Letitia Wright says it’s important black British history is being told on primetime BBC as the UK education system doesn’t ‘bring it to the forefront’
Letitia Wright has said it’s important black British history is being told on primetime BBC.
The actress, 27, is starring in a new Steve McQueen Small Axe film Mangrove with John Boyega, 28, which is set to air on Sunday.
Small Axe is an anthology of five films set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s with each telling a story involving London’s West Indian community, whose lives have been shaped by their own force of will, despite rampant racism and discrimination.
Important: Letitia Wright, 27, has said it’s important black British history is being told on primetime BBC because the UK education system doesn’t ‘bring that to the forefront’
Letitia said that artists are always asked about having more diversity in the TV industry but they should be aimed at studio heads and commissioners.
In an interview with Radio Times, Letitia emphasised the importance of telling the stories told on the Small Axe films.
She said: ‘Growing up in Tottenham, I was given books about my people being enslaved.
‘I was never given information about who we were prior to this tragic part of our history – the scars of which we carry today.
‘With the educational system not bringing that to the forefront, we had to educate ourselves about what has happened, what is happening and where we go from here.
‘It’s up to us as a community to unearth these stories and share and celebrate them.’
Artists are asked: Letitia, who was in Holby City, said artists are always asked about having more diversity in the TV industry but they should be aimed at studio heads and commissioners
She added: ‘So much gets lost within our black British history and it’s important that a beautiful light is shone on these stories.
‘It’s wonderful how everyone’s going out of their way to make this happen – the BBC is moving the 10pm News for us. They’ve been a big supporter and champion of us, and of Steve McQueen.’
Letitia emphasised the importance of telling the stories told on the Small Axe films
Letitia, who appeared in Holby City, said that she wasn’t surprised by the brutality when she read the script, because she knew it had been happening for many years.
She said: ‘The most surprising thing is that, even after they’d been acquitted, the Mangrove Nine still experienced racial prejudice. There was no change.
Letitia said that artists are asked about diversity in the TV industry but ‘they should be aimed at studio heads and commissioners’.
The actress has set up her own company called Three/Sixteen Productions so that she can get stories which are meaningful to her.
Read the full interview in the new issue of Radio Times, on sale now.
Co-star: The actress, 27, is starring in a new Steve McQueen Small Axe film Mangrove with John Boyega (pictured in December last year), 28, which is set to air on Sunday