Black Heritage Voices conference 2025

In November 2025, I had the pleasure of attending Serendipity’s first ever Black Heritage Voices conference. The theme for the conference was ‘the importance of Black archives in preserving historical memory’.

The event was hosted at the Jewry Wall Museum, the site of a Roman bathhouse which has remains dating from 160AD. Arriving to the museum first thing, it was so atmospheric to see the remains steeped in Leicester’s early morning mist – a great way to kickstart a day of discussing history and heritage!

The conference was packed full of presentations from heritage professionals and academics who work to ensure the preservation and future of Black archives. As the Community Archivist for Manchester Histories’ Champs Camp archive project, which tells the story of the UK’s first Black-led boxing gym, I wanted to learn more about how we can highlight Black stories in British archive and heritage institutions. One of the big themes of the day which was discussed by many was the idea of “artivism”. Dr Carlos Correa Angulo proposed this term as a way to highlight the contradiction of misrepresentation in traditional archives and museums. By using mediums such as archives, photography, art and museums as a form of resistance, we can bring activism into the heritage sector.

Many speakers throughout the day expressed the idea that by telling Black stories we can challenge traditional narratives and the imperial systems that many British institutions are built on. Community archives were also discussed a lot throughout the day. As the large, state-led institutions in the UK don’t tell the stories of every day people, they don’t capture lived experiences of groups that are usually underrepresented.

In community archive projects however, the collecting decisions are made by the community represented in the material. Dr Angelina Osborne proposed that community archives can redress historical imbalances. The day ended with a talk from Serendipity CEO Pawlet Brookes MBE. She discussed Serendipity’s ‘100 Black Women Who Have Made a Mark’ project which commissioned five Black UK-based female artists to create portraits of 100 women whose work has made a significant difference in society. One of the things that struck me about Pawlet’s approach to this project was her determination to represent Black women from across the UK, not just those based in London.

This is of course an important theme for Manchester Histories, as we focus on telling the stories of the Greater Manchester Area, but it is also prevalent in the Champs Camp archive project. The archive will feature hours of footage of Champs Camp boxers’ fights, many of which took place across the North West. Due to a monopoly over TV rights on the part of London-based promoters, these films will be the only records of many of these fights, making it all the more important to preserve them. By digitising and making these films accessible, this important chapter of Black British history in the North West of England can be told.

Throughout the day there were many recommendations of books and articles for further reading, to expand on the knowledge and theories presented on the day. Here are some of the titles recommended:

• 100 Great Black Britons by Patrick Vernon OBE and Dr Angelina Osborne
• The Racial Code by Nicola Rollock
• Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life by Renata Cherlise
• Towards a Black Cultural Memory by Emma Lee Amponsah
• Reflections in Black by Deborah Willis
• Committed to Memory: The Art of the Slave Ship Icon by Dr Cheryl Finlay
• Creole in the Archive: Imagery, Presence and the Location of the Caribbean Figure by Roshini Kempadoo
• The House Archives Built and Other Thoughts on Black Archival Possibilities by Dorothy Berry

Find out more about the Champs Camp archive project here and look out for more events hosted by the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage on their website.