Claudine
Black coal miners in Britain worked in the pits of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire from the 1950s until the closures, yet their story was largely left out of the public memory of the coal industry. Skin and Coal, Claudine Boothe’s first independent documentary, recorded them in their own words in 1986, and this year it turns 40.
We are marking the anniversary during Black History Month. Filmed in 1986, the 52-minute film follows two generations of coal miners of African and Caribbean descent, living and working in Doncaster, Leeds and Nottingham during the final years of Britain’s coal mining industry. In their own words, the miners and their families describe how Black workers moved up from the lowest-paid and most dangerous jobs to most roles underground, the conditions they worked in, and the discrimination they went on meeting outside the pits.
Who were the Black coal miners in Britain?
After 1948, people from the Caribbean travelled to Britain to work and settle, encouraged to fill labour shortages in industries and public services. The coal industry was one of the employers that took on Caribbean and African workers in the 1950s and 1960s, in coalfields including Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
According to the Black Miners Museum, Gedling Colliery in Nottinghamshire became known as “the Pit of Nations” because of the diversity of its workforce. Mining was dangerous, physically demanding work with its own hierarchy of jobs, and the men in Skin and Coal describe starting at the bottom of that hierarchy and working their way through it.
What does Skin and Coal show?
The film is built on first-hand testimony rather than a narrator’s argument. Miners speak about the work underground; their families add what the men themselves leave unsaid; and the two generations give the film its structure, with different expectations of an industry that was already in decline.
Skin and Coal was filmed in the aftermath of the miners’ strike of 1984–85, as pits were closing across the coalfields where it was made. Because it was recorded while the pits were still working, it is a primary source as well as a documentary: the people speaking are the workers themselves, recorded at the time.
Why does a 40-year-old film still matter?
Four decades on, Skin and Coal is still the only known audio-visual record of Caribbean people’s presence in this historic British industry: a story of resistance and resilience, told first-hand. The film is listed and used as educational material by the University of Nottingham, is catalogued by the Black Miners Museum, the archive of Black British coal mining heritage, and is frequently sourced by academic researchers.
Since the 2010s, the Black Miners Museum and research such as the University of Nottingham’s “Digging deeper: unearthing narratives of black British coal miners” have gathered oral histories and records. Skin and Coal, made decades earlier, is one of the few audio-visual sources that work can draw on. It also raises a question we return to in our piece on decolonising the curriculum: who decides which parts of Britain’s history are taught and remembered?
Watch it, teach it, screen it
- Watch: the film is distributed by Concord Media on DVD, USB and video on demand. Links on our Watch page.
- Teach: a study guide for GCSE and A-level history, sociology and media studies and for undergraduate modules, with background, discussion questions, activities and ready-made citations, is on our page for educators and researchers.
- Write about it: the press kit, stills and logos are on our press page.
If you are planning events for Black History Month, our guide to what MOBO stands for covers another landmark of Black British culture.
Frequently asked questions
Were there Black coal miners in Britain?
Yes. The British coal industry took on Caribbean and African workers in the 1950s and 1960s, in coalfields including Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Their presence was largely left out of the popular memory of the industry.
Why was Gedling Colliery called “the Pit of Nations”?
According to the Black Miners Museum, Gedling Colliery in Nottinghamshire earned the name because of the diversity of its workforce.
What is Skin and Coal about?
Skin and Coal (1986, 52 minutes) is Claudine Boothe’s documentary on two generations of coal miners of African and Caribbean descent in Doncaster, Leeds and Nottingham, told through the testimony of the miners and their families.
Where can I watch Skin and Coal?
The film is distributed by Concord Media on DVD, USB and video on demand (48-hour rental or purchase). Links are on our Watch page.
Can schools and universities screen the film?
Yes. Copies for teaching are available from Concord Media, and a free study guide is on our education page. For public screenings, institutional licences or an interview with the director, write to projects@bukimage.com.
Skin and Coal is available for public screenings, broadcast and educational licensing. To show it at your school, university, community group or festival, this Black History Month or later in the year, write to projects@bukimage.com.
Find out more about the film on its project page: Skin and Coal (1986)