In the early 1980s there were very few people researching and writing about the histories of African, Caribbean and south Asian people in Britain, and fewer still, if any, who were studying this history at school or university. The historian and campaigner Marika Sherwood, who has died aged 87, played a significant part in changing this situation, although she would protest that much more still needs to be done.
It was while teaching in London schools in the 60s that Marika, shocked by the racism many of her pupils were dealing with, first became interested in learning about the history relating to the children of Caribbean heritage in her classroom. When she found that Black children were being bullied because it was alleged that their families had not contributed to the second world war effort, she decided she must discover more.
