Black British literature in the secondary English classroom

Author: Amy Saleh, Senior Lecturer in Education

My research interests include anti-racist pedagogies, racial literacy development, the teaching of Black British Literature in UK schools, and Black Studies in Education.

I want to help make a real, positive difference to Black childrens’ experiences in education. When I was at school, I never saw Black British characters in any books we studied. We might have looked at short stories, some of which were set in African villages, but none of these reflected my lived experience, even though my White peers assumed it did.

"I’m excited by the part that Black British literature can play in sparking critical discussions around race, identity and culture in English lessons."

Amy Saleh, Senior Lecturer in Education

Amy Saleh Senior Lecturer in Education

Literature legacies

With Black British literature now featuring on the GCSE curriculum, this project seeks to reduce barriers for teachers who want to teach it but could use some guidance and resources.

The project team created a scheme of work for a new GCSE text, Princess & The Hustler by Chinonyerem Odimba.

The scheme of work comes with a full set of lessons and resources to support teachers. They obviously don’t have a lot of time to create schemes of work, especially for new GCSE texts. The teacher pack is there as a guide, but it’s also meant to prompt individual learning for teachers, with recommended readings and suggestions of videos they can watch.

Princess & The Hustler

Princess & The Hustler is really a celebration of Black Britishness and specifically Black British Caribbean culture. It has a young, dark skinned Black girl as its protagonist – and when has that ever been the case for a curriculum text? The play is set amidst the Bristol Bus Boycott, a defining moment in Bristol’s history, and touches on themes of family, culture, beauty, racism and resistance.

By the end of the play, Princess, this cheeky 10-year-old, has come to realise and value her true worth. It’s the kind of narrative we really need. It’s also exciting because there’s going to be such rich dialogue happening in classrooms around a play like this.

Looking back to look ahead

The play’s based in Bristol and while it’s relevant to anyone in the country, it does draw attention to Bristol’s history and the fact that the Bus Boycott here was a big contributory factor towards the creation of the UK’s first Race Relations Act.

I also think it’s essential to show our children whose shoulders we’re all standing on: who and what went before us, and how that’s impacted life as we know it now. Yes, students will be able to see how much has changed but also, importantly, what else needs to change. At the end of the play, the Bus Boycott has been a success, and this is a joyful moment, but if you look where we are today, all these years later, how far have we really come?

I hope these critical discussions and understandings of society will equip and empower young people to take up the mantle and fight for change.

Amy’s work received national coverage. Read more about the project.