Our Stories was a powerful project by St Albans Black History Research Group (BHRG), that brought together an exhibition and a newly published zine. With research spanning 2,000 years—from Roman Verulamium to the lives of Black communities today, the BHRG were excited to share their findings so far.
This exhibition included artwork created by Black artists who responded to the BHRG's research, using a variety of mediums to bring these local histories and stories to life.
Greatly inspired by the traditions of Black counter-culture and zine-making, Our Stories invited you to explore the often overlooked history of Black people in our community through a variety of writing styles and artistic mediums.
You can explore some of the exhibition content on this webpage below, and you can still view the zine in all St Albans and district libraries.
The zine is also available to purchase in the St Albans Museum + Gallery shop for £6.
Free zine copies are available for schools and libraries in Hertfordshire. Contact museum@stalbans.gov.uk to request a free copy.
Artwork detail: Baraka Carberry aka Bokiba, ‘To fight for the future even when hope seems lost''
Black History Research Group members on a recent trip to the V&A
Exhibition photos
Content Guidance
The exhibition panels, artwork and audio recordings shared here contain some content that may be distressing. You may also see copies of original source documents that reflect the racial prejudices of the era in which they were made.
Exhibition Panels
Additional content
This blog post featuring The Making of the St Albans 'Brazilian' Straw Hat by Jahnavi Inniss contains more of the content from the Our Stories exhibition.
You can also listen to oral history recordings of St Albans' residents that were included in Our Stories.
A Note on Terminology
Throughout Our Stories:
- In line with current University of Oxford and University of Bristol style guides we have capitalised names of all ethnic groups.
- Informed by Language of Enslavement, written by custodians of the Frederic Douglass National Historic Site, we have sought to employ terms that respect the humanity and individuality of enslaved people.
In order to platform Black history, to pay long overdue respect to the agency of individuals, to celebrate long overlooked voices and to acknowledge the sensitivity implicit in this act, the language that we use matters.
Words and their meanings will change through time and we welcome a continued conversation around language as we continue to learn and reflect. Please contact museum@stalbans.gov.uk with any comments or suggested revisions.
