evolved from established non-Black institutional spaces (universities, galleries, museums and publishers with little to no representation of Black people in senior leadership, middle management or, across their respective organisations, as whole).
What the open knowledge movement offers is an opportunity to bring the existing praxis of sharing knowledge demonstrated inBlack community and radical archives in the UK into a digital age. Due to the digital divide, often communities of colour are unable to reap the benefits of technological change. Restrictions ranging from broadband prices to lack of resources create an exclusionary catch-22 situation for both communities and organisations like the WMF, keen to encourage participation with Wikipedia and contributions from editors belonging to minoritised groups.
What is your solution?
editFor the problem you identified in the previous section, briefly describe your how you would like to address this problem. We recognize that there are many ways to solve a problem. We’d like to understand why you chose this particular solution, and why you think it is worth pursuing. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
There are two ways we want to address this challenge:
- Establish remote partnerships with a subset of existing Black GLAM organisations in the UK. National Archives at Kew, Black Cultural Archives and the British Library are all digitally accessible for this project.
- Recruit and retain at least 15 editors over a course of 12 months. With them we will conduct online training, editathons, and workshops (partnering with GLAM/ community and radical archives where we can).
Our solution is to decentralise knowledge access by and provide Black GLAM organisations with training to use Wikipedia to contribute part of their archives to Wikipedia, and opportunity to outreach to members of the Black community in the UK.
Project goals
editWhat are your goals for this project? Your goals should describe the top two or three benefits that will come out of your project. These should be benefits to the Wikimedia projects or Wikimedia communities. They should not be benefits to you individually. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
- Create biographies on English Wikipedia for all notable Black publishers/ writers, cultural producers (artists/ playwrights/ musicians), performers/dancers in the UK from the beginning of the 20th Century onwards.
- Black British Publishing and Literature
- Black British Film and Television
- Healthcare and the NHS in Black Britain
- Increase the accuracy of English Wikipedia citations of Black life in Britain by getting newly recruited editors from our archive sessions (through online video training workshops and editathons) to add or update citations on existing articles.
Project impact
editHow will you know if you have met your goals?
editFor each of your goals, we’d like you to answer the following questions:
- During your project, what will you do to achieve this goal? (These are your outputs.)
- Once your project is over, how will it continue to positively impact the Wikimedia community or projects? (These are your outcomes.)
For each of your answers, think about how you will capture this information. Will you capture it with a survey? With a story? Will you measure it with a number? Remember, if you plan to measure a number, you will need to set a numeric target in your proposal (e.g. 45 people, 10 articles, 100 scanned documents). Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
We have identified at least 50 Black writers, publishers, artists, creative practioners, and healthcare professionals in Britain who have come into general audience prominence as a result of the recent wave of Black publishing on the Windrush Generation in the UK as well as the rise of Black Studies programmes (for example Birmingham, Nottingham, Goldsmiths, Leeds) in academic institutions over the last decade as well as the rise of funding for studies on the history of slavery in the UK. In light of Covid-19 and the disproportionate scale of impact on the Black community in the UK (MP for Hackney, Diane Abbot recently commented, "34.5% of coronavirus patients in critical care were Black or from an ethnic minority. Yet we are only 13% of the general population. And every one of the 14 doctors who have died so far is from an ethnic minority"), we are particularly keen to ensure that the work of healthcare pioneers and scholars (such as Dr Jenny Douglas, who founded the Black Women’s Health and Wellbeing Research Network at the Open University) is cited, and openly accessible. These names, and these histories, which are often featured in radio and television documentaries, rarely have Wikipedia pages associated with them. In the instances where they do, these pages require attention, care and editing from contributors.
Our first goal focuses on creating three new Wikimedia pages with newly trained Groundings editors over the course of one year (June 2020 - June 2021) covering these three topics: Healthcare, Publishing and Film. Thereby increasing the number of entries on English Wikipedia of notable Black cultural producers and local history in the UK from the beginning of the 20th Century onwards.
Below is a list of the 18 current, relevant English Wikipedia pages we have identified which reference to Black life in Britain since the beginning of the 20th Century; we will know that we have met this goal because we will have either increased the number of people referenced on these pages and/or have added citations to these pages and the Wikipedia pages they link to, of notable Black people in the UK.
