This illustrated talk will explore the connections the city of Bath (South West England ) has with African people. We start with Ethiopian Emperor Haille Selassie I, who lived in the city in the 1930s and left a lasting legacy both physical and cultural. We will also explore the African presence that preceded his arrival and go back to Georgian and Victorian times. We will cover:
- Ancient African history, royal lineage and culture
- When Ethiopians defeated the Italian army.
- Hitler, Mussolini, World War Two and European greed in Africa
- The League of Nations betrayal
- Black Victorians
- Dirty Bristol money and beautiful streets, how to whitewash a Bath
- Truth and Stereotypes of Rastafari
This is an online event delivered via Zoom. The link will be sent to your email address 90 minutes before the start.
Other coming online events from www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk :
- African Women Resistance Leaders: Political and Spiritual course Part 1
- The Black history of comedy
- African Odysseys Black Films and White Power
- Black Presence in the National Gallery
- African Graphic Novels; the rise of Black superheroes
- The economic impact of African hair, local and global
- The Black history of video games
- Hip ho to Opera via Negro Spirituals
- Beyond Nollywood
- African Animations day
About the Speaker
Dr Shawn Naphtali Sobers is an academic, filmmaker, photographer and writer. As an academic he is Associate Professor of Cultural Interdisciplinary Practice at University of the West of England, Bristol, and studied Media Anthropology at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Principles relating to community media and participatory practice underpin much of his work, and published work includes exploring post-colonial memory and space, Rastafari language and culture, and creative citizenship in social media. As a filmmaker he has directed and produced documentaries for BBC1, ITV and Channel 4. Topics of his work are wide ranging, including Ethiopian connections with the city of Bath, legacies of the slavery in the UK, youth culture, African presence in Georgian and Victorian Britain, youth homelessness, and living with terminal illness. As a photographer Shawn works across many genres including documentary, portraiture, montage and archival reconstruction. He has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and features in a range of books and collections. Shawn is co-founder of Imperial Voice Radio, based at the former home of Emperor Haile Selassie I in Bath.
