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About Me

I am an award-winning historian and writer specialising in African American and Black British history, with particular interests in Black internationalism, transnational activism, surveillance, and the global circulation of Black radical thought.

 

I hold a PhD from the University of Hertfordshire, alongside an MA (Hons) and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Dundee.

 

I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the David Bruce Centre for the Study of the Americas, where I am undertaking my project, ‘A Tricky Business: Black Internationalism and the Architecture of Anglo-American Surveillance, 1933–1976.’ This project examines how Black internationalism shaped intelligence cooperation, government policy, and diplomatic relations between Britain and the United States, reconstructing the networks through which security knowledge was produced and shared across the Atlantic world.

 

My previous research explored the ideological connections between early twentieth-century Black radical women and the Black Power Movement, focusing on the transnational exchange of ideas, strategies, and activist networks across generations.

 

My work has been recognised through several prestigious awards, including Bloomsbury’s inaugural Academic Writing Fellowship, the 2024 Olivette Otele Award from the Institute of Historical Research, and the inaugural Dan Leab Author Award at the American Communist History Journal.

 

Over the last five years, I have worn many hats outside of academia in service of bettering conditions for young Black people in Britain. I was most recently a Mentor Coordinator at The Catalyst Collective, and for three years prior to that I was a Project Coordinator at The Young Historians Project (as well as a part of its sibling organisation in the History Matters editorial team). I have also worked hard to translate academic work for public consumption – through edited collections, and written public-facing history.

 

In February 2027, my first monograph, ‘Long Distance Runners: Black Women Radicals and the Struggle for Liberation’, will be published by Bloomsbury Academic.

Recent Publications

In the last 3 years, I have written for many outlets both academically, and for the public, as I believe historical research should be as accessible as possible to all. My publications, so far, all discuss my research on Black radical women, with a focus on their transnational organising throughout the 20^th century. My latest, and most significant article is a groundbreaking analysis of Claudia Jones in Claudia Jones and Black Power: A Close Reading of the West Indian Gazette and Afro-Asian Caribbean News.[1] This piece offers a new perspective on Claudia Jones and her contributions to Black Power in Britain and was the most-read article of 2024 in the American Communist History journal. Additionally, I have written for broader audiences in outlets including The Conversation[2], History Matters Journal[3], and The House Magazine[4], utilising my historical research to respond to the contemporary moment.

In the last two years, I have edited two book collections[5] for the esteemed scholar-activist, Professor Gerald Horne, who is a titan in the field of Black radical history in the United States. We have additionally co-written multiple book chapters and articles together.[6]

[1] Tionne Alliyah Parris, Claudia Jones and Black Power: A Close Reading of The West Indian Gazette and Afro-Asian Caribbean News, American Communist History Journal, May 2024.

[2] Tionne Alliyah Parris, ‘Harry Belafonte: a singer and actor but an activist at heart’, The Conversation, April 2023.

[3] Tionne Alliyah Parris, ‘Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile (Review)’, History Matters Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Autumn 2021). ‘Claudia Jones & Black Radicalism in Britain’, History Matters Journal, Vol 2, No.3, Autumn 2022. ‘In Memory of Roy Sawh (1934-2023)’, History Matters Journal, Vol 3, No.2, Autumn 2023.

[4] Tionne Alliyah Parris, ‘Government needs to put housing and poverty at the top of its agenda’, The House Magazine, Politics Home, October 2022.

[5] I Dare Say: A Gerald Horne Reader, Gerald Horne, edited by Tionne Alliyah Parris, OR Books, January 2024. African Americans and A New History of the USA, Gerald Horne, compiled by Tionne Alliyah Parris, International Publishers, January 2025.

[6] Gerald Horne and Tionne Parris, “Negro Women Can Think and Speak and Write!” Jones’ Speech to the Court Before Her Sentencing, Internationalism in Practice: Claudia Jones and the ‘Bestial’ War on Korea, Iskra Books, February 2024.

Media Coverage

Social Media

@tionneparris

Country Focus

United States

Expertise by Geography

United Kingdom, United States

Expertise by Chronology

20th century, 21st century

Expertise by Topic

Capitalism, Colonialism, Gender, Government, Politics, Public History, Race, Rebellion & Revolution, Women