Tag: Black History Month 2020

Produced by Serena, Education Administration Apprentice in the School of Oncology

Today is the last day that I will be composing these blog posts. However, Black (British) history is not over because October has come to an end.

I would like to introduce you to Sarah Parker Redmond, born in Massachusetts in 1826 as a free woman. Redmond is a woman of many talents; activist, lecturer, abolitionist and physician.

She was avidly vocal around the atrocities of slavery and toured the world with the American Anti-Slavery Society, eventually coming to Britain. Arriving in Liverpool on January 12th 1859, she eloquently delivered over 45 speeches across England, Ireland and Scotland. These lectures covered the misogynoir (racism and sexism) that Black women faced under slavery which was rarely ever talked about.

Following Liverpool, Sarah made it to Manchester. Her lecture was recorded by the Manchester Times, here is a quote:

“For the slave there is no home, no hope, no help; When I walk through the streets of Manchester and meet load after load of cotton, I think of those 80,000 cotton plantations on which was grown the $125m worth of cotton which supply your market, and I remember that not one cent of that money ever reached the hands of the labourers.”

Sarah seriously left her mark with that speech. In 1862, cotton workers refused to touch raw cotton that was picked by unpaid labourers in the American South.

Redmond continued on in Britain, she joined the London Emancipation Committee, studied at the London University College and graduated as a nurse. In 1867, she moved to Florence and became a doctor, practicing for more than 20 years. Sarah is an incredible character and there is much we can learn from her and her experiences.

I chose to have a piece on Sarah because it makes one think about the city that we reside in. Manchester was an economic superpower due to slavery and the cotton industry, hence why it was also known as ‘Cottonopolis’. When you are next in the city centre and look at the grand buildings, think about where the money came from to erect these symbols of power and status.

Further reading:

Black, brilliant and Manc – the groundbreaking pioneers who helped shape our city

Sarah’s entry on Wikipedia

Previous Black History Month posts by Serena 

Produced by Serena, Education Administration Apprentice in the School of Oncology

For the third week’s edition, I introduce you to Nurse Ademola.

During wartime, it was not uncommon for royalty to lend their helping hand and step down from their royal duties. Nurse Ademola was a princess – Princess Omo-Oba Adenrele Ademola to be exact.

When I did my research and came across this young lady, I was surprised and in awe. Her father, prominent King in the southern region of Nigeria sent the Princess to school in Somerset in 1936, and from there she started a career in nursing. Ademola had to balance both her duties as a nurse and as a royal; at times she attended and conducted royal events, she may have even been present at the coronation of George VI.

We are unsure of the exact experiences of Princess Ademola as the archives are lost. A propaganda film, called ‘Nurse Ademola’, was made through the Colonial Film Unit to promote “colonial development and generate support for the imperial war effort”. The mysterious erasure of the film symbolises the disregard of Black women from the historical narrative, particularly Black African women and even royalty!

Nurse Ademola needs to be recognised for coming over to the UK and facing social, political and racial turmoil, despite her status as a royal. What is most interesting about Ademola’s story is that it prompts people to think about the history of royalty in West Africa, especially before colonialism.

Read Serena’s blog about black nursing before the Windrush 

Read Serena’s blog about Onesmius and Vaccination here

Produced by Serena, Education Administration Apprentice in the School of Oncology

Today we remember and celebrate Black British women of the NHS and those who came before.

We are all familiar with the Windrush, particularly the atrocities that came to surface in the last few years under Theresa May and the ‘Hostile Environment’ act. There is a common misconception that those who came on the Windrush were the first people of colour to ever step foot in the UK.

Whilst it is true that these individuals were asked to come and help rebuild post-war Britain; many men worked as bus and train conductors, whilst many women came and worked in the premature NHS as nurses and midwives. However, there were women nursing in the UK before the Windrush arrival and the NHS – Dzagbele Matilda Asante – was one of them.

Born in Ghana in 1927, Dzagbele recalls completing her Nurse training in North-West London and subsequently completed her midwifery qualification. She remembers the rife racism that she experienced; one patient refused to be prepared for theatre by her because she was an African nurse. These perpetual experiences did not stop Dzagbele from continuing to provide impeccable care to the women and babies. At the golden age of 93, she is still involved in the health service – mothers and young children continue to meet weekly for health meetings in her home.

There are many amazing women I could talk about, but we would be here forever. I chose to summarise Dzagbele’s experiences because it breaks the narrative of Black people being here only after the arrival of the Windrush.

Further reading:
Dzagbele Matilda Asante – I Was Nursing In The UK Before Windrush And The NHS

NHS at 70: Valuing the rich history of black and minority ethnic staff

Read last week’s blog about Onesmius and Vaccination here

Produced by Serena, Education Administration Apprentice in the School of Oncology

Yesterday was the start of Black History Month (the month itself is flawed, but I suppose we have to utilise it). Black History is British History and I feel that it is important to always be aware of our ancestors.

This year’s Black History month is even more powerful as it comes after a tumultuous few months following the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more individuals.

As we work in the NHS, we need to be aware of the Black individuals that were part of medicine and nursing who faced discrimination, racism and marginalisation. So every week, I will focus on a person who had a part to play in the making of modern medicine/healthcare.

Today, we remember Onesmius, an African slave who aided the vaccination of smallpox to Europe and subsequently curtailed the impact of smallpox in Boston in 1721. Onesimus explained the procedure of variolation to his ‘master’. This process involved extracting infective substance and in a controlled environment, inputting this substance into the cut of a healthy person – inoculation.

We all know Edward Jenner, we learnt him throughout school. However, practices of inoculation, early vaccination, existed in China, Africa, India and Turkey. “Without acknowledging the rich tapestry of how modern medicine has come to be; we risk exclusionary history”.

So, next time you get your flu jab, remember Onesmius.

Further Reading

Medicine has been so whitewashed that we’ve forgotten vaccination is a part of Black history

Black History Month: Onesimus Spreads Wisdom That Saves Lives of Bostonians During a Smallpox Epidemic