K.N. Chimbiri's Blog

A new chapter for me

For the past 10+ years I have been researching, writing and self-publishing Black history books for children. Despite great support and encouragement, it's been quite difficult to combine writing and publishing especially on top of a full-time job.

I have decided that now is the time to concentrate on writing. It's hard to do everything so I am pleased that I have signed a 3-book deal with Scholastic UK.

The first book in the series is an improved edition of The Story of the Windrush book. It's available from Book Love, New Beacon Books, Books & Kulture (a new venture in Brent) as well as mainstream bookshops like Waterstones and of course Amazon.

I'm also pleased that Scholastic are producing wall charts and resources to support the series and generally the teaching of Black history in schools (and elsewhere!).

I chose Scholastic because they are the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services, and classroom magazines, and a producer of educational and entertaining children's media.

This means that The Story of the Windrush and the other books in the series will now be easily available to every primary school and library in the UK.

The Story of the Windrush

In my last post, I talked about the some of the things to look for when assessing whether or not a non-fiction book is a good purchase for children.

One of the features I mentioned was the front cover. Since then I have had plenty of feedback from both adults and children on the front cover of The Story of the Windrush. The main talking point is that some of the Windrush pioneers are looking down. Why is this?

I have enjoyed seeing how skillfully educators use the cover to develop empathy and to help children to explore feelings. Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is an important part of education. It is to help children develop fully as both individuals and members of a community.

1. Judge a book by its cover!
We’ve all heard the saying ‘never judge a book by its cover’ and while it’s true that looks aren’t everything, with books they can sometimes be a good indicator of quality.

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Don’t get me wrong, there are books with excellent information inside which have poorly-designed, unattractive front covers. However, often a good cover can be an indicator of how much the publisher cares about the book. Publishing companies, big and small, work hard to make a nice appealing front cover for books they care about.

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Authors who self-publish (like me) may not always have the resources of a large publishing house but we work hard to present books to you and your children in the best possible way.

2. Index
Even before I look at the contents, I’ll look at the index. An index is a better indicator of the topics covered in the book than the table of contents. Here you can easily see whether or not the topics listed tie in to what your child is learning at school (or not learning but needs to know!).

3. Glossary
Usually located before the index, a glossary is a special mini-dictionary. It gives a full, easy-to-understand definition of words that might be new to your child.
Most children read more fiction than non-fiction books so may not be familiar with the way informational books are structured. Make sure you point out the different parts of information books to your child (Contents, Index, Glossary, and Chapters) as not all schools do this. Be sure to point out that the glossary is there to help them learn the meaning of the words highlighted (usually in bold) as they are used in the book.

4. Layout
The information in the book is important of course but a pleasing layout makes a more enjoyable book for your child to read. That makes the experience better for you too.
Look at illustrations, photos, sidebars as well as any maps, diagrams and charts. Do they look attractive and interesting? Non-fiction books are to help your child enjoy learning new things.


5. Dealing with difficult topics
Some nonfiction books deal with topics like bullying, illness, death, war and enslavement. Make sure the level of detail is appropriate for your child’s age. As a general guideline books aimed at ages 8 to 12 should not omit vital information but need not include explicit details. If your child is interested in, for example, enslavement then the book needs to explain that Africans were brought to the Americas against their will. It should not give the impression that the journey was a leisure cruise. However, at the same time, detailed descriptions of the brutal horrors of the Middle Passage are not appropriate for this age group.

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Thanks to Nubian National News and NABSS (National Association of Black Supplementary Schools) for sharing this event of interest to parents & teachers:

Applications for Target Schools Afro-Caribbean Student Shadowing Day 2015 close on Wednesday 25th Feb

Organised by Oxford University Student Union (OUSU), Target Schools typically invites over 200 sixth form students to Oxford each year to

Shadow a student reading the subject they intend to apply for
Have lunch in one of Oxford’s historic halls, go on a tour of Oxford
And take part in a workshop about admissions, interviews and student life.

This term we are working with Oxford’s Afro-Caribbean Society to host a day specifically target at African-Caribbean students to give them the opportunity to experience Oxford as a university and the degree subject that they are interested in.

I’m writing to ask if you could let any year 12 African-Caribbean students who may be interested in applying to Oxford, or other Russell group universities, know that they can apply to take part in the scheme.

