Museum tour highlights ‘Inspirational Black Scousers’
The Museum of Liverpool are leading guided tours which highlight the stories of some of the many influential Black British people connected to Liverpool as part of Black History Month. Sports stars, musicians and politicians feature in the Inspirational Black Scousers tour taking place this October.
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00:00The Wondrous Place Gallery in the Museum of Liverpool celebrates the creativity of our
00:05city from musicians and sports people to actors and activists. This Black History Month, stories
00:11of inspirational black people with links to the city are being told on a new tour.
00:16Behind me is a display about the inspirational black Scousers in the music scene, the music
00:23business. There's lots mentioned here. We've got people such as Derry Wilkie at the top
00:29of the board. And Derry was part of Derry and the Seniors, a band in the 1960s. And
00:35they were actually the first Mersey beat band to make an album. And they did that before
00:39the Beatles. They were trailblazers. Talking of the Beatles, also on this board is a chap
00:45called Harold Phillips. And he is known to many people in the city as Lord Woodbine.
00:52It's said that he inspired them. Imagine being able to say that you inspired the Beatles.
00:57He introduced them to black music, to soul, to blues, and that influenced their musical
01:03thinking. A spotlight is also shone on incredible local athletes like John Conte, Natasha Jonas,
01:09Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The tour also explores lesser known everyday
01:15heroes. Also in the Wondrous Place Gallery, we have a great display about a gentleman
01:21called James Clark. James Clark has his own locker. And in here it tells the story of
01:27James, a fantastic swimmer, a swimmer who rescued people. He lived in the Scotland Road
01:33area of Liverpool. He would rescue children playing in the canals. He taught them how
01:38to swim. He became famous around the area as someone who saved lives. He received medals
01:45for his life saving. And he's also the first black person in Liverpool to have a street
01:52named after him. Sessions take place at 11am and 1.30pm on various dates throughout October.