Toxteth Library, Windsor Street, Liverpool
Thu 1 Oct · 19:00
Transnational Black culture in Liverpool 8 in the final decades of the twentieth-century: defiant initiative and artistic creativity Professor Stephen Small returns to Liverpool to launch Black History Month with a special discussion of his acclaimed new book , Black Liverpool: ‘the real thing’. West African, West Indian and Afro-American culture at the end of the twentieth century. The 1970s saw giant waves of cultural and artistic creativity, resourcefulness and vision from individuals and organisations in Liverpool 8. The L8 community defiantly refused to accept the silence and denial around the city’s massive involvement in the slave trade and slavery; they refused to accept the silence and denial around how Liverpool exploited the people and lands of West Africa during slavery and imperialism. They refused to accept the lies and contempt for Africa and Africans inflicted upon them in Liverpool schools and schoolbooks. In other words, they refused to let them colonise their minds. Instead, they used their initiative, determination and perseverance, and they reached out to Afro-Americans, West Indians and (West) Africans, for motivation, inspiration, consciousness and self-respect. Community elders shared insights into the truth about Liverpool’s role in slavery and imperialism. L8 residents listened to soul and funk music, to reggae, Calypso and West African music. They watched Shaft and Superfly, The Harder They Come and Rockers, and read books by Angela Davis, Huey P Newton and Walter Rodney. Some organisations and individuals highlighted how Black women were at the forefront of so many activities. Reggae music, the Rastafari movement, and L8 reggae sound systems enriched our lives with music, knowledge and faith. Visitors from America, Africa and the Caribbean came to the city to share knowledge and insights; and L8 residents visited America, the West Indies and nations across Africa to make connections and raise awareness. And the distinctive African presence in the city became more and more visible. In this presentation – based on his recently published book – Black Liverpool: ‘the real thing’. West African, West Indian and Afo-American culture at the end of the twentieth century – Professor Small brings to life the memories and achievements of the L8 community; and highlights some of the people and organisations that made them happen. Professor Small’s book draws on interviews with over seventy people and on information from documents and reports produced by the organisations themselves. This is a story that has never been told in full before. It is Liverpool 8’s legacy. And it is a stark reminds that no history of Black Britain is complete without a history of Black Liverpool. Born and raised in Liverpool 8, Stephen got advice and Black cultural insights from the Blackie, South Liverpool Personnel, and the Charles Wootton Centre. He was research assistant on reparations to the Right Honourable Bernie Grant, and a a guest curator and advisory board member at the Transatlantic Slavery Gallery at the Merseyside Maritime Museum which opened in 1994 (and later was expanded to become the International Slavery Museum). Stephen earned his BA from the University of Kent at Canterbury, his MSc. from the University of Bristol, and his Ph.D. (Sociology) from the University of California, Berkeley (USA). He is currenlty a Professor of the Graduate School, in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, at the University of California, where he taught for 30 years. He has researched the African diaspora in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe, including a central focus on the history and legacy of slavery and imperialism in Liverpool. He has held visiting positions in France, Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Brazil, Japan, and Zimbabwe. He has authored five books, co-authored or edited six books, and written or co-written more than fifty journal articles and book chapters. His most recent book is Black Liverpool: ‘The real thing’ West African, West Indian and Afro-American Culture at the end of the twentieth century published by Liverpool University Press in June 2026. Recent publications include In the Shadows of the Big House: Twenty-First Century Antebellum Slave Cabins and Heritage Tourism in Louisiana (2023) and 1981- Black Liverpool, Past and Present (2022) (co-written with Jimi Jagne). He is also co-editor of Global Mixed Race, (2014) and co-editor of Black Europe and the African Diaspora (2009). His next book is tentatively entitled Imperial Liverpool and West Africa, which describes the political domination and economic exploitation of West Africa lands and people by imperial merchants, families and politicians in Liverpool after the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean in the 1830s. He is also writing his autobiography. Photo by Dave Clay Presented in partnership with The Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre