Reflections : Local Roots/ Global Routes

When I say black? what are the some of the things first things you think about? Answers from class: Violence, savage, aggression, second class, third world… What does it do to your psyche if you identify as black and these are the things that even you as black people, associate with blackness? (Akala, October 2014)

This film is the result of a series of interviews (conducted with the help of teacher Lucy Capes) with the students of Hackney BSix Sixth Form College who took part in several workshops with Akala; organised by UCL History. I am proud of what emerged through the filming process and felt really quite privileged to meet and hear the views of students who were so passionate, articulate and determined.

The Local Roots /Global Routes Workshops were set up by UCL’s Legacy’s Of British Slave-Ownership project, Hackney Museum and The London Museums Group’s Share Academy. One of the aims of the LRGR project was to “tell our national stories in ways that include the histories of African men, women and children and their descendants”.

CLIENT: University College London