Brixton’s black postbox

postbox painted black

A postbox on Brixton’s Acre Lane is one of four that have painted black by Royal Mail to mark Black History Month.

The other three are in Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.

Each features a significant figure in the British Black community and has its own social media link.

Royal Mail said the aim is to help mark the success of Black Britons.

Scanning a QR code on the postboxes brings up a list of Black Britons who appear on a set of special stamps.

The Brixton postbox features the image Queuing at the RA by Yinka Shonibare, one of six artists who was commissioned by Royal Mail to produce original artworks for a set of special stamps issued to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Academy (RA).

postbox painted black

“As a citizen of the Commonwealth, it was particularly important to me to be making a visible contribution in a historic public space,” Shonibare said.

Second Lieutenant and footballer Walter Tull, the first Black Army officer to command troops in a regular unit, features on The Glasgow postbox. He had signed for Glasgow Rangers just before he was killed at the Battle of the Somme.

Mary Seacole is on the Cardiff postbox and Sir Lenny Henry on Belfast’s.

Peter De Norville, Royal Mail’s head of diversity and inclusion, said: “Black History Month is a great opportunity to celebrate the contributions that Black people have made to this country over many generations.

“We are also using it as an opportunity to celebrate the vital work that our Black employees do throughout the nation, from the mail bag to the meeting room.”