Black History Addendum.
Black History Addendum is an artwork I created as part of the Black Outdoor Art project hosted by Brotherhood Media. Black History Addendum was originally displayed on billboards in London during Black History Month in the UK, October 2022, and then reprinted in 2024 following a spate of far-right riots in the UK.
I’ve always been conflicted about Black History Month. I believe as long as historical narratives are confined to being viewed through a particular lens, they often reaffirm the mistruths they purport to challenge.
In devising a response to these observations, and my musings on the efficacy of Black History Month, I recalled the writing of Adam Elliott-Cooper, a research fellow in sociology at the University of Greenwich.
In his 2015 article When did we come to Britain? You must be mistaken, Britain came to us, Elliott-Cooper explores how Britain’s role as a major imperial power brought about mass migration, and unwittingly united a heterogeneous Black population in a common struggle.
With Elliott-Cooper’s line as my start point, Black History Addendum sought to challenge that lens. To challenge the racist myth of British Caribbean migration as some kind of ‘invasion’.
The intention was not to list every nation and culture touched by British imperialism. The flags depicted in the artwork, represent the flags of the commonwealth Caribbean – the island and mainland nations that once made up the Caribbean portion of the British Empire (also known as the British West Indies). The typography was set in my Empire Windrush typeface.
Therefore, Black History Addendum specifically addresses the legacy of the ‘Windrush’ generation – the Caribbean hopefuls brought to the UK from the commonwealth in the service of post-war labour shortages. Whose contributions economically, socially and culturally have made Britain what it is today, and yet have endured decades of hostility and racism, culminating in the ‘Windrush Scandal’ of 2017.
I expand on why I chose to focus on the flags of Caribbean nations and the idea of Windrush, in an article titled Where Are All The African Flags? responding to some of the discourse around the piece.
Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7QB – Black History Addendum by Greg Bunbury, 2022
Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RH – Black History Addendum by Greg Bunbury, 2022
Amersham Road, New Cross, London SE14 – Black History Addendum by Greg Bunbury, 2024
Black Outdoor Art commisions, produces and displays artwork created by the Black British creative community, from artists and designers, to illustrators, around themes of racism, equality, empowerment, and our lived experience here in the UK.
Poster Prints now available.
Prints of Black History Addendum are now available to purchase as A3 and A2 fine-art Giclée prints, on Hahnemühle German Etching 310gsm paper. Orders are securely processed via the Gumroad e-commerce platform.