"The Brown Babies" Exhibition will be available on weekdays at the Engine Room, 10am to 4pm, from Monday 17th October to Friday 21st October.

The exhibition, curated by Professor Lucy Bland following on from her award-winning book Britain’s 'Brown Babies' tells the moving personal stories of how the stigma of illegitimacy coupled with racism shaped the experiences of children born to white British women and African American GI's during and in the aftermath of World War ll. The exhibition has toured nationally over the last few years it has been displayed at the Black Cultural Archives Museum, city libraries, and university libraries. It has been touring Somerset throughout the year.

Some visitors to the exhibition in Somerset commented:

“This exhibition was very informative, moving and inspirational. I particularly like that Brits often preferred the company of black troops over white ones who were often arrogant and rude”;

“These British white women were brave and unconventional dating black GI’s. The black GI’s were most grateful for the freedom they had here compared to their lives back home, and this inspired many to become involved in the civil rights movement on their return to America.”

The Somerset Black GI's Project:

The Somerset Black GI's project is collecting information about Somerset and the South West during WW2. To this end the council is collecting information to tell a black British history story. They are looking at the wider effect American servicemen had on the communities in Somerset, the local residents’ relationship with both black and white GIs, and their interactions, interracial relationships between Black serviceman and white women and the children born as a result of these relationships. Identifying locations in Somerset that were involved in this period of history. Please contact Susann Savidge if you are interested in this project, or have a story about this topic you would like to share: Susann Savidge SACN2020@outlook.com