115: 'Carnival Queen' at the first London Carnival, 1959.

This week we'll be thinking about the first iteration of Caribbean carnival on British soil, in January 1959. Spearheaded by Claudia Jones and supported through the work of the publication she founded: The West Indian Gazette. We'll explore the carnival and the Carnival Queen beauty contest it boasted and what that meant for the politics of beauty and how Black women's beauty was broadcasted on the BBC for the first time. This episode contains conversations about colourism and racism.An update on Professor Hakim Adi's position at Chichester University and the current position of the campaign to save the MRes African History and History of the African Diaspora. Read the History Matters Statement here: https://www.historymatters.online/save-mres-campaign Books mentioned: Rochelle Rowe, Imagining Caribbean Womanhood & Kennetta Hammond Perry, London is the Place for Me. Our socials: https://linktr.ee/thehistoryhotline