大象传媒 Scotland - 大象传媒 Scotland - 鈥榃here is the black Scottish experience?鈥� 鈥� attending a Scottish school, then studying history at university left Tomiwa puzzled

鈥榃here is the black Scottish experience?鈥� 鈥� attending a Scottish school, then studying history at university left Tomiwa puzzled

23 October 2018

Tomiwa Folorunso is Scottish and black. Despite a full education in Scotland, however, she realised she knew virtually nothing about “the black Scottish experience”.

So she attempted to find out a little more online about Scotland’s black history — or at least why there is so little taught about it in our schools and colleges.

Learning About Black Scottish History!

Black people helped shape Scotland's history, but we don't often hear about that.

Searching for Scotland’s black heroes

Tomiwa found lots of information on the web about Scotland’s slave trade history, along with more positive stories about Scots proudly paying their part in abolition of the trade.

I think back to myself at about 12 years old and how it would have been so nice to see a black Scottish figure to look up to

Looking beyond slavery, she was keen to find more people who were black and Scottish.

Tomiwa was in awe of a pioneering woman footballer from the 1880s (originally thought to be Carrie Boustead; later revealed as Emma Clarke from Liverpool): “A black woman in the 1880s, playing football. Even now that’s difficult, so I can’t even imagine what it was like for her.”

Then she found Andrew Watson, Scotland’s first black international footballer. His father was a plantation manager and former slave owner from Orkney.

The hailed Andrew as a ‘gentleman’ and said of him in 1885, “Although on more than one occasion subjected to vulgar insults by splenetic, ill-tempered players, he uniformly preserved that gentlemanly demeanour ... he is the embodiment of rare geniality and kind-heartedness”.

Completing her exploration, Tomiwa said, “I think back to myself at about 12 years old and how it would have been so nice to see, like, a black Scottish – doesn’t even matter if it was male or female – figure to look up to and know that you belong here because we too have shaped Scotland’s history.”

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