It is being held on Wednesday 4th March and will run from 8.30am – 4pm. It is completely free to take part in.

Your students can apply by using this form here – https://docs.google.com/…/15M5cnbQ4pH...…

If you, or your students, have any questions then we can be contacted at enquiries@ousu.ox.ac.uk, with the subject title Afro-Caribbean Student Shadowing Day. We’ll be accepting applications on a rolling basis, and as the Shadowing Day is being held fairly soon we advise that applications are made as soon as possible.

The application deadline is Wednesday 25th February, after this date applications will not be accepted.

Kind regards,

Cameron Alexander

Junior Access and Academic representative of the Oxford University African Caribbean Society

Uncover the Hidden Legacy of Ancient Egypt: An Early African Civilisation (8-week course)

Everyone has heard of the Ancient Egyptians, but what do we really know about them?

The Biblical writers painted a picture of Ancient Egyptian life and culture, as did the Ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Orientalists, the Egyptologists, the Africanists and even Hollywood.

Hollywood paints a picture of Ancient Egypt

 

In our modern age, we have all seen television ‘documentaries’ purporting to reconstruct this or that aspect of Ancient Egyptian life, but often with the Egyptians depicted as Europeans. How has this affected our ability to reconstruct the history of the pre-Arab and pre-European Egyptian culture?

This unique 8-week short course explores the history, culture and achievements of this ancient African civilisation. We show that there is ample evidence allowing a detailed reconstruction of this culture drawn from a wide variety of source materials. Among other issues, we discuss:

Who owns ancient Egypt?
Female rulers
Egyptian contributions to literature and music
And even Ancient Egyptian hairstyles!

  About your tutors:

Kandace Chimbiri, author of Secrets of the Afro Comb,6,000 Years of Art and Culture and Robin Walker, author of the seminal When We Ruled, will be teaching this fascinating eight-session program.

Cost: £90 per person

Time and place: Tuesdays 6pm – 8pm at Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, Malet Place, London, WC1E 6BT

Course takes place among 80,000 objects from Ancient Egypt & Sudan

Includes guided tour highlighting objects often overlooked

 

 

 

Course dates: March 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st, April 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th (8 weeks)

 

 

 

 

 

Please book your place here:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uncover-the-legacy-of-ancient-egypt-an-early-african-civilisation-tickets-15883341502

For more information or to book offline:

Please send an e-mail to jacinth_cseppm@yahoo.com

Muna Anan is the Secrets of the Afro Comb blog tour overall winner.

Muna will receive:

An autographed copy of the book, Secrets of the Afro Comb, 6,000 Years of Art and Culture.
A limited-edition print based on the illustration in the book ‘Collage of beautiful faces’, and
Muna’s face and favourite natural hairstyle in my forthcoming children’s book (out summer 2015)

Congratulations Muna!

Although the competition is now closed, you can still enjoy the information on the following natural hair and cultural blogs:

Spotlight on the Afro comb’s relevance to children @ The Natural Lounge http://www.thenaturallounge.com/spotlight-on-secrets-of-the-afro-comb/

Importance of the curved hair follicle in children’s books @ The Calabash Hub http://www.thenaturallounge.com/spotlight-on-secrets-of-the-afro-comb/

Think the Afro was invented in the 1960s? Think again! @ That Healthy Feeling http://thathealthyfeeling.co.uk/secrets-of-the-afro-comb-virtual-tou/

Teenagers learning about the history of the Afro comb @ United Kinkdom http://www.theunitedkinkdom.com/2014/10/secrets-of-afro-comb-blog-tour-and.html

 

 

 

 

October is Black History Month in the UK.  While it’s great to have a month dedicated to officially recognising the contributions of people of African descent to the world, Black history can be recognised all year round.

In and out of the classrooms, through books, prints, talks, school visits, summer schools, museum tours and fun trails (which adults really love too!), I’m promoting Black History for Children All Year!

Protestors picket outside the show’s entrance in Waterloo, London

Britain’s museums and galleries are big business. An estimated 40 million people visit UK museums and galleries every year, more than attend the English Premiership League football (est. 13 million) and theatre (est. 22 million) combined.

