October marks Black History Month in the UK, an opportune time to reflect on how much the Black-British community has achieved. The UK is an incredibly multicultural society and it is important to understand the integral part that the Black community has played in the history of this country. Black populations have inhabited the UK for a long time – historical evidence suggests that Black people have had a presence in the UK since the Roman Empire, historians have also found mountains of evidence that suggests the existence of Black Tudors between the 15th and 17th century. Yet, although the Black community has been a part of British society for centuries, Black history is still overlooked in our school curriculums. In order to mitigate this, StoryTerrace, the nation’s leading biographer, shines a light on the invaluable real-life stories of inspirational people from the Black-British community that have had their accounts penned with the service.
In their unique and in-depth research, StoryTerrace also explored the benefits that come as a result of people documenting their stories. Seeing as how Black history is brushed over in our history classes and how fragmented stories from the Black-British community are, StoryTerrace’s landmark study surveyed the importance that knowing more about one’s history affects mental health – this is especially pertinent in light of the discourse around the relationship between race and mental health. Whilst elevating voices of those from inherently marginalised communities, StoryTerrace found that 61% of Black British respondents said that reading stories they can relate to positively impacts their wellbeing.
Key findings:
61% of Black British people said that reading stories they can relate to has a positive impact on their mental health
59% of Black British respondents say that writing about their experiences in a creative way has allowed them to understand themselves better
45% of Black British people agreed they feel more comfortable writing about their experiences than talking about them
Meet The Jamaican Nurses Association – the Caribbean nurses who penned their incredible story of overcoming barriers in order to integrate and contribute to British society:
From 1948, the British Government funded recruitment drives to attract qualified nurses and trainees from the Caribbean to come to Britain – this played a huge part in creating the NHS which we cherish so dearly today. One particular group of nurses from Jamaica, who previously had no first-hand experience of British culture, made the journey to the UK to work in the NHS. They later set up a charity to help those facing discrimination and share their harrowing personal experiences, which still stand today.
Alina Wallace, from Croydon and one of the association members said:
“A lot of the incredible efforts and stories of these nurses have been lost and we are keen to document these stories in the right way. Until now, there was nothing to document how we had achieved everything and we felt the need to leave a legacy for the next generation.”
Meet Brian Lewis, a boy arriving to England as part of the first Windrush generation who tells his story showing anything is possible:
Brian was part of the first Windrush generation and moved straight to a tough council estate with his family. When Brian was just eight, he became a formidable chess player and after just two years of training, he won five individual UK chess championships. His memoir with StoryTerrace is a moving account of how a chess team made up of council estate children inspired an entire working-class community to take up the game that had normally been played by those from a more privileged background. One of Brian’s biggest achievements was beating an International Chess Grandmaster at just the age of 12.
Rutger Bruining, Founder and CEO of StoryTerrace, has seen how thousands of people have benefitted from documenting their life stories. With heritage stories being one of the most popular genres at StoryTerrace, Rutger is keen to discuss the importance of storytelling in fostering cohesion and understanding of marginalised communities, he says:
“One of the great things about writing a memoir is that they provide a portal to the past, and with the diversity of storytellers entering our service daily, we are now able to dive into people’s first-hand experiences of a life that is often different from ours. It is vital that we learn about the cultures that are outside of our own and we hope that people are able to do that by reading some of the incredible memoirs penned through our service.
“For some, writing what they know comes easier than talking. As our research evidences, there is power in writing. Whether it is daily journaling, writing a novel, or even writing a card. It is one of the purest forms of self-expression and allows room for creativity, self-exploration and even just some fun to past the time. We have the pleasure of seeing exactly how writing directly benefits not just our clients but our amazing ghostwriters as well.”
