Students from Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) have been chosen to work with Oxford University and the Marx Memorial Library on a new research project.

The Charlie Hutchinson Project, named after the only Black British volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, will not only explore his life and contributions but also evaluate wider themes regarding Black History and its broader significance for modern Britain.

Carina Ancell, a History lecturer at NewVic College and co-founder of the Charlie Hutchinson Project, said:

His life is a microcosm of the wider issues in 20th century British history; the story of Black British experiences, connections between Britain and the wider world, the fight against fascism and dictatorship, and the significant role played by the working classes in shaping the modern world.

All sessions on the project will be led by Oxford University lecturers and PhD students discussing Charlie Hutchinson while linking his story to the development of the relationship between Britain and Africa.

The project is in its second year and NewVIc is working jointly with Oxford University on the programme with access to historical archival records thanks to their partnership with the Marx Memorial Library in Farringdon.

Dr Hugh Munro, a tutor at Oxford University’s Wadham College, also involved in the project, said: “From Oxford’s point of view, we’re looking for students who are passionate about their subject, have explored it beyond the school curriculum and are showing the skills they’d need at university.

The project is a great chance for us to work with school pupils we have relationships with and show what the university is like by meeting people who work here and current students. There are common misunderstandings about universities like Oxford, so the project gives us a great chance to ‘show’ what the university is really like rather than just ‘telling’ them.

The project comes at a crucial time amid calls that the education system in the UK needs to highlight the stories and histories of people in Britain from the Caribbean and African diaspora.

A 2020 report by Dr Jason Arday of Durham University, found that the national curriculum in England “systematically omits the contribution of Black British history in favour of a dominant white, Eurocentric curriculum” failing to reflect the UK’s multi-ethnic society.

“I think we have reached a particular point in time and history”, said Alan Kunna, a History lecturer at NewVic College and co-founder of the Charlie Hutchinson Project. “We know that there has been a black presence in Britain for hundreds of years. Rather than allow the argument that its presence is a problem we need to seriously study how it came to be, the opposition it faced, and the way it organised to defeat this opposition.

“Ultimately, we need to study its history and show that people are not here as visitors and strangers but are part of the fabric of Britain’s history.”

The project will be run by the NewVIc African Studies Centre, which opened in October 2020 during Black History Month. Its goal is to broaden the scope of Black history that students are exposed to and do away with a tradition of learning about this diverse continent through the lens of European colonialism.

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