Remembering the Somme

African American soldiers in WWI

Today marks the centenary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Growing up in the States, I didn’t know much about the First World War. I had never heard the names of the great battles such as Verdun, Gallipoli, Passchendaele and, of course, The Somme. I learned a lot of detailed information when I moved to the UK.

This information was not taught when I was in school in the States, probably because we did not enter the war until 1917. So we missed out on The Somme, although our men experienced the final two years of the conflict.

Black nurses at Camp Grant WWI

World War I is remembered for the senseless slaughter of the combatants. The battle of The Somme went on for 141 days and saw the deaths of a million soldiers on all sides of the conflict. Young men were sent to their deaths by generals who either were incompetent or just did not care about the lives being squandered – or possibly both.

World War I was a new kind of war, relying on trench warfare and heavy artillery. The doctors and nurses who treated the wounded saw types of wounds they had never witnessed before. And the killing was on a scale that had never occurred before.

It is important that we remember The Somme and the men and women who gave their lives during the war. Many of them came from Africa, the Caribbean and India.

I was not aware of the horrendous conditions in which Black soldiers who served in the British Army lived. For example, in France, the African Caribbean soldiers in the British Army slept in unheated tents, while captured German enemy soldiers were given heated accommodation in barracks. For more about this, see Black People in the First World War. Many men joined up in the naive belief that serving in the army, and "proving themselves" would lead to them experiencing less racism and racial discrimination at home.  

World War One was meant to be the war to end wars, but if we look at the conflicts in places such as Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and northern Nigeria today, it is clear that war is still alive and well.

Much of the fighting took place on the African continent, and some of the conflicts taking place in Africa over the past two decades have their origins in the First World War. So is much of the poverty and deprivation still being suffered by people in Africa today. For more about this, see Black People in the First World War.

I was aware that the First World War ushered in a period of great change for many African Americans. Many of the men who had served in the war and experienced being treated as equals – for example, being allowed to sit and drink in cafés in France, something we all take for granted today – returned home to the States expecting and demanding equal treatment. This was one factor that contributed to the epidemic of lynchings in the South that began in 1919 and, of course, led to many African Americans migrating North. So the First World War had a huge impact on the lives of Black people all over the world.

I have a lifelong commitment to nonviolence. We must end violence and put an end to these conflicts that are still destroying the lives of millions today. 

The images above were taken from World War I and the African American experience.   

Black People in the First World War

Black Soldiers in WWI

As we mark the centenary of the start of the First World War, we need to recall the contribution of Black - African, African Caribbean and African American - people to the Allied war effort, and the tremendous sacrifices they made.  

Perhaps more importantly, we need to recall the devastation the war caused to the African continent. This is often overlooked.  

Listen below for more information.   

Black Soldier in the Kaiser's Army

I got some of the information contained in this blog from London Black History Walks.  Some came from other sources.  

We need to remember that it's up to us to end violence.  In this day and age, many conflicts are breaking out all over the world.  It's not up to him, her or them to end violence.  It's up to you and me. It's up to us.  

Violence does not, and cannot, end violence.  This is a lesson we still have not learned.  

Listen below for more.   

Click here for my blog on Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

I wrote about Nonviolent Communication, NVC, in Success Strategies for Black People and in my new ebook, Affirmations for Parents.  

Please share this blog post with your networks, and help spread the message of nonviolence.  Thank you. 

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Black History Film: The First Grader

As I stated in Historic Victory for Kenyans/The Mau Mau, four elderly Kenyans have been granted the right to sue the UK government. Given these recent developments, the screening of this film I attended in London was very timely.

The First Grader tells the story of Maruge, an elderly Kenyan man who has never learned to read and write, and who decides to go back to school.

Maruge has received a letter from the government and wants to read it for himself. In the course of the film, we catch glimpses of what he suffered at the hands of the British – his imprisonment and torture and the killing of his family during the “Mau Mau” uprising of the 1950s.

The First Grader graphically depicts the lack of knowledge of subsequent generations, who don’t understand what he fought for, or what he is fighting for now.

