The Learning Veranda

Welcome to The Learning Veranda, our growing collection of resources designed to support further learning of Caribbean and Black British history. Explore monthly book picks, courses, podcasts, and valuable resources from other inspiring organisations. Take a look around, explore at your own pace, and return whenever you’re ready to dive into something new.

new info pack

new info pack

Policing, Protests, and the British Black Power Movement (1960s–1980s) is our first info pack by Sociology PhD student, Rayann Alves-Bryan. This course will take you on a powerful journey through a pivotal period in Black British history. Explore how communities responded to injustice, organised resistance and how those legacies continue to shape our present.

readS of the month

Each month, we spotlight a new book, article or journal we think you should check out. Learning is a lifelong rhythm. Stay curious, be open, and let these works spark new visions of who we are and who we can become.

With carnival season in full swing across the UK this August, we’ve selected four books that capture the spirit, stories, and rhythm of the celebration.

  • Masking And Power: Carnival And Popular Culture In The Caribbean, 8 Cultural Studies of the Americas by Gerard Aching

    Aching explores masking as a socially and culturally significant practice within Caribbean societies, examining how mimicry and misrecognition function as strategies of both visibility and invisibility. Through a focus on Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, and beyond, the work interrogates how these practices shape identity and resistance.

  • When THE VIBE IS RIGHT BY Sarah Dass

    An enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance set in Trinidad’s Carnival celebration. She’s destined to be an amazing Carnival costume designer, he will one day inherit leadership of his family’s masquerade band. A heartwarming novel about discovering love where you least expect it.

  • Carnival: Culture in Action - The Trinidad Experience (Worlds of Performance) edited by Milla Cozart Riggio

    An illustrated volume featuring work by leading writers and experts on carnival from around the world. Includes stunning photo essays and presents a body of work that takes the reader on a fascinating journey exploring the various aspects of carnival, its traditions, history, music, politics and prefaces each section with an illuminating essay.

  • First Festivals: Carnival

    This book explores Caribbean Carnival culture and helps young children understand the importance of this Caribbean event.

    Lift the flaps to reveal the steel pan bands, see the colourful costumes, and have a peek at all the tasty West Indian dishes.

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