Northamptonshire Black History Project

Below you can download a detailed case-study of this community archive. The case-study describes the origins, activities and achievements of the archive, and assesses its impact on the local community.

The first two sections of the case-study are reproduced below.

Project summary

The Northamptonshire Black History Project was founded to record and promote the histories and stories of Northamptonshire’s Black communities and individuals over the past 500 years. To support these aims the Project:

• Undertook historical research into sources held by external bodies
• Encouraged black community groups to organise their records into archives and deposit them with the county record office
• Recorded the life stories of Black people across Northamptonshire

The work of the Project has been carried on and developed by its successor, the Northamptonshire Black History Association.

For further background, download the case-study or see the directory entry for Northamptonshire Black History Association.

What does this project exemplify?

Key features of the Project:

• Creation of on-line database with catalogue of oral history collection and references to black people and organisations in a wide range of sources
• Successfully encouraging seven black and ethnic minority organisations to deposit their archives at Northamptonshire Record Office, making this combined resource one of the
  best of its kind in the UK for any record office outside London.
• Work with a wide range of groups and individuals on project work that has included film of an individual’s experience of coming to Britain from Somalia, training young people in
  interviewing and oral history skills and producing a project exploring racism in sport through drama.
• Partnering with Northamptonshire University to produce a new module on Black British History for the University’s humanities BA course

Download the full case study