When I told my 90-year-old dad that the subject of this film was a man in his eighties, he immediately replied, "That's wonderful!". This was my response as well.

So I was shocked to see the reactions of some of the locals, who resented the fact that Maruge was going back to school, even though he was not taking resources away from any children. This showed how far the African tradition of respect for the elders has been eroded.

Some even assumed the headmistress, played by Naomie Harris, was being bribed to educate this senior learner.

This film is a must-see for those who, like many, know little or nothing about the history of Kenya under colonisation.

After the screening, we had a panel discussion which included one of the lawyers representing the elderly Kenyans who have just been granted the right to sue the British government. For more about this, see: Historic Victory for Kenyans/The Mau Mau

The screening was held before that decision had been reached. The panel explained that the UK government had, for many years, denied the existence of any documentation about what had happened in Kenya.

Then an archive was discovered which contained documentary evidence of what was done in Kenya and many other countries under British colonisation.

Thus the decision was granted. We will be discussing this on What U Need to Know on Saturday the 13th of August, as part of our discussion of African Emancipation Day. Click here to join us or go to Success Strategies for Black People on Facebook.

See also: Africa and Africans on Film

Historic Victory for Kenyans/The Mau Mau

Four Kenyan ex-members of the so-called Mau Mau resistance have won the right to sue the British government.

The British invaded Kenya in the early 20th century and committed atrocities against the Kenyan people for decades. After many years of nonviolent resistance, many Kenyans felt they had to resort to violent action - similar to what happened on South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The British named the resistance movement "Mau Mau" in order to make them sound foreign and exotic - they called themselves the Land Freedom Army.

In a test case, four elderly Kenyans have now been granted the right to sue the UK government. I shall be blogging more about this soon. Click here to read more about this historic victory.

I have personally seen documentary footage of some of the atrocities committed by the British in Kenya - just one of the many African countries which were invaded by European countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Click here to read more about the British colonial presence in Kenya.

President Obama's Kenyan grandfather was one of the many who loyally served in the British army during the Second World War - only to be imprisoned and tortured when he later expressed support for the resistance movement.

This legal decision means the fight for justice can now be taken to the next stage.

Black Film: Blood Ah Go Run

I saw this film when I first came to the UK, nearly 30 years ago.

I saw it again recently, with a Q & A with the director, Menelik Shabazz, when it was screened at the BFI as part of the African Odysseys programme.

Blood Ah Go Run (Blood Will Flow/Be Shed) documents events that took place in London in 1981 including the New Cross fire, the subsequent Black People’s Day of Action, and the Brixton riot.

The film records how the Metropolitan Police attacked and attempted to subvert the peaceful march on the Black People’s Day of Action, the first time Black people in the UK had demonstrated publicly in such numbers.

White British people and institutions must have been shocked when they realised the potential power of Black people in this country.

The Brixton riot followed two months later, sparked by the “Sus” laws and the police’s “Operation Swamp” in Brixton. To read more about this, click here for my blog about Mavis Best. See also my interview with Alex Wheatle.

In retrospect, I wonder what the authorities expected to happen – the actions of the police seemed calculated to provoke riot and unrest.

In the Q & A, Shabazz described what he called “guerilla filmmaking”. Film stock was expensive, so he had to beg and borrow partial reels of film on which to record this film. The footage of the riot was taken directly from TV coverage.

Shabazz also described how he went into the BBC studios after hours so that a colleague could edit the film.

Blood Ah Go Run documents a crucial point in British history and, as such, should be shown in every school.

See also: Next Black History Events.

Africa and Africans on Film.

Black Spitfire Pilots

The recent massive media coverage of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain gave the impression that it was an all-white affair. The fact is that not only were there Black and Asian Spitfire and Hurricane pilots but there was an extensive African/Caribbean civilian population resident in Britain throughout the war which is to say before the 1948 arrival of the Windrush.

To read more, see London Black History Walks.

For the Black History Month UK edition of What U Need to Know on Saturday 2nd October, join us for the broadcast at What U Need to Know.