Power in the Telling

Displaying Black British History: The Krios of Sierra Leone

This podcast is part of the Power in the Telling feature – curated by the Windrush Strikes Back project – on the production of community-engaged histories of Black Britain.

How might museum exhibitions convey the complex dynamics of black British history? The ‘Krios of Sierra Leone’ is a new display at the Museum of London Docklands that tells the story of Sierra Leone’s Krio people. The Krios are descendants of previously enslaved African, Caribbean and African American peoples who, from 1787, were re-settled in Sierra Leone by the British.The display includes contemporary objects from the collections of Krio Londoners as well as 19th century objects related to British colonial rule in Sierra Leone from the museum’s collections.

Kapɛt slipas (c) Private collection of Ms Iyamide Thomas

In this episode of the History Workshop Podcast, co-curators Melissa Bennett (Museum of London) and Iyamide Thomas (Historical Researcher for The Krios Dot Com) discuss their work on the exhibition. In the process they have a broader conversation about Black British history in museums and community-engaged museum practice.

Produced by Marybeth Hamilton

4 Comments

  1. Very interesting interview. It’s peaked my interest in learning more about the culture of Sierra Leone. I would definitely go to see the display at the museum of London

  2. A very interesting interview. Attention paid to details in the presentation of the display. It would be informative for us in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire to learn about the Krios.

  3. It was a good moment for me to visit my motherland, and knows about the historical past and the relics of the krios and the fundamental slave free of our people.And Africa at large

  4. Really interesting history never to be forgotten.

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