
Witness History: Black history
BBC World Service
Categories: Education
Listen to the last episode:
In 1936, Haile Selassie came to Bath in the west of England to escape Mussolini and the fascists who had invaded Ethiopia.
He bought a property – Fairfield House - and moved his entire family and staff there. He quickly became the talk of the town.
The local paper ran daily updates on the Emperor’s schedule and dispelled rumours such as the Emperor’s beard "having turned white with anguish" or that he was keeping lions in the basement.
Haile Selassie also made a point of indulging in local amusements and even took a trip to the Tropicana outdoor swimming pool in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare.
Selassie returned to Ethiopia in 1940 after the British helped remove Mussolini. He never forgot his time in Bath and renamed one of his palaces Fairfield in tribute to the British city.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Haile Selassie during his coronation. Credit: Getty Images)
Previous episodes
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115 - Haile Selassie in Bath Tue, 10 Sep 2024
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114 - Waris Dirie Wed, 28 Aug 2024
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112 - Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home Wed, 24 Apr 2024
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111 - Major Charity Adams and the Six-Triple-Eight Fri, 19 Apr 2024
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110 - The Battle of Versailles: Catwalk clash of American and French fashion Fri, 09 Feb 2024
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109 - How Rosa Parks took a stand against racism Thu, 08 Feb 2024
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108 - Lucha Reyes: Peruvian music star Wed, 07 Feb 2024
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106 - Queen of the 'fro Mon, 05 Feb 2024
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105 - The funeral of Nelson Mandela Fri, 15 Dec 2023
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104 - The Bristol bus boycott Mon, 28 Aug 2023
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103 - The Empire Windrush arrives Thu, 22 Jun 2023
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102 - Ming Smith makes history at MoMA Fri, 16 Jun 2023
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101 - The murder of black teenager Emmett Till Mon, 26 Aug 2019
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100 - Petula Clark touches Harry Belafonte's arm Thu, 03 Oct 2013
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99 - Octavia E. Butler: Visionary black sci-fi writer Mon, 06 Mar 2023
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98 - Black Jesus Fri, 02 Apr 2021
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97 - Una Marson and the BBC Caribbean Service Mon, 19 Dec 2022
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96 - The Little Black Book survival guide Mon, 31 Oct 2022
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95 - The death of Trayvon Martin Thu, 24 Feb 2022
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94 - The beginnings of Notting Hill Carnival Fri, 07 Oct 2022
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93 - The Harder They Come Thu, 06 Oct 2022
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92 - The funk and soul club that changed Manchester Mon, 03 Oct 2022
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91 - Civil Rights activist Ida B Wells Tue, 31 May 2022
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90 - Viv Anderson - first black England footballer Thu, 22 Oct 2020
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89 - 'I just wanted to be white' Tue, 03 Nov 2020
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88 - Nasa's pioneering black women Fri, 23 Oct 2020
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87 - The Battle of Lewisham Fri, 09 Oct 2020
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86 - When Nelson Mandela went to Detroit Wed, 23 Sep 2020
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85 - The unlawful death of Christopher Alder Tue, 07 Jul 2020
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84 - The 16th Street church bombing Tue, 09 Jun 2020
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83 - Brown v the Board of Education Mon, 08 Jun 2020
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82 - The Miami riots Mon, 18 May 2020
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81 - Three Strikes Law Fri, 12 Jun 2020
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80 - Rodney King and the LA riots Thu, 11 Jun 2020
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79 - Black basketball pioneers - Texas Western Wed, 10 Jun 2020
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78 - The "Godfather of Gospel Music" Mon, 29 Jan 2018
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77 - Ann Lowe - African American fashion designer Fri, 29 May 2020
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76 - The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade Tue, 21 Apr 2020
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75 - London's first black policeman Mon, 03 Feb 2020
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74 - The first self-made female millionaire Thu, 30 Jan 2020
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73 - Free breakfast with the Black Panthers Wed, 18 Sep 2019
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72 - Nina Simone moves to Liberia Thu, 29 Aug 2019
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71 - The story of George Stinney Jr Thu, 16 Jan 2020
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70 - Desmond's: A sitcom that changed Britain Thu, 02 Jan 2020
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69 - Black GIs during World War Two Mon, 16 Dec 2019
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68 - The killing of Amadou Diallo Thu, 12 Dec 2019
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67 - Britain's World War Two 'Brown Babies' Fri, 11 Oct 2019
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66 - The Bristol bus boycott Thu, 10 Oct 2019
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65 - The Notting Hill riots Wed, 09 Oct 2019
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64 - The first black woman MP in Britain Tue, 08 Oct 2019