Recently, the Barbican in London was at the centre of a boycott campaign. The catalyst was the planned showing of an artwork called ‘Exhibit B’ by a White South African called Brett Bailey. The show involved Black actors in live scenes, some recreations from colonial times such as a chained Black woman waiting to be raped.

The Barbican, Europe’s largest art centre, failed to take into account the unique nature of London both in terms of its ethnic makeup and current frustration at the high level of institutionalised racism. The board and senior management of the Barbican are all white, except one. London however is a multicultural city which is approx. 40% non-white. Here the show was met with protests which the Barbican’s board and senior management seemed unable to understand “since the show had toured 12 cities before coming to London”.

A number of people announced on social media that they had cancelled their Barbican membership or expressed that they would never visit the venue again. An online petition asking the Barbican to withdraw the show started by Sara Myers, a Black community activist, received 22,988 signatures. In a statement on Boycottthehumanzoo.com, Myers said;

“The African narrative is always being told from a colonialist and imperialistic viewpoint, that they are the victors and we are victims, when there is so much more to African history. “

Boycott campaign poster

For some of the anti-racism groups taking part, the protest against the Barbican was part of a wider campaign with several aims including to secure more participation for Black people in the arts sector. Although no high-profile British politicians of European descent showed support for the boycott campaign, according to a statement on Boycottthehumanzoo.com, Lord Boateng (who is biracial) wrote to the Barbican’s CEO asking the Barbican to reconsider and withdraw the work. The Barbican’s board and senior management decided not to withdraw the work and that the show would go on. The campaigners vowed they would continue to demonstrate outside the venue throughout the show’s five-day run and would encourage people to boycott the show.

On the opening night of the show an estimated 200 – 600 people (estimates vary) joined the demonstration outside the venue’s entrance which is located in a graffiti-covered tunnel. The protestors chanted slogans, sang anti-racism songs, held placards, beat drums and blew whistles. Apart from one scuffle between one of the Barbican’s security guards and a female protestor, the protest was peaceful. There were no arrests. And, according to all accounts, the police were quite reasonable with the protestors.

The Barbican however decided then to withdraw the show. A Barbican executive addressed the demonstrators and said that the show would not go on. The Barbican later issued a full statement on their website saying that the show had been cancelled because of “the extreme nature of the protest”.

During the boycott campaign Brett Bailey was given coverage in the mainstream media and expressed increasing frustration about the response to his work. The mainstream media framed the discussion around the issue of art censorship. However, outside of the mainstream media, the discussion was largely about the high level of nepotism in British society, elitism, increasing social divide, and the lack of roles for Black British artists and actors as well as institutionalised racism in the arts. At an earlier demonstration (prior to the opening night), when Sara Myers, went to deliver the petition signatures to a Barbican board member, the protestors, which included children and toddlers, were described as a ‘baying mob’ and accused of not understanding art.

Newsnight, BBC 2’s flagship current affairs programme, discussed Exhibit B for a few minutes earlier this week. The programme once known for being insightful and probing generated no discussion about the lack of diversity in the museums and galleries sector. Racism and inequality in the arts was ignored and art censorship was the sole focus of the programme. The BBC Newsnight Editor Ian Katz tweeted his 41,000 Twitter followers on art censorship and other white males in influential positions with large numbers of Twitter followers, like a London School of Economics (LSE) media professor, also tweeted about art censorship. Re-tweets then asked questions like “If a book offends, should it be banned?”

Sunday Morning Live, another BBC TV programme, dedicated more time to the discussion but also framed it around the question of art censorship with the words ‘Should art be censored?’ at the bottom of the screen throughout the programme.

When Index for Censorship published online an article by Julia Farrington which mentioned that institutional inequality is a form of censorship and gave figures on the low spending allocated to Black and minority arts, there were complaints and Index for Censorship issued a follow-up post which omitted any mention of institutionalised racism in the arts.

Throughout the Boycott the Human Zoo campaign, the campaigners have been accused of being reverse racists for asking about the high levels of nepotism and institutionalised racism in the UK. However the campaigners have vowed to continue their struggle and a series of discussions are now planned on how people of African descent in the UK can obtain spaces for exhibitions.

Talking to Ngunan of BBC Radio Merseyside’s Upfront magazine about the forthcoming Secrets of the Afro Comb blog tour.

http://black-children-reading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Secrets_Of_The_Afro-Comb.mp3