Our second goal is to increase the accuracy of English Wikipedia citations of Black life in Britain by encouraging newly recruited editors through remote training, online video workshops and editathons to add and/ or update citations on existing articles.
Below are the archives we would work with to run these remote sessions; we plan on engaging them in remote partnerships to increase the accuracy of the pages listed above and to contribute to the new proposed pages.
Archives we will be actively consulting during this project:
edit| Name | Museum, Library or Archive | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Black Cultural Archives | Archive | Brixton, London |
| British Library: Special Collection | Library (offers resources for the study of Black and Asian history, politics, culture and creative arts in Britain) | Euston, London |
| The National Archives | Archive (research guide on Black British social and political history in the 20th century) | Richmond, London |
| BFI National Archive | The films in their collection are a record of the history of filmmaking and document life in the UK | Southbank, London |
Archives we will be communicating and sharing updates with:
edit| Name | Museum, Library or Archive | Location |
|---|---|---|
| London Met Archives | Archive | Islington, London |
| George Padmore Institute | Archive
(an archive, educational resource and research centre housing materials relating to the black community of Caribbean, African) |
Haringey, London |
| Future Histories: 'Re-membering Black Performance’ | Archive
(set up to maintain archives of African, Caribbean and Asian performing arts in the UK.) |
Middlesex University, UK |
| Tate Archive | Archive | Pimlico, London |
| The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre (Manchester Central Library) | Archive
(an open access library specialising in the study of race, ethnicity and migration) |
Manchester, UK |
| Stephen Lawrence Research Centre & Archive | Archive
(aims to drive forward conversations that will shape and influence how we think about race and social justice) |
Deptford,London |
| Middlesex University Library: Special Collections | Library
(a substantial collection of publications, documentation and ephemera of value in the study of Carnival) |
Middlesex University, UK |
| Autograph | Archive
(where you can find images spanning more than 150 years of photographic history in the UK) |
Shoreditch, London |
| Transmission Gallery Archive | Archive
(contains a library, collection of slides and other visual material left by artists and researchers in the days before digital documentation) |
Glasgow, Scotland |
| University of Edinburgh | Library | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| The Feminist Library | Library | Peckham, London |
| The Bernie Grants Arts Centre | Arts | Tottenham Green, London |
| The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) | Archive
(responding to the needs of Black people and making direct analyses of institutionalised racism in Britain and the rest of Europe) |
Kings Cross, London |
| Women's Art Library Collections (Goldsmiths University) | Library | New Cross, London |
| June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive | Archive
(UK's largest personal collection of films, ephemera, manuscripts, publications, audio, photography, posters documenting Black film) |
London (roaming) |
| University of Liverpool | Library
(Centre for the Study of International Slavery, sharing leading research about slavery in history, culture, legacies and contemporary society) |
Liverpool, UK |
| Birmingham City University | Archive
(Centre for Critical Social Research: Black Studies) |
Birmingham, UK |
| Birmingham City Council | Archive
(Black history collection) |
Birmingham, UK |
| The Centre for Caribbean and Diaspora Studies (Goldsmiths University) | Archive
(representation and promotion of Caribbean cultural knowledge and heritage in the UK, and internationally) |
New Cross, London |
| Nottingham Black Archive | Archive | Nottingham, UK |
| Lambeth Archives | Archive | Brixton, London |
The continued benefits to the broader Wikimedia community for this project can be summarised as follows:
- Documentation of inclusion best practices; specifically, around cross-cultural communication, an ethics of care, addressing the digital divide
- Survey data on diversity; this is explored in the section below
- Significantly increased number of engaged, proactive and trained Black Wikipedia editors in the UK as a result of multiple training the trainer sessions, active community engagement (and management)
- Increased number of pages about Black British life, culture and history
- Active partnerships with several underrepresented archival spaces
- Stronger ties established between Wikimedia UK and future pipelines of Black editors in the UK
Do you have any goals around participation or content?
editAre any of your goals related to increasing participation within the Wikimedia movement, or increasing/improving the content on Wikimedia projects? If so, we ask that you look through these three metrics, and include any that are relevant to your project. Please set a numeric target against the metrics, if applicable. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
There are very few Black Wikipedia editors in the UK. In the worldwide Wikipedia Editor Survey in 2011, 91% of the respondents were male. And yet, most of the Black archive spaces in the UK are initiated, maintained and nourished by Black women invested in the values of open knowledge, who build archives, contribute materials and outreach to communities because they value contribution.
