Wednesday 21-10-2020 - 11:49

Black History Month: Celebrating Black Excellence

 

Black History Month is a time of the year where the achievements of black people are celebrated in the UK and other parts of the world. It’s a time where history can be rewritten to truly reflect the sacrifices black people made for the UK to be what it is today.

Emanating in the US in the 1900s, this was brought to the UK by Akyaaba Addai-Sebo in 1987. He is a Ghanaian refugee who at the time was fleeing persecution from the Ghanaian government and sought refuge in the UK. He was working at the Greater London Council when one of his colleagues arrived at the office distraught. He asked what had happened and she told him that her six-year old son asked her why he could not be white. At that point, he had to question why a child that young would already be having an identity crisis to the extent that he would want to be of a different race. Something had to be done to make black children believe in themselves. He therefore launched the GLC Historical Lectures and Concerts in 1986 to affirm Africa’s contribution to UK civilisation. They drew attention to numerous campaigns against institutional racism which drew the support of prominent figures such as Angela Davis and Marcus Garvey JR.

 

1987 was the 150th anniversary of Caribbean emancipation, the centenary of the birth of Marcus Garvey and the 25th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, an institution dedicated to advancing the progress of African states. This year was therefore coined the “African Jubilee Year”. The newly formed coalition called on the UK authorities to recognize the contributions of Africans to the economic, cultural and political life of the UK, take their duties as enshrined in the 1976 Race Relations Act seriously, be relentless in their support against apartheid and ensure that Black children enjoy positive images of themselves. This was complied with thereby giving birth to Black History Month with October being picked because it was the traditional harvest period and a time when African leaders gathered to settle differences and appraise the state of the community. Now that the history has been established, where are we today in terms of race relations?

 

As we all know, 2020 has been quite tragic with numerous murders primarily in the US that are largely seen to be race related. We had institutions such as The Premier League and FTSE companies putting out statements in support of the black community and calling for an end to police brutality. During that same period, we had Anti-BLM protesters here in the UK. So, the question now becomes, is Black History Month merely a symbolic gesture or does it mean more than that. It seems on the surface level that people are compassionate and empathetic when it has been triggered by something. When someone is unjustly murdered, society is quick to acknowledge institutional racism and the struggles black people face every day. When its Black History Month, we get statements acknowledging the lack of diversity especially at board level in the top companies. What we do not seem to get most of the time is the action to back up these statements.

 

Maybe this time it will be different. Maybe after everything that’s happened this year there is a better understanding and recognition of just how far we are from achieving equality in the UK. Maybe we finally increase the number of black people working whilst reducing the number of people being harassed and targeted on the streets. Maybe the perception that black people are lazy and dangerous will finally be disposed of and we are able to be seen as people just like everyone else. Maybe all the black people who have contributed and done amazing things for this country to be what it is today will be given the recognition they deserve. Or maybe nothing actually happens, and this same blog post is replicated in its exact state and republished next year because words of action remained just that, words of action. I guess only time will tell.

 

Anyone interested in learning more about Black History Month should look out for emails from Afro-Caribbean Society. They have a number of events lined up ranging from debates to games nights. They are also cross-campus events so anyone is welcome. You can also email bameadvocates@law.ac.uk if you are an ethnic minority seeking help in any aspects of university life or if you just have an interesting idea you would like to explore. There is also a newsletter called “Unity” for those at the Birmingham campus who are interested in learning more about Black History in general.

Good luck to everyone on your courses! I hope you all have a great time at ULaw.

 

Kamal Ahmad

BAME Advocate