Apologies for cross- posting.
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PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAUNCH OF NEW BLACK HISTORY WEBSITE AND DATABASE

A valuable new website commissioned by the award-winning Northamptonshire 
Black History Project was launched today, funded by the Heritage Lottery 
Fund and Home Office.

The website offers access to a specifically created database that records 
over 800 years of the Black History in Northamptonshire.
The database contains information relating to the historical records, oral 
history interviews and community archives recorded and collated by project 
staff over the past three years.

Carolyn Abel, who directed the project said “This website represents the 
culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work by a range of people and 
communities living in Northamptonshire over the past twenty years or more.  
We hope that by placing this information on a website in a searchable 
database, many others will be able to discover more about Northamptonshire’s 
diverse history and perhaps inspire them to carry out their own research 
locally and nationally.  We feel that it will be an extremely useful tool 
for people of all ages, but especially school teachers and students.”

Visit the website at www.northants-black-history.org.uk and find out more 
for yourself.

A new touring exhibition of some of the projects finding is also available 
to the public and has already been viewed in some of the county’s local 
schools.



Notes to the editor

1.  About Northamptonshire Black History Project
Northamptonshire Black History Project was a three-year, community-led 
project that ran from July 2002 and was supported by grants from the 
Heritage Lottery Fund, Home Office and a number of other funders.

The project aimed to record and promote Black history in the county over at 
least the past 500 years.  It involved three main activities which included: 
historical research, oral history interviews and community archiving.  With 
the support of four full-time staff, over 42 sessional workers and 
volunteers helped to document: 576 historical records stretching back to 
1205, interview 180 local people from a range of Black communities and 
preserve the records of 15 local community organisations for future 
generations.  The project also undertook a number of innovative projects 
with schools and young people.

The lead agency for the project was Northamptonshire Racial Equality Council 
(NREC) and was supported by a management committee comprising 13 Black 
community organisations.  It also had important partnership involvement from 
Northamptonshire Record Office, Northamptonshire Libraries and Information 
Service, University of Northampton and Northampton Museums and Art Gallery.

In April 2005, the project won a national award from the Chartered Institute 
of Librarians and Information Professionals, which was awarded to the 
project by Benjamin Zephaniah at a ceremony in Birmingham.

The funding for the project has come to an end but has been succeeded by the 
Northamptonshire Black History Association.  It is a membership organisation 
which is continuing the excellent work of the project and intends to 
disseminate the project’s findings through curriculum resources, 
publications and other means.

For more information contact:
Nikki Taylor, Community Research Officer 01604 590967

www.northants-black-history.org.uk

2.  Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and 
learn more about our diverse heritage. From museums and historic buildings 
to parks and nature reserves to celebrating traditions, customs and history, 
the HLF has awarded over £3 billion to projects that open up our nation’s 
heritage for everyone to enjoy.

www.hlf.org.uk/English/InYourArea/EastMidlands/