Led by Northeastern University teams in London and Boston, the project began in 2020 looking at the era of World War II, before moving to the eighteenth-century and highlighting the life and times of Ignatius Sancho detailed in his lively and vividly detailed letters that were published after his death in 1782. Sancho was the owner of a popular grocery shop in Westminster and the first documented Black Briton to vote in a parliamentary election. In 2023 the MBL team collaborated with the London Metropolitan Archives (now The London Archives) on their exhibition Unforgotten Lives, which showcases over 3,000 records from the parish archives of the city’s churches from 1560 to 1860 and documents the presence of people of colour throughout London via interactive maps. Future work will continue to document the nature, scale, cultural and geographical distribution of Black Londoners from the medieval to modern periods, allowing us to visualise the multi-racial foundations and histories of London and the UK.
Research Team
Dr. Nicole N. Aljoe: Co-Principal Investigator. Professor of English and Africana Studies at Northeastern University, Boston. Her research focuses on eighteenth and early nineteenth century Black Atlantic and Caribbean literature.
Dr. Oliver Ayers: Co-Principal Investigator. Associate Professor of History at Northeastern University, London. His research focuses on race, urban space and digital historical analysis.
Amouraé Bhola-Chin: Research Assistant. Final year History with Creative Writing student at Northeastern University London.
Ellen Valente: Research Assistant. English with Philosophy Graduate at Northeastern University London.
Libby Collard: Research Assistant. PhD student in History at Northeastern University London.
Odile Jordan: Research Assistant. Third-year Philosophy with Creative Writing student at Northeastern University London.
Tiffany Cruz: Research Assistant. PhD student in English at Northeastern University, Boston. Developed the ‘Mapping Mary Prince’ and ‘Arts in London’ exhibits.
Dr. Andrea Kocsis: Former Assistant Professor of History and Data Science at Northeastern University London. Developed the ‘Unforgotten Lives: Clerkenwell’ app and interactive screen.
WEB DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Tieana Graphenreed: Project Manager. PhD student in English at Northeastern University, Boston.
Yana Mommadova: Web Developer. PhD student in Sociology at Northeastern University, Boston.
Juniper Johnson: Web Designer. PhD student in English at Northeastern University, Boston.
Liam MacLean: Web Designer. PhD student in History at Northeastern University, Boston.
