Olivia Wyatt
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oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social
Olivia Wyatt
@oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social
Historian of race, blackness, and complexion in modern Britain | Teaching & Research Fellow in Black British History at the University of Edinburgh | Convenor at @ihrblackbritish.bsky.social

https://oliviawyatt1999.wordpress.com/
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Introducing Dr. Olivia Wyatt! I’m overjoyed to share that I successfully defended my thesis last Friday, and that I have started a new position as Teaching and Research Fellow in Black British History at the University of Edinburgh. I’m incredibly grateful to my supervisors and examiners
It was a joy to meet with researchers from across the world. I also loved my panel’s intervention at NACBS: an ethical discussion of #BlackBritishHistory by eight Black/ mixed-race early career researchers. A visual reminder that Black people are the makers of history, and not simply its subjects.
November 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
This week I’ll present at the @cuhistorydept.bsky.social workshop on Black Europe: A Field on the Move in New York 🇺🇸 and the roundtable on methodologies in #BlackBritishHistory at @thenacbs.bsky.social in Montreal 🇨🇦 I look forward to our conversations on the need for Black European histories
We will not have a seminar this month because many of our convenors will be at @thenacbs.bsky.social conference! Check out their papers on race and #BlackBritishHistory if you’ll be joining us in Montreal 🇨🇦
www.nacbs.org/conference
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
We will not have a seminar this month because many of our convenors will be at @thenacbs.bsky.social conference! Check out their papers on race and #BlackBritishHistory if you’ll be joining us in Montreal 🇨🇦
www.nacbs.org/conference
November 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
In this On History blog, Gaverne Bennett and Jenny Lelkes-Rarugal discuss how the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) can be used to research and teach the histories of race and ethnicity
Researching the histories of race and ethnicity in the Bibliography of British and Irish History  - On History
blog.history.ac.uk
October 23, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Join us for a #BlackHistoryMonth roundtable discussion on Processing the Past: New Histories of Black British Culture and Identity.

🎤 Rochelle Rowe, Teleica Kirkland, Désha Osbourne, and yours truly
📅 Friday 21st October
⏰ 17:00 - 18:30
📍 Edinburgh Futures Institute - Room 2.55
🔗 bit.ly/4oyTGOP
October 21, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Last week I returned to my home city to deliver a #BlackHistoryMonth lecture at Leeds Beckett University. Using oral histories, photography, and poetry alongside archival research, I explored the overlooked role of women within the Chapeltown Bonfire incident and community activism in the 1970s
October 20, 2025 at 12:39 PM
What a wonderful start to the 2025/26 IHR Black British History seminar series! We heard students present on a range of topics, ranging from the 1500s to the 1980s. I’m looking forward to seeing how their research progresses.
#BlackBritishHistory #BlackHistoryMonth
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.

📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
October 16, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
A fab BHM lecture from @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social on the Chapeltown Bonfire night incident of 1975. Wyatt situates elder Black women's activism on behalf of the Black youths on trial as part of caregiving in the community. More non-London Black history!!!
October 14, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
Today! 👇🏿
#BlackBritishHistory
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.

📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
October 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
This looks an interesting talk - here's Leeds Other Paper's coverage of the Chapeltown bonfire night events from 50 years ago. #BlackHistoryMonth #LeedsHistory
October 13, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
The booking form should now have an online option, but please let us know if you run into any further issues!
October 7, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
'It's a fight we share with other minorities that are increasingly threatened by violence, abuse and intimidation....It’s critical that, like the numerous Muslim organisations that offered support in the past few days, we continue to stand together and work against hatred.'
October 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
Assata Shakur's story, Marian Jones writes in @teenvogue.com, is "also a reminder of the impact of COINTELPRO, and how it continues to impact activists today through technological surveillance, the criminalization of protest, and the targeting of dissidents." Shakur passed in Cuba on Friday.
Assata Shakur Was a Black Revolutionary Who Fought for Freedom Even in Exile
“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.”
www.teenvogue.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
This is an absolute tragedy.

Rising hate crimes against religious groups is in complete opposition to what we stand for - diversity, equality, tolerance. We must be outspoken in those values now.
October 2, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
RHS funding opportunity: David Berry Fellowship in the History of Scotland and the Scottish People.

The Society's Fellowship, for up to £2500, supports research by historians of Scotland at any career stage: bit.ly/4ns6LJj

Closing date for the 2026 Fellowship: 6 March 2026
David Berry Fellowship in the History of Scotland and the Scottish People - RHS
Launched in 2023, the David Berry Fellowship provides an annual award of up to £2,500 to undertake research on the history of Scotland and the Scottish people worldwide. Applications for the 2026 Fell...
bit.ly
October 1, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
Nearly four years of work wrapped up with one e-mail! The thesis is officially off my desk 😌🎉
September 30, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
Are you an emerging scholar researching Black British history and looking for opportunities to share your research? Please get in touch with @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social or Meleisa Ono George via contact info below to take part in this ⚡️ talks session @ihr.bsky.social (and please share widely!)
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.

📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
September 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
We hope to see as many of you as possible at our Lightning Talks in Black British History: the first event of our academic year! Get in touch if you are a PGR or ECR who would like to present, and please circulate among students who may be interested in sharing their work for 3-5 minutes
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.

📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
September 30, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.

📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
September 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
In honour of the 50th anniversary of the Chapeltown Bonfire incident, I’ll be talking about Black women’s community activism in Leeds at Leeds Beckett University.

⏰ 18:00 - 19:00
📍 Rose Bowl, City Campus
🎟️ bit.ly/480KUUD

#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackBritishHistory
50 years on: Caribbean women and the Chapeltown bonfire night incident 1975
Marking 50 years since the Bonfire Twelve, this talk explores the women's role in resisting racism and injustice in Leeds.
bit.ly
September 30, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
Assata Shakur has "died in Havana, Cuba, as a result of health conditions and her advanced age."

She was 78.
Assata Shakur, political activist and ex-Black Liberation Army member, has died
Assata Shakur “died in Havana, Cuba, as a result of health conditions and her advanced age,” according to Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
www.whatimreading.net
September 26, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Can’t wait to show you what we have lined up! Follow the new IHR Black British History seminar series page 🥳🙌🏽
The IHR Black British History seminar series is now on BlueSky!

Follow us for updates and keep your eyes peeled for information about our upcoming seminars 👀

@ihr.bsky.social #BlackBritishHistory #historians #academia
September 25, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
The IHR Black British History Seminar is now on Bluesky, thanks to @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social! Give a follow for updates:
The IHR Black British History seminar series is now on BlueSky!

Follow us for updates and keep your eyes peeled for information about our upcoming seminars 👀

@ihr.bsky.social #BlackBritishHistory #historians #academia
September 25, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
🎫Join us on Tues 14 October as @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social marks 50 years since Chapeltown's Bonfire Twelve incident, sharing her research into women's roles in resisting racism and injustice in #Leeds.

🕕18:00 - 19:00
🏛️Rose Bowl, City Campus
🔗 bit.ly/480KUUD

#BlackHistoryMonth #AcademicSky
September 25, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Reposted by Olivia Wyatt
I’ll be on Today’s Inside Science with a short feature on extinction. It will air at 16:30 and will available online afterwards.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science, Does warm weather mean more rats in UK towns and cities?
What’s the evidence behind rat infestation warnings? And farewell to wet wipe island
www.bbc.co.uk
August 28, 2025 at 2:47 PM