Peter Fryer's guest appearances

Peter Fryer

The Essay

What's Happening in Black British History? A Conversation

PROFILER

Michael Manley

Jane Eyre

Seamus Heaney

Paul Robeson

Elif Shafak

Afua Hirsch

Colm Tóibín

Salman Rushdie

Michael Morpurgo

Ian Rankin

Robert Frost

George Eliot

Katharine Hepburn

Elizabeth Bishop

Nina Simone

OwlTail

We go behind the scenes of crime prevention to discuss the technologies that are applied in local law enforcement, with Peter Fryer, who has spent decades providing the latest tech to the local police, and the private security industry, through companies such as Forensic Tools &amp; Risk Diversion.  What is out there, and how is it currently being used by the police in particular?  This episode delves quite deeply into where the fundamental problems are within the mechanics of local law enforcement. By way of a disclaimer, the outlook is pretty scary, so grab a stress ball for this one...

PROFILER Episode 30 - Forensic Tools With Peter Fryer

‘There were Africans in Britain before the English came here.’ So begins the book 'Staying Power', the first comprehensive history of black people in Britain. Its publication in 1984 caused great controversy because its author, Peter Fryer, was white. Some argued it wasn’t his place to tell their story. Anticipating this, Fryer had written in the preface that he would make every effort to “‘think black’ – to grasp imaginatively as well as intellectually the essence of the black historical experience". But it was felt by some not to be enough. 'Thinking Black' is a series of personal essays in which the writer Colin Grant explores the fascinating stories of five individuals who have each attempted, in one way or another, to transcend or challenge the boundary of race. In this first essay Colin asks whether it is appropriate for a white author to write black history or whether it's simply appropriation. Does empathy have a place in the writing of history? Peter Fryer’s empathetic skill is clear in his writing, so does this help justify his authorship, especially in the absence of any other written history? Colin Grant examines these questions, the book 'Staying Power' itself and the life of its author. Produced by Kirsty PopeA Far Shoreline production for BBC Radio 3

‘There were Africans in Britain before the English came here.’ So begins the book 'Staying Power', the first comprehensive history of black people in Britain. Its publication in 1984 caused great controversy because its author, Peter Fryer, was white. Some argued it wasn’t his place to tell their story. Anticipating this, Fryer had written in the preface that he would make every effort to “‘think black’ – to grasp imaginatively as well as intellectually the essence of the black historical experience". But it was felt by some not to be enough. 'Thinking Black' is a series of personal essays in which the writer Colin Grant explores the fascinating stories of five individuals who have each attempted, in one way or another, to transcend or challenge the boundary of race. In this first essay Colin asks whether it is appropriate for a white author to write black history or whether it's simply appropriation. Does empathy have a place in the writing of history? Peter Fryer’s empathetic skill is clear in his writing, so does this help justify his authorship, especially in the absence of any other written history? Colin Grant examines these questions, the book 'Staying Power' itself and the life of its author. Produced by Kirsty Pope A Far Shoreline production for BBC Radio 3