Paul Pryce shares his explorations into Black History

My name is Paul Pryce, I was born in Sheffield, England, in the 1960s. As a child growing up in 1960s and 70s, during my history lessons at School, many questions often passed through my mind, such as: “what were Black people doing before “slavery”? Up to that point, in my development, I was given the impression, that African/Black people had contributed nothing to world civilization, scientific and technological advancement. In the case of the European/white people, a complete contrast was presented, it was that of, exemplary!

The good news, during the 1980s, I had the privilege of coming across various books, such as: Malcolm X on Afro American History and Black Power by Stokely Carmichael, which blew mind! I appeared to read those books in double quick time. I also came across material within Ebony Magazine, (which is produced in the USA). The material that particularly left me overcome with emotions, was reading about Black Scientists, who supposedly never existed, according to the misrepresentation a decade or so earlier. Some of the scientists include, (from 19th C onwards): Lewis Howard Lattimer, Elijah McCoy, Garrett Morgan etc.

I reached a stage, after reading the above works, gaining a brief insight and wanting to learn more, especially, the period before Slavery. What were Black people doing before Slavery? How can I gain access to this information? To my astonishment, during the official opening of the Sheffield and District African Caribbean Association, (S.A.D.A.C.C.A), in June 1986, I saw an elder, standing at the bottom of the stairs, greeting people as they entered the building. I said to myself, “this elder will guide me with my learning!” Those initial thoughts turned out to be absolutely ‘spot on’. A few days later, from introducing myself and discussing what I had learned up to that point, my books, videos, and DVD collection greatly increased over the decades. I also attended conferences and workshops, up and down the country, hence, the process of unlearning and relearning begun. Some of the wonderful works, includes: The African Origin of Civilization by Cheik Anta Diop, Blacks in Science Ancient and Modern edited by Ivan Van Sertima. From the scientific evidence, it is very clear that civilization, scientific and technological advancement began in Ancient Africa thousands of years before there was an Ancient Greece, and indeed Europe. Knowledge was taken to all corners of the world by the Ancient Africans.

In 1990, I moved to Nottingham to study, B.A Public Administration and after graduating, settled here. Along with my degree course, I have continued with this growth, intellectually, mentally, spiritually and emotionally by attending African History courses and Education of the Black Child conferences. As part of the process, field studies were built in, which included, visits to the British Museum, York and the Enslavement Museum in Liverpool. I have facilitated workshops to young people and adults, presenting aspects of African History, (The missing pages of World History, Dr John Henrik Clarke)

“We have been written out of the respectable commentary of World History”. Dr John Henrik Clarke, African-American Scholar

What Influenced me to Participate in the Legacy Makers Project?

I was invited to a Legacy Makers, (formerly Slave Trade Legacy), meeting by Lisa Robinson in 2016, which was held at the Castle Museum. From attending that initial meeting, I have continued to support the project, as a volunteer, because I am impressed with the work that has been carried out by the volunteers, Lisa, Helen and Susanne, in encouraging the Heritage sites to change the misrepresentation within their narrative. Namely, omitting to recognise that the wealth created to construct structures such as, Newstead Abbey, Wollaton Hall etc, was off the backs of Enslaved Africans. A couple of brilliant works, that I purchased in the 1980s, are still relevant, especially to this project: Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams and How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney.

I joined the Legacy Makers, based on my learning over the previous decades and my willingness to make a positive contribution. It was interesting to note the movement away from using certain terminology and replacing them with more appropriate ones. For examples, Enslaved rather than ‘Slave’, Enslavement rather than ‘Slavery’, Enslaver rather than ‘Slave Master’ etc. Hence, Legacy Makers, “We must get the language right”, as stated by Martin Luther King in the 1960s. The interesting thing, was that during the late 80s and early 90s, the use of language was a thread that ran through the core of the teachings I received.

“To Educate a Man is to Educate an Individual, To Educate a Woman is to Educate and Liberate a Nation” Malcolm X made reference to this quote

Standing in this Place

At the point when Legacy Makers and Rachel Carter began to work in partnership, I was encouraged to support this project, (of course by Rachel), Standing in this Place. Wonderful progress is being made, since its inception and very exciting times are ahead! My research, demonstrates that in Ancient Kemet, (Egypt), north east Africa, African women were revered, whilst the Ancient European women in contract were reduced to the lowest denominator. African women were on an equal level to the man and ran their own businesses. The European women were chaperoned by the man. (See Black Women in Antiquity Edited by Ivan Van Sertima).

A point highlighted in the above works, is that when the Ancient European Women, first entered Kemet and witnessed how Ancient African women were living, they began to rebel against the European men. Here we are thinking that women’s lib’ began in recent years, (my emphasis).

From my sixth sense, one day we will be truly free and liberated from oppression and subjugation, which will be a great example to emulate for generations to come.