Teach Primary Issue 18.7

T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG www.teachwire.net | 69 O ne of the things I’m asked most often as an author is “How do you write your Black history books?”. I think research is the most important, as well as the hardest part of the process. The lessons I’ve learned about how to unearth hidden histories and sort fact from fiction are useful for anyone learning or writing about Black history – including primary pupils! Start with a clear goal in mind The first step before you begin your research is to determine what you are actually going to write about. That’s not always as simple as it sounds. When I decided to write my latest book, The Story of Britain’s Black Nurses , for example I had to think about who should be included in this particular history. Britain was an empire and there are more than 30 countries today whose history forms part of the story of Black British nursing. Next, find out as much as possible about the topic. Write down what you think you already know. Suggest your pupils look for books, articles and other sources of information that have already been written about the subject. They’ll almost certainly find interesting facts they didn’t know before. Researching non-fiction writing involves looking for information that you want to share with others, but it’s more than that – it also means learning at the same time. When doing research, it’s important to always keep in mind what you are writing about, because sometimes you’ll find out new things. That’s exciting, but makes it easy to go off on tangents. Information is everywhere When I’m researching my non-fiction books, I love to watch good documentaries related to the topic. I also visit archives, read articles and journals. Information can be gleaned from unexpected sources too, such as toys, puzzles and games. Sometimes, interesting facts are included in leaflets accompanying the items, or even on the outside packaging. I found lots about Mary Seacole and Kofoworola Abeni Pratt on the internet when I was researching Black nurses in history. Unfortunately, much of the information was unreliable and inaccurate. I think we all know that we need to be cautious about information we find on the internet, but all sources should be double-checked. Books also sometimes have misquotes or mistakes, although good publishers will often have a fact-checking process. Even using oral history sources or interviewing people for more recent history shouldn’t be treated as the unalloyed truth. Sometimes people simply don’t remember events correctly. I’ve often found different sources giving contradictory information, which means more research to find out which source is accurate. That’s especially tricky when looking at things that happened long ago. We just don’t always know as much about people and places from the distant past. Also, certain histories were seen as less valuable than others. We just have to accept that there will be gaps in our research because some things were not recorded. Ask for help! Every good non-fiction book has a section called Acknowledgments . This is where the author thanks all the people who helped them with their research. When I’m researching my Black history books, I speak to many people about my project by email, in-person or by phone. I look for people who are experts, and for non-experts who I think know more than me. Most people are happy to help. They sometimes suggest other places I can look for information or they tell me about books which I hadn’t heard of before. Sometimes I’m put in touch with people who have been researching the same or a related topic years before me and are happy to discuss or explain complex concepts to me. It’s hard work researching a non-fiction book but it’s so rewarding when all the research comes together and you have enough information to begin writing. Then comes the next big challenge – putting it all together in a book that other people can read and hopefully be inspired by, so that they can discover more about under-explored Black history too. TP Uncovering THE PAST K. N. Chimbiri writes and speaks about Black history, and offers virtual school visits and history-themed workshops for children. The Story of Britain's Black Nurses is out now. kandacechimbiri.com Researching little-known facts fromBlack history is like solving the ultimate detective puzzle, says K. N. Chimbiri