Black History Month launches with hundreds of events planned across the UK in October, with celebrations focusing on the contributions of black women and the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush.
First celebrated in the UK in October 1987, Black History Month has since morphed into a big cultural and political event to highlight the historical and contemporary contribution of black Britons.
The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests have led to a renewed focus on the month, campaigners say, with more institutional support across the public and private sector.
Black History Month UK, an organisation that promotes the month with a resource pack, magazine and other educational material, has kicked off this year’s commemoration with the theme “saluting our sisters”, which will highlight the role black women have played in shaping British history and inspiring change.
This year’s resource pack includes posters of historical and contemporary leading black women including Mary Seacole, Claudia Jones, Olive Morris, Diane Abbott, Jacqueline McKenzie and Dame Sharon White.
Cherron Inko-Tariah, the editor of Black History Month magazine, said: “What we always try to do is to read the mood music of the year, of what we’re seeing and hearing, and then come up with a theme that people can get behind.
“So why are we focusing on black women this year? That’s been the topic of many conversations over the last few months, but for me there were a number of things that have happened both politically and culturally that have made me think about how we can mark and recognise black women.”
While Black History Month would always be a time to celebrate all sorts of black Britons, Inko-Tariah added, “there has been a point where black women’s voices have been silenced: their ideas and contributions ignored, in history and today. I wanted us to just take stock and say we’re here, this is what we’ve done, and that needs to be celebrated.”
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said: “Since being mayor I have hosted an annual reception to mark Black History Month. This year, I’m looking forward to celebrating the remarkable contributions that pioneering black women have made in shaping our history and inspiring change.
“We will highlight the pioneering voices that have led to changes to the landscape of our city, from contributions of the Windrush generation to our NHS and media.”
This year’s Black History Month falls on the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the passengers of the Empire Windrush in the UK. It is being celebrated in Leicester with the theme “representation, relocation and revelation”, including a night of performance by local residents from the Windrush generation; and in Leeds, which among other events will host a talk with the celebrated midwife Gloria Hanley, who will speak about the challenges she faced as a black nurse in the city.
Gaverne Bennett, a PhD student and educationist, said there was a sharp contrast in how Black History Month was celebrated before the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and after.
“In 2019, a local authority spoke publicly about doing away with Black History Month; in 2020, every council seemed to expand their Black History Month programmes. In October 2019, I remember people wondering aloud why we should mark Black History Month at all.
“After the protests, the fall of the Colston statue in Bristol in particular, the importance of black history in relation to British history was absolutely clear. The BLM protests reminded many millions that Black History Month wasn’t some add-on or goodwill gesture but a necessity if you truly want to understand British and world history.”
Bennett has spent the past two decades working on a variety of local and national projects for Black History Month, including creating a literature timeline for the British Library in 2021.
On the teaching of black history, he said: “There are whole sections of British history to me that simply don’t make sense if you don’t understand or know about the UK black history component within it.”
