Dear Writers Forum:

What does a French novelist, a Russian poet, a Mayor of Battersea from Liverpool, a Polish born violinist, virtuoso and an English composer have in common?

Historian Dr. Mike Phillips explains that that they were all "Black Europeans". Written in a clear descriptive prose, Phillips chronicles the lives of five extraordinary men. He reminds us that:

"The figures featured in Black Europeans – Alexander Pushkin, Alexandre Dumas, George Polgreen Bridgetower, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and John Archer – all have a mixed European and African ancestry. Although they were fully conscious of their mixed backgrounds, they also regarded themselves as part of a European nation, and thought of their work as a contribution to their own sector of the culture of Europe and the world. And they were all figures whose public image and whose activities have been generally accepted (both by their contemporaries and by later generations) to be an important part of Europe’s cultural heritage – to the point where most people ignore, or have forgotten about, the ‘black’ element of their identity and its significance in their lives and work."

"Black Europeans" presented on the British Library website includes early photographs, music downloads, paintings that expand our understanding of their art and political contributions.

To know more about Dr. Mike Philips, please click on the link immediately below. His profile includes his "Caribbean Views: Sugar, slavery and the making of the West Indies"

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/blackeuro/phillips.html

Enjoy