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Celebrating Black British history and heritage

Black history is British history. Let's honour it. This resource hub brings together a range of educational articles, guides and tips for delving into Black British history and uncovering diverse family roots.

Remembering Black British firsts

Through a series of articles, Stephen Rigden illuminates the lives of Black British trailblazers. These remarkable stories weren't told in your school history books.

first black british voter

Who was the first Black British voter?

The first Black British Army officers

Who were the first Black British Army officers?

First Black British footballers

Who were the first Black British professional footballers?

first black person to be knighted

Who was the first Black person bestowed with a British knighthood?

first black british university students

Who were the first Black British university students?

Victorian woman

Why tracing Black ancestry is challenging

It's no secret - exploring the lives of Black ancestors is a tricky and complex task. Paper trails run dry, race is rarely recorded in family documents and the slave trade led to a loss of identity and culture, changing family trees forever.

Understand the obstacles
Soldiers

Diversity and diaspora in the 1921 Census

The 1921 Census recorded every person in England and Wales on 19 June that year, regardless of their background. What does the census reveal about the diversity of the nation at a pivotal point in history? You might be surprised...

Find out more

Before you start tracing Black family history...

Realise the records reflect the time

You'll probably see terms and phrases that are unacceptable today.

Expect elusive ancestors

For example, you'll generally find more records of Black men than women.

Be prepared for upsetting discoveries

The stories you find may be challenging but they deserve to be told.

A Black British family story

Memories of the Caribbean, swinging-60s Britain, homesickness and the NHS. Shared between a mother and daughter.

Black genealogy records on Findmypast

Royal Gazette of Jamaica

Royal Gazette of Jamaica

Find Jamaican family in a newspaper dating back to the 1700s.

View the newspaper
Black history records

Births, marriages and deaths

Explore millions of milestone records from the Caribbean and beyond.

Explore the records
Royal African Company passenger lists

Royal African Company

Delve into revealing passenger lists from the era of transatlantic slave trade.

View the passenger lists
The Keys newspaper archive

The Keys

A seminal journal in Black British history, The Keys is free-to-view on Findmypast.

Read the publication
London Black history 1700s

London, Black Poor, 1786

This small but important collection highlights hidden parts of British history.

Have a browse
Black Merchant Seamen

Merchant Seamen, 1918-1941

Uncover amazing stories and photos of Black British mariners.

Dive in

Your Black ancestry discoveries

Here are some of our community member's discoveries, in their own words. Get inspiration for your family tree research from these tales of finding photographs, discovering links to slavery and identifying where Black roots originated.

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How Findmypast is confronting racism

We recognise that we have a responsibility to tackle racism. That's why we're:

  1. Highlighting challenging stories from history, so that we can all learn from them
  2. Making efforts to publish records and form partnerships that illuminate Black history
  3. Constantly reviewing and improving our diversity and inclusion work practices
  4. Holding ourselves accountable and reporting our progress to our members and community
Track our progress

Black history resources from around the web