- Working with Wikimedia UK as a vector for training and feedback, we aim to upload at least 60 contributions (citations and pages)
- We will recruit at least 15 editors who will participate in our English Wikipedia remote archive sessions. The majority (over 80%) will be new editors and at least 50% will be Black first-time editors living in the UK.
- We will build relationships with the already identified archival resources institutions in the UK, especially the smaller and lesser known collections. We will host online video training workshops and editathons) archive sessions online in partnership with them.
Project plan
editActivities
editTell us how you'll carry out your project. What will you and other organizers spend your time doing? What will you have done at the end of your project? How will you follow-up with people that are involved with your project?
During our initial three months of internal planning where we will produce literature to outline our project to potential volunteers, including framework of tasks, a timeline of progress and expected deliverables to be mailed as hard-copies for accessibility. Planning will require us to advertise these remote archive sessions to the appropriate community, academic and online venues. During this time we will undertake substantial tutelage; liaising with a designated Wikimedia Trainer before engaging.
At the beginning of each quarter, the cohort of volunteers will be trained by a Wikimedia UK Trainer, convening via video conferencing (Google Hangouts). Once trained, we will host two online video workshops over each quarter (each lasting for two hours, roughly every 5-6 weeks) for literature reviews, research and linear knowledge sharing. Following this, we will stay in touch with our community of editors via Slack and Mailchimp newsletters with updates, tools (e.g. Harvest for volunteers to track the amount of time they’re spending on different editing, citation and research tasks) and new prompts (e.g. via Asana where we will be project managing the contributions).
After each remote archival session, we will liaise remotely with participants using online survey tools to gather feedback at every event and create data visualisations around participation. We will continue to make ourselves available to engage and inspire attendees to contribute to Wikipedia outside of the workshop hours. Periodically, we will mail our printed materials, augmented with online downloadable PDFs, and ask participants to work through the task list based on their learnings in the editing workshops. Where necessary copies of hard to find books and other media will be acquired and shared via secure delivery.
Below is a list of job descriptions for the project team. By the end of the year-long project, we will be able to report back to Wikimedia with detailed insights around contributions, participant engagement and diversity figures.
| Activity | Time Frame |
|---|---|
Planning
|
June - September 2020 |
Healthcare
|
October - December 2020 |
Film and Television
|
January - March 2021 |
Publishing
|
April - June 2021 |
LEAD ORGANISER (2 POSTS)
Leadership
- Initiates and supports the development of systems and practices to address organisational issues;
- Sets up effective monitoring and evaluation processes for individual projects;
- Recruits paid staff, including consultants (e.g. Wiki trainer), and volunteers required to achieve agreed project objectives;
- Leads periodical project reviews and aligns them with possible changing contexts of their implementation;
- Works with the project manager in writing and identifying lessons from periodical management reports (once per quarter);
- Identifies fundable project ideas and potential funding sources;
- Represents the project externally.
Planning and work management
- Develops and sustain plans with team members and proceed to regular reviews and evaluation of organising activities;
- Allocates tasks to employees and volunteers and assists with time management;
- Evaluate the performance of staff and ensures an effective contribution is made toward the expected achievement of the projects within timeframes and in compliance with policies and guidelines;
- Contributes to the development of policies, strategic plans and manages resources appropriately;
- Builds and maintains a positive work environment;
- Maintains scheduled contact and review with members of their team both on a one-to-one and group basis to ensure all team members are appropriately supervised and supported;
- Writes and communicates interim and final reports for dissemination among project stakeholders, including Wikimedia Foundation;
- Creates content, devises plans for remote online workshops, seminars and editathons;
- Liaises with project strategic partners including funders and other stakeholders;
- Assists with the implementation and outcomes of operational plans to achieve the projects’ goals through developing employees and volunteers’ skills, in accordance with the overall organisation strategic plan.
Improving performance
- Provides on the job training, mentoring and arranges off the job training for team members;
- Supports team members to maintain relationships with their key work-related stakeholders within the project and outside;
- Communicate and educate team members on the strategic direction of the project;
- Educates team members in conflict resolution techniques;
- Implements and supports development plans for team members and dealing with performance issues if and where appropriate.
