Overview

Newspapers are the 'first rough draft of history', so what does it mean when your history is not deemed worthy of preservation? Before social media, much less a #BLM hashtag, journalists of colour were putting hot metal to paper to declare that Black lives matter. Central to these newspapers were driven, often heroic, individuals passionate about the need to address global racial injustice and whose publications acted as a catalyst, raising the consciousness of Black and minority ethnic communities in the UK. INK! shines a light on the pioneers that strove to give their communities a voice. The work of Samuel Jules Celestine Edwards, Dusé Mohammed Ali, Claude McKay, George Padmore, Una Marson, Claudia Jones and Darcus Howe had a formidable role to play in the birthing pains of multicultural Britain. When overt colour bars were operating in much of the western world and the injustices of Empire loomed large, it was the newspapers of these journalists that highlighted these atrocities to a wider audience, fomenting the movement for change. Their combined story arc covers a transformative period – from when Britain's Empire spanned nearly a quarter of the globe, to the heady start of the 1980s when the Black British and Asian community were asserting their voice. INK! reveals a fascinating history, a story of how the sacrifices and struggles of the past have shaped Britain's present and ultimately laid the blueprint for a progressive future. AUTHOR: Yvonne Singh has been a journalist for more than three decades. Her work has been published in the Guardian, the Observer, the White Review, BBC History, the Mirror and the London Evening Standard, among others. She teaches the BA and MA in Creative Writing at Canterbury Christchurch University and lectures at London's City Lit. She was a London Library Emerging Writer 2022-23, this is her first book. 25 b/w illustrations

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9781803998091

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Reviews

'Terrific. Yvonne Singh brings hidden histories to the fore with care and specificity in this galvanising work. A must read.' - Irenosen Okojie MBE, award-winning author (Butterfly Fish, Curandera), fellow and vice-chair Royal Society of Literature -- Irenosen Okojie MBE 'Yvonne Singh has given us a fascinating gallery of people whom we all ought to know more about. Their lives sometimes leapt between continents, and their writings illuminate the highly unjust world in which they found themselves. This book is a sterling example of bringing to life not just unduly forgotten history, but the forgotten narrators of that history.' - Adam Hochschild, historian, journalist and award-winning author of King Leopold’s Ghost, To End all Wars and Bury the Chains -- Adam Hochschild 'Yvonne Singh has done something truly powerful with INK! – she brings to light the stories of pioneering Black journalists who, long before social media or digital platforms, challenged racism, built solidarity, and laid the foundation for the multicultural Britain we live in today. Operating with little more than typewriters, determination, and community trust, these changemakers shaped public discourse from the margins. Their names should be as familiar as Orwell or Attlee, and Singh gives them the platform they always deserved. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how real social change is made – from the ground up, in newsprint, and against the odds. I wholeheartedly commend this book.' — Patrick Vernon OBE, social historian, campaigner, and co-author of 100 Great Black Britons -- Patrick Vernon OBE 'Reading Black British History, through the work of pioneering Black journalists provides a fresh, invigorating read.' - Dr Kadija George, scholar and activist -- Dr Kadija George

'Terrific. Yvonne Singh brings hidden histories to the fore with care and specificity in this galvanising work. A must read.' - Irenosen Okojie MBE, award-winning author (Butterfly Fish, Curandera), fellow and vice-chair Royal Society of Literature -- Irenosen Okojie MBE 'Yvonne Singh has given us a fascinating gallery of people whom we all ought to know more about. Their lives sometimes leapt between continents, and their writings illuminate the highly unjust world in which they found themselves. This book is a sterling example of bringing to life not just unduly forgotten history, but the forgotten narrators of that history.' - Adam Hochschild, historian, journalist and award-winning author of King Leopold’s Ghost, To End all Wars and Bury the Chains -- Adam Hochschild 'Yvonne Singh has done something truly powerful with INK! – she brings to light the stories of pioneering Black journalists who, long before social media or digital platforms, challenged racism, built solidarity, and laid the foundation for the multicultural Britain we live in today. Operating with little more than typewriters, determination, and community trust, these changemakers shaped public discourse from the margins. Their names should be as familiar as Orwell or Attlee, and Singh gives them the platform they always deserved. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how real social change is made – from the ground up, in newsprint, and against the odds. I wholeheartedly commend this book.' — Patrick Vernon OBE, social historian, campaigner, and co-author of 100 Great Black Britons -- Patrick Vernon OBE

Author Information

YVONNE SINGH has been a journalist for more than three decades. Her work has been published in the Guardian, the Observer, the White Review, BBC History, the Mirror and the London Evening Standard, among others. She teaches the BA and MA in Creative Writing at Canterbury Christchurch University and lectures at London’s City Lit. She was a London Library Emerging Writer 2022-23. INK! is her first book.

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