Collections

Drawing on items in the British Library and other collections such as the Royal College of Music and Wandsworth Local History Service, Mike's second exhibition, Black Europeans, features five people of African descent who made a contribution to the mainstream of European culture and society: Alexander Pushkin, Alexandre Dumas, George Polgreen Bridgetower, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and John Archer.

Mike's essays on each of these individuals explores how they were all aware of their mixed backgrounds but also regarded themselves as part of a European nation and thought of their work as a contribution to their own sector of the culture of Europe and the world.

The essays go on to discuss how each of the figures highlighted in Black Europeans have been generally accepted to be an important part of Europe's cultural heritage to the point where most people ignore, or have forgotten about, the "black" element of their identity and its significance in their lives and work.

There is also a general summary of the British Library's African collections and significant holdings on their site - see the link below.

Black Europeans - see the online exhibition

The British Library's African Collection