PROJECT MANAGER (1 POST)
- Identifies activities, timeline, and order for completion of the project;
- Determines personnel, supplies, equipment, and other resources needed for the project;
- Assists in establishing criteria and measurables for success or completion of the project;
- Engages other agencies, businesses, donors, and stakeholders to financially support and publicize projects or initiatives;
- Contributes to the recruitment of employees, including paid staff and consultants, and volunteers for the project;
- Supervises training of project staff and volunteers on activities to be performed and other aspects of the project;
- Ensures that volunteers and staff obtain any necessary documentation legally required for their employment;
- Monitors progress of project stages and determine and implement any necessary changes;
- Records data on project work, time to complete tasks, attendance at events;
- Bookkeeps project’s flow of money, such as income from funders and other sources, and expenditures;
- Liaises with an accounting firm to audit projects’ accounts;
- Support the lead organiser in budgeting for projects and writing fundraising proposals;
- Works with one lead organiser and writes reports on project progress and results; prepares management reports in collaboration with the same lead organiser responsible for periodical reviews of projects.
Budget
editHow you will use the funds you are requesting? List bullet points for each expense. (You can create a table later if needed.) Don’t forget to include a total amount, and update this amount in the Probox at the top of your page too!
Budget Spreadsheet
- We have replaced our project planning retreat with logistical support for remote working during Covid-19. This includes access to broadband capacity which allows for frequent video conferencing for the core project team.
- We have increased the number of training sessions by three; we now have one planned for each quarter of the year long project.
- We have kept the technology, marketing and personnel expenses the same as these investments are crucial for remote working. We have found a really great deal with MailChimp who are offering free domains - which we intend on taking up. There are no other ways to procure free domains. Most domains cost up to $30 per month with hosting included hence our costing for this. This will remain in the spreadsheet in case the MailChimp domain is not available. This is the industry standard.
- As for the other open-source software solutions, we had considered this, however, the most important consideration for our project team is familiarity with existing tools and not creating unnecessary obstacles for our team. One of our core operational values is not to further entrench the digital divide by introducing more unfamiliar technologies to the wider project team. We have costed this as a way of promoting inclusive project management principles.
- We have replaced offline archival session spending with remote access subscriptions as well the procurement of the necessary academic, print and digital resources for the citation work which will be carried out by the volunteers, led by the core project team.
Community engagement
editCommunity input and participation helps make projects successful. How will you let others in your community know about your project? Why are you targeting a specific audience? How will you engage the community you’re aiming to serve during your project?
Why are you targeting a specific audience?
Wikipedia clearly needs more women, trans and non-binary editors and more editors of colour. Our projects have identified a palpable desire from Black people in the UK to engage with reading, archiving, and contributing to the history of publishing and cultural production in the United Kingdom by and for the Black community. There are very few Black Wikipedia editors in the UK. In the worldwide Wikipedia Editor Survey in 2011, 91% of the respondents were male. And yet, most of the Black archive spaces in the UK are initiated, maintained and nourished by Black women invested in the values of open knowledge, who build archives, contribute materials and outreach to communities because they value contribution.
We will engage and let others in the community we're aiming to serve (Black people in Britain) know about your the project using these outreach and engagement strategies:
- Encourage participants to invite a friend and an elder to our remote archive sessions: this is a nuanced way of bringing knowledge back into spaces and creating intergenerational dialogue, skills exchange and addressing digital exclusion by upskilling an otherwise ostracised generation.
- Digital word of mouth: Through mailing lists for community groups, barbershops, hairdressers, local community groups
- Press - The Voice, The Guardian, Financial Times, BBC, The Independent, The Metro, The Times, The Telegraph, The Observer, Regional Newspapers
- Social media: Facebook groups, WhatsApp posters, Twitter ads and hashtags, Instagram ads
- Newsletters: We will buy ads on existing community newsletters as well as publishing our own - Black British Business Awards, Blackademia newsletter, etc
- Feedback: using survey tools - experience using qualitative and quantitative methods to gain feedback
Get involved
editParticipants
editPlease use this section to tell us more about who is working on this project. For each member of the team, please describe any project-related skills, experience, or other background you have that might help contribute to making this idea a success.
