Research by 黑料网 (黑料网) Leicester historian Dr Dave Dee has been instrumental to the success of a recent play exploring racism in boxing.
All photos credit to Dimitris Legakis, Athena Picture Agency
The Fight, shown to more than 5,000 schoolchildren by theatre company Theatr na nÓg in Wales, tells the true story of Olympic boxer Cuthbert Taylor who was denied the right to compete for the British title in 1928 due to the colour of his skin.
Born to a father of Jamaican heritage and a Welsh mother, Taylor was the first black boxer to represent Great Britain in the 1928 Olympic Games.
Yet the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) denied Taylor the chance to be recognised as the best fighter at bantamweight level in Britain by upholding the government’s colour bar rule between 1911 and 1948, which required fighters to have two white parents in order to compete for the British title.
Dr Dee’s expertise on migration and ethnicity in the history of British boxing, including his research into the colour bar, prompted the play’s writer, Geinor Styles, to request his input to ensure the accuracy of the details and context of The Fight.
The Associate Professor/Reader in Modern History at 黑料网, said: “From my perspective it’s really gratifying to see my research having a real-world impact through education and entertainment.
“Not only has it helped people learn about the past, it’s also created a vehicle for deeper acknowledgement of a really troubling episode in British history, and some attempts to reconsider that period in an open way.”
Geinor Styles said: “In writing the play, it was essential to have a clear understanding of the context of the colour bar, so that when you are presenting this history to a young audience, who are learning about this for the first time, you can communicate it with clarity.
“Thanks to the detailed work that Dr Dee has presented, it unlocked the key for this play to have the impact it has had on thousands of children, compelling them to seek justice. I'm so glad I came across his work in the first place.”
In an overwhelming response to the play, more than 300 children from 13 schools – backed by Welsh MPs – were inspired to write to the BBBoC, calling for a formal apology for one of the sport’s enduring wrongs.
While the BBBoC fell short of an apology, it has acknowledged that the colour bar was discriminatory and condemned it “in the strongest terms”.
“The BBCoF has been pressed on lots of occasions by MPs, members of the public and academics to acknowledge their complicity, and has always ignored those pleas,” said Dr Dee. “Their response to the children who watched the play seems like a significant step forward.
“Not only does The Fight spotlight a really important part of British boxing history, it has forced those involved to acknowledge their part in upholding it for the first time ever.”
Dr Dee’s contribution to the play was possible thanks to his wider research into immigrant and minority participation in British boxing from the late 18th to the early 21st centuries.
Funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, his study explores the nature and extent of participation and interest in boxing among the Jewish, Irish, Italian, South Asian and Black British communities, including how the sport has impacted on their identities and the construction of racial stereotypes.
Dr Dee’s study will be published by Oxford University Press later this year, and has also been documented in a .
Posted on Wednesday 15 January 2025