October is Black History Month in the UK and is a time to learn, celebrate, and understand Black history and culture.
It is important that we recognise this month to highlight how people from African and Caribbean backgrounds have always been a part of British history but their value has often been overlooked, disregarded in favour of white figures or has been forgotten.
This year’s theme is ‘Celebrating our Sisters’ which pays homage to black women and acknowledges their exceptional achievements which have historically been ignored or dismissed.
There are many influential black women who have shaped history including Mary Seacole, the pioneering Jamaican nurse who looked after injured British soldiers in the Crimean War and Olivette Otele, the first Black women in Britain to be made a Professor of History. There’s also Nicola Adams, the first woman to win the Olympic gold medal for boxing in 2012 after women were permitted to box in the competition for the first time and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, a member of the House of Lords who has continued her work for racial equality after her son, Stephen, was killed in a racist attack.
If you would like to support Black History Month, you can attend several events in the North West here>> or in the East Midlands here>>
