About
Between 1967 and 1977, three of the most iconic figures in modern African American history – Jimi Hendrix, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Muhammad Ali – found themselves on Tyneside. In this talk, Brian Ward unpicks the stories behind those visits to put them in the context of two centuries of connections between Tyneside and the African American freedom struggle and a fascinating, if often unappreciated, history of racial diversity in the region.
Brian Ward is Professor in American Studies at Northumbria University and former Chair of the British Association for American Studies. His ten books include the multi-award winning Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations (1998) and A&R Pioneers: Architects of American Roots Music on Record (2018). He is also author of Martin Luther King in Newcastle upon Tyne: The African American Freedom Struggle and Race Relations in the North East of England (2017), praised in North East History as ‘The most detailed historical account of race relations in the North East yet written.’
