Teaching Britain's 'civil rights' history: activism and citizenship in context

Hannah Elias and Martin Spafford begin this article by explaining why they believe it is essential for young people to learn about the ‘heterogeneous, rich and complex’ history of the struggle for civil rights in Britain. Drawing on their diverse experiences of researching, writing and teaching history at school and university level, they put forward a number of key principles that they suggest might underpin the teaching of this history. Their article then provides an overview of the anti-racist struggle across the twentieth century, identifying powerful stories that could serve to illuminate the changing narrative over time, along with guidance and links to important collections of resources related to each of the periods and stories outlined.