Natalie Nzeyimana
Natalie Nzeyimana is a writer, technologist and researcher based in London. She studied at the Oxford Internet Institute. She has previously lectured/ presented at the University of Edinburgh's Digital Society group, she has written about privacy and data rights for Prospect Magazine, has consulted on AI projects for Harvard and MIT, presented research to Data and Society Institute in New York and been invited to present at NeurIPs (the annual conference on Machine Learning and Computational Neuroscience).
Natalie has also facilitated Black seminar series at the George Padmore Institute and been commissioned to perform as part of Phoebe Boswell's installation at Prada Mode London during Frieze Week.
Rianna Jade Parker
Rianna Jade Parker is a critic, curator and researcher based in South London where she studied her MA in Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She is a founding member of interdisciplinary art collective Thick/er Black Lines and is a Contributing Editor of frieze magazine.
She has curated numerous artists' projects and commissions both independently and as part of collaborations with Tate Modern, Transmission Gallery, Tropenham Museum, Showroom MAMA, Prada Mode London and the 10th Berlin Biennale. She has presented at South London Gallery, Tate Britain, Southbank Centre, Iniva, Autograph ABP, Senate House, Jupiter Woods, Somerset House.
- Volunteer Hello, I am really interested in participating in this project and interested in hearing if there is any further way I can contribute, volunteer or support?
Reba Martin / martin.reba@outlook.com 82.46.91.75 09:28, 20 August 2020 (UTC)
Community notification
editPlease paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a Village Pump, talk page, mailing list, etc. Need notification tips?
Bun / Babylon
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bunbabylon/
George Padmore Institute https://www.georgepadmoreinstitute.org/
Black Music Research Unit http://basscultureduk.com/
Friends of the Huntley Archives at LMA https://fhalma.org/
Black Cultural Archives https://blackculturalarchives.org/
Black Studies Department at Birmingham City University https://www.bcu.ac.uk/social-sciences/research/centre-for-critical-social-research/black-studies/staff
198 Contemporary Arts & Learning https://198.org.uk
Endorsements
editDo you think this project should be selected for a Project Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).
Support As a black scholar, I feel that the work being proposed would be a valuable contribution to the lives of black people and our histories. -- Vivian Latinwo-Olajide.- Support As a black writer and as an educator, I feel that it is extremely important that more are represented in records. This will be a valuable and much needed resource. -- Dr Joy White WrayDuncan (talk) 14:27, 26 February 2020
- Support This project will prove to be a vital resource for many researchers interested in the documentation of Black British life and culture. I offer my support of this application as its founders have deep, lasting connections and investments in our history. This is an innovative and thoughtful plan to contribute to our future cultural production. -- Kareem Reid Kecstatic (talk) 16:22, 26 February 2020
- Support Archiving black British history is of vital necessity for knowledge exchange and production and for black people's well-being within British society. Malangwa Ngole (talk) 18:25, 27 February 2020
- Support this work is incredibly necessary and will benefit so many people and taught curriculums.(UTC)
- Support This project is an important, accessible source of information that will support current and future projects about Black British history. -- Omara Dyer-Johnson
- Support As a Black British scholar, feminist, LGBT activist, and future-parent, I cannot stress the importance of this page which would offer not only a resource for young Black British people who continue to be told by so much around them that they don’t belong, but also for scholars, schools, parents, tutors and all of us who know we belong, but could really do with some concrete, fact-checked reminders sometimes. Please, please fund this project, it’s so important, it will effect literally hundreds of thousands of lives. AmaJJohnstone (talk) 09:23, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
- Support As a Black educator and researcher, I feel that it is extremely important that more of Black Britain represented in records. Leighan90 (talk) 09:47, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
- Support This project would be an invaluable resource for the recording and study of black British history. I work in Higher Education in a library service and there is currently a lack of reliable online information on this key area. The proposed subject emphases, such as black British publishing, are useful and relevant to contemporary research areas. The project's aim to include community groups in the creation of this knowledge and documentation is essential and is often missing - this would also therefore fill a gap. This project would create work of importance and ongoing value. L Kassir (talk) 12:26, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
- Support This project is not only vital but long-overdue. In a era where we have highly respected global news outlets such as BBC News misrepresenting Black Britons, the need for accurate records of the cultural contributions of Black British is clear. Groundings will be an invaluable resource to broadcasters like myself and a grand would ensure it's longevity for future generations. ZIPLDN (talk) 17:25, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
- Support This project is vital to making visible cultural contributions so that the next generation of scholars, curators, writers and cultural activists can ground themselves in our shared history, while finding routes in to make their own immeasurable contributions. From both the perspectives of building cultural legacy and creating a framework for professional development, this project is crucial. Dr. Zoé Whitley
- Support I offer my support of this project. It will help to broaden knowledge of Black British cultural production on a worldwide scale, which is essential for education, research, and cultural development. It will provide a necessary resource that is both accessible, and can be contributed to/built on for years to come. -- Kamara Dyer Simms Kamdyer (talk) 11:28, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
- Support This project is a timely intervention into responsibly recording Black British cultural production, and promises to provide an accessible teaching and research scholarly resource. Projects of this kind, that centre marginalised communities as active collaborators rather than just objects of study are vitally important resources. — Rianna Walcott
- Support This project is necessary and important; a reliable resource of this type is much needed and missing. cecileemeke (talk) 19:01, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
- Support As a writer constantly researching and archiving, I’ve found that a lot of my time is spent searching rather than finding and studying. A resource such as this would be highly valuable to those who have idea where to begin - Jesse Bernard
- Support I am a historian of Black British LGBTQ and Caribbean history and I wholeheartedly support this project application. The project Groundings will be an invaluable resource within the Black heritage and historical landscape. I particularly like the philosophy behind the project of carrying out wikipedia editing sessions with community engagement placed at the fore, such as running intergenerational workshops which will address digital exclusion. Dr. Gemma Romain
- Support This is vital work. Making visible and accessible the broad range of experiences, histories and cultural contributions throughout our history will be an invaluable and reliable resource for future generations, communities and institutions. I especially support the proposed process of community editing sessions, to promote knowledge sharing and participation through it’s creation. Rachelmnoel (talk) 11:04, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
- Support This project is an important and timely intervention on the erasure of historical and cultural material regarding Black life in the U.K. It is crucial that Black histories, cultures, and experiences are documented with care, embodied knowledge and is accessible, and this collaborative project aims to do just that. This will be a necessary resource for researchers, young and old, who wish to learn more about Black life in Britain. The grant is vital to ensure its maintenance and success. Keishabruce (talk) 13:05, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
- Support I am endorsing this project as a curator and writer who has often struggled to find information on Black Britain in any chronological order or in depth with real fact checked information. This project will not only amplify the often erased history of black people in Britain but also contextualise the experiences internationally. It is absolutely crucial that this project happens and continues to add to the multiplicity of experiences black people globally. I am also endorsing this project not just because of it's merit, pioneering nature and importance but also because those in proposing this piece of work are more than qualified and the perfect people to start this project. Aliyah Hasinah (talk) 10:48, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
- Support As a researcher constantly confronted with gaps and silences in many historical records, especially where black people are concerned, I endorse this project. This resource that these highly qualified people seek to build is vital and important and they must be supported - Kuukuwa Manful
- Support This is not only timely work - but a project which is long overdue. The alchemy of the ambitions, characters, archives and movements which this work seeks to engage with, honour and foreground and the means through which this is proposed to be done will result in an invaluable, live and living resource. - Dr Thandi Loewenson
- Interesting project. But am I stating the obvious if saying that I could not identify any former wp contributions from the two project leads ? Better team with already existing teams such as AfroCrowd ? Wikimedia UK ? Anthere (talk)
- SupportFrom the BLT user group, we deeply support the work of other archivists, Wikimedians, culture works which reflects the breadth of histories, lives, collections that are underrepresented on Wiki and elsewhere. Our hopes that this project moves forward. Raggachampiongirl (talk) 21:06, 1 April 2020 (UTC)
- Note: I think "BLT" above stands for Black Lunch Table. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Nemo 12:48, 21 April 2020 (UTC)
- Support This project is well needed. I am intending to start work documenting influential Black British people and businesses. There are elements of bias by some administrators who quickly delete pages citing that they are not relevant. This is incredibly frustrating, we need a more diverse group of wiki editors who are able to contribute and educate. Sidesix (talk) 01:42, 16 April 2020 (UTC)
- This is a crucial project, one which I find massively inspiring and generous. As a film studies student I struggled to find resources and material written from the black british perspective across all subjects, and was shocked at senior arts lecturers ignorance. This would be invaluable work by two individuals whose practises I massively admire! Reba Martin 82.46.91.75 09:27, 20 August 2020 (UTC)