Snapchat: Hidden Black Stories

The ‘Hidden Black Stories’ project aims to unveil hidden stories of Black British and Black people in the UK, and Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Tukwini Mandela, was there to launch the new venture.

The whole of Trafalgar Square will become an immersive history lesson – telling Snapchatters the stories of Black British History that live behind the more famous monuments of the iconic London location.

Point your phone with the special lens at certain spots and you will see underrepresented historic Black figures, including sailor George Ryan, Boxer Bill Richmond and his protégé Tom Molineaux and the works of four up and coming Black artists from the UK.

More than half of people (53%) feel like they do not know enough about Black history, according to new research.

Research conducted by Snap, the Black Cultural Archives and Research Without Borders found that on average, less than a third of Brits recognise famous historical black figures (32%), about half the level of those that recognise similarly important famous white figures (63%).

In terms of how people learn about Black history, only a fifth (21%) said school was where they found out the most, with TV and streaming (43%), the news (38%) and books and libraries (33%) being higher.

In fact, Brits are as likely to find out about important Black figures from social media as they are at school (21%).

This research comes as Snap launches an immersive lens in partnership with the Black Cultural Archive, to encourage ongoing education and attention on Black British History – rather than just restricting it to